Seeking innovative ideas for revamping the United States' foreign aid programs, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) conducted an A/B test in rural areas of Rwanda to compare the public welfare results of traditional interventions with simple cash transfers. A control group received no assistance. To conduct the study, they recruited a number of external partners, including Berkeley's Center for Effective Global Action. The agency released the results Thursday, and -- essentially -- the cash transfers worked, with larger cash transfers boosting household's assets, savings, and ability to buy more varied food. The children in those houses were "taller, weighed more, and were less likely to die early," according to the reporter.