Convened by Dr. Zunera Rana, Dr. Joost Beuving, and Dr. Luuk van Kempen Radboud University

Globally, unconditional cash transfer (UCT) programs have long been central to social protection efforts, with decades of research dedicated to understanding their impacts in the Global South More locally, in the Global North, it is the debate on universal basic income (UBI) that has inspired a fair number of ‘free money’ experiments; the evidence base on its effects is expanding quickly. However, one critical dimension is often overlooked in discussions and evaluations of these forms of "free money": household indebtedness. 

Debt plays a crucial role in shaping how cash transfers are used—whether they alleviate financial vulnerability, reduce reliance on borrowing, or affect the overall effectiveness of UCT and UBI programs in promoting social protection. Despite its significance, debt remains under-theorized in the literature on cash transfers, leaving a major blind spot as to whether ‘free money’ can sustainably address financial vulnerability. Addressing this missing link is essential to reimagining social protection systems that reflect the realities of household financial precarity.

This panel seeks to foreground the role of debt in understanding how unconditional cash transfers can boost social protection locally, posing the following key questions:

• How do different transfer models influence household borrowing, indebtedness, and financial resilience?

• Do these models reduce reliance on formal and informal credit, or do they create new pathways into credit markets?

• At the micro level, how do households respond behaviorally to receiving transfers—do they increase consumption, choose to save, or prioritize debt repayment?

• At the macro level, what are the broader implications for financial markets, state-society relations, and development policy?

• Geographically, what commonalities and divergences exist between the Global North and South, and what lessons can be learned through comparative analysis?

We especially welcome contributions with a strong empirical focus, grounded in approaches such as comparative policy analysis, critical political economy, and ethnographic research.

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