The Changing War on Poverty.

The article discusses the use of cash transfer programs in government efforts to fight poverty. According to the author, these programs facilitate a closer relationship between citizens and the state by generating data about the poor and opening direct lines of communication between cash transfer recipients and researchers. Details on the use of digital biometrics, cell phones, and debit cards to identify and collect information on the poor are presented. Other topics include gasoline subsidies, competition between public and private suppliers of health care, and the direct transfer of foreign aid and income from natural resource extraction to citizens.