Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty

The rise of experimental evaluations, specifically the use of the randomised controlled trial (RCT) in the field of development economics, has been widely critiqued. These critiques range from technicalities, such as the internal and external validity of the methodology, to the approach to economic development it takes. This dissertation contributes to the latter, and offers a critique of the underlying theoretical framework embraced by the RCT. The dissertation deploys a New Relational approach to poverty which foregrounds an analysis of the social relations within which the poor are immersed. The New Relational framework examines how class, caste, and gender, as well as the intersection of these social identities, shape the creation and reproduction of poverty. In this sense, the New Relational approach draws from the insights of Marxist, feminist, and postcolonial theory to present an anti-essentialist approach to poverty. By critically examining two RCT-implemented poverty programmes in Bangladesh, this study shows that the RCT approach to poverty relies on a modified neoclassical theoretical framework that neglects studying the determinants of poverty related to power, discrimination and exploitation. This dissertation argues that by ignoring these variables the RCT approach provides an insufficient understanding of poverty, as the latter play a crucial part in shaping the preferences of, and opportunities available to the poor.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

School of Economics

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Coetzee, Marguerite

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Smith, Michael

• economics

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40843

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/40843