COMMENT | Cash transfers vs 'subsidy cards'

COMMENT | Cash transfer costs less? Yes. Is it more efficient than “subsidy cards”? Absolutely. So, should we proceed with cash transfers?

I used to think so. Having graduated in my favourite subject (economics), I was a fervent proponent of cash transfers right up to my second term as an MP.

What changed my mind?

I discovered that people aren't quite always as rational as they are presumed to be in the basic textbooks; people are motivated by conflicting interests, with short-term gains weighing disproportionately more than longer-term ones; and people do not enjoy perfect information, while susceptible to political and emotional influences.

There are many examples to give. But let me cite the starkest example of them all...