Reaching the Poor Through Rural Public Employment: A Survey of Theory and Evidence

Abstract

With the limited set of policy instruments typically available in the rural sectors of developing countries, imperfect coverage of the poor and leakage to the non-poor must be expected from even the most well intentioned poverty alleviation scheme. Labor intensive rural public works projects have the potential to both screen and protect the poor, as well as to create and maintain rural infrastructure. The limited evidence for South Asia suggests that few non-poor persons want to participate, and that both direct and indirect transfer and insurance benefits to the poor can be sizable. However, details of the project selection, design and financing, are crucial to success in poverty alleviation, both in the short and long run. Benefits to the poor can be rapidly dissipated by a badly conceived and executed project.

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