Follow the hand that feeds you? The effects of non‐governmental cash transfers on citizenship

Abstract

Cash transfers (CT) are increasingly used as fundamental components of countries' poverty reduction and social protection strategies. Yet not much is known about how these interventions shape beneficiaries' relations with the state and citizenship in general, and even less evidence is available on how CTs distributed by non‐state actors affect the aforementioned variables. This paper analyses how a non‐governmental universal unconditional mobile CT (a small‐scale universal basic income experiment), handed out by a foreign NGO in a rural Ugandan village, influenced citizenship. The article zooms in on effects on recipients' perceptions of the state and interactions with government representatives, where both could potentially yield repercussions on the broader social contract. The study implements matching techniques and social network analysis to explore how the transfer influenced citizenship over time. Results suggest that the CT generated a positive effect on the non‐state actor's legitimacy, without necessarily causing a lasting impact on the legitimacy of the state. Major impacts were recorded in the treatment village's ‘call‐to‐action’ network, highlighting patterns of change in beneficiaries' relations with local duty bearers, such as the crowding out of (multiple) local leaders by an external actor linked to the CT project. These findings confirm the possibility of inducing unintended effects in local communities through CT initiatives implemented by non‐state actors.