You are cordially invited to AFPC- Ottawa’s final meeting of the year and Annual General Meeting.
5:00 - 5:30 Registration
5:30 - 6:00 Speaker - Use of Conditional Cash Transfer programs
6:00 - 6:30 AGM
6:30 - 7:30 Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served
This event will include:
- A presentation by Carolina Robino, Program Officer for IDRC’s Social and Economic Policy Program, who will inform us about IDRC supported research initiatives that are examining the modalities of Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) programs (programs that provide money to poor families contingent on certain behavior, usually investments in human capital, such as sending children to school or bringing them to health centers) in Latin America and the Caribbean reaching more than 110 million people, or 21% of the population. Ms. Robino will discuss how these programs can be a tool for economic empowerment through fostering asset accumulation, productive investment and risk management by connecting the poor to formal financial institutions.
- The AFPC-Ottawa Annual General Meeting (AGM), (Only members of AFPC-Ottawa are eligible to vote at the meeting.) Please follow the link to the official Notice of the AGM; and,
- A networking reception with refreshments and hors d’oeuvres.
While there is no charge for this event, registration is required.
Topic: Use of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs to increase economic empowerment.
Access to financial services plays a critical role in helping the poor widen their economic opportunities, increase their asset base and diminish their vulnerability to unforeseen situations. However, in Latin America the poor have little access to formal financial institutions. Most efforts to enhance access to formal financial services have been limited to the area of micro-credit. This approach alone is not enough to serve the poor. Poor households also want and need savings and insurance. However, for millions of people in the region, opening a savings account is not generally an option.
Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers' actions. Conditional cash transfer programs provide money to poor families contingent on certain behavior, usually investments in human capital, such as sending children to school or bringing them to health centers.
Currently in Latin America and the Caribbean, Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) programs reach more than 110 million people, or 21% of the population. In many cases payments are made in cash to the beneficiaries or through debit cards. IDRC-supported initiatives are examining what happens if CCTs programs deposited the grants in savings accounts instead. These initiatives promote the use of savings accounts through increasing programs beneficiaries’ financial capabilities and the development of savings products that respond to CCT beneficiaries needs. The projects examine whether CCTs can be a tool for economic empowerment through fostering asset accumulation, productive investment and risk management by connecting the poor to formal financial systems.
This presentation will include an overview of the experiences in the region, the role of private and public partnerships, and will share results of impact evaluation studies to assess the welfare impacts on poor households.
Speaker: Carolina Robino, Program Officer for IDRC’s Social and Economic Policy Program based on Montevideo Uruguay.
Carolina Robino is part of the Supporting Inclusive Growth team at IDRC, which seeks to ensure that economic growth in developing countries also benefits the poor and reduces inequality. She is also part of the Think Tank Initiative, a program dedicated to strengthening independent policy research initiatives, or think tanks, in Latin America. She currently manages innovative research on the interrelations between entrepreneurship, labour markets dynamics and social protection policies and policies for small business growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.
As an economist specialized in Latin America´s development theory and challenges, prior to joining IDRC, Robino worked as a researcher and visiting lecturer at the Department of Development Studies of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in South Africa where she taught development theory. She has also teaching experience at the School of Economics at the Universidad de la República in Uruguay. Previously, she worked at the United Nations Development Programme and the Uruguayan Central Bank.
Robino holds a PhD in Development Studies from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. She has also completed postgraduate studies in Social and Political studies for Latin America in Universidad Alberto Hurtado in Chile.
