WIDER Working Paper No. 2013/009 Evaluating antipoverty transfer programmes in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa: Better policies? Better politics?

The paper provides a comparative analysis of the incidence of evaluation methods in antipoverty transfer programmes in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. The paper identifies two broad explanations for the incidence of evaluation in antipoverty transfer programmes in developing countries, one emphasizing the advantages of a shift towards evidence-based development policy, and a second explanation emphasizing political factors. The paper assesses their relevance in the context of Latin American and sub-Saharan African countries with a view to throwing light on whether the evaluation of antipoverty transfer programmes will lead to an improved effectiveness of the relevant government agencies.