Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review

The Payoff of Pay-for-Success

Format:Print

Abstract

Pay-for-success contracts also known as social impact bonds, have been widely touted as a clever way to fill the funding gap plaguing social programs by attracting a tranche of the trillions of dollars in private return-seeking capital. This article takes an in-depth look at the evidence from the first seven contracts in the U.S., to conclude that although that scenario is not likely, the pay-for-success model will have a positive impact, just not in the way that many proponents think.