Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty
| dc.contributor.advisor | Smith, Michael | |
| dc.contributor.author | Coetzee, Marguerite | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-01-28T13:38:03Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-01-28T13:38:03Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2025-01-28T13:35:53Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | 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. | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Coetzee, M. (2024). <i>Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,School of Economics. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40843 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Coetzee, Marguerite. <i>"Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,School of Economics, 2024. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40843 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Coetzee, M. 2024. Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,School of Economics. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40843 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Coetzee, Marguerite AB - 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. DA - 2024 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - economics LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2024 T1 - Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty TI - Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40843 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40843 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Coetzee M. Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,School of Economics, 2024 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/40843 | en_ZA |
| dc.language.rfc3066 | eng | |
| dc.publisher.department | School of Economics | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Commerce | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Cape Town | |
| dc.subject | economics | |
| dc.title | Branded band-aids on broken legs: a relational critique of the randomised controlled trial's approach to poverty | |
| dc.type | Thesis / Dissertation | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Masters | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | MCom |