Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries

Abstract

No AccessRegional and Sectoral Studies1 Feb 2013Targeting of Transfers in Developing CountriesReview of Lessons and ExperienceAuthors/Editors: David Coady, Margaret Grosh, John HoddinottDavid Coady, Margaret Grosh, John Hoddinotthttps://doi.org/10.1596/0-8213-5769-7SectionsAboutPDF (1.2 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract:Drawing on a database of more than one hundred anti-poverty interventions in 47 countries, Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries provides a general review of experiences with methods used to target interventions in transition and developing countries. Written for policymakers and program managers in developing countries, in donor agencies, and in NGOs who have responsibility for designing interventions that reach the poor, it conveys what targeting options are available, what results can be expected as well as information that will assist in choosing among them and in their implementation. Key messages are: While targeting "works" - the median program transfers 25 percent more to the poor than would a universal allocation - targeting performance around the world is highly variable. Means testing, geographic targeting, and self-selection based on a work requirement are the most robustly progressive methods. Proxy means testing, community-based selection of individuals and demographic targeting to children show good results on average, but with considerable variation. Demographic targeting to the elderly, community bidding, and self-selection based on consumption show limited potential for good targeting. There is no single preferred method for all types of programs or all country contexts. Successful targeting depends critically on how a method is implemented. Previous book FiguresReferencesRecommendedDetailsCited ByTargeting Social Transfers in Ethiopia's Agro‐pastoralist and Pastoralist SocietiesDevelopment and Change, Vol.53, No.212 November 2021Data, discretion and institutional capacity: Evidence from cash transfers in PakistanJournal of Public Economics, Vol.206Financial Resilience: A Way Forward Towards Economic Development in Developing CountriesSocial Indicators Research, Vol.160, No.15 September 2021Who Are Identified as Poor in Rural China's Targeted Poverty Alleviation Strategy? Applying the Multidimensional Capability ApproachJournal of Chinese Political Science, Vol.1027 January 2022Efficiency, Legitimacy, and Impacts of Targeting Methods: Evidence from an Experiment in NigerWorld Bank Economic Review, Vol.35, No.417 November 2021An Empirical Validation Method for Narrowing the Range of Poverty ThresholdsSocial Indicators Research, Vol.9516 October 2021Predicting poverty and malnutrition for targeting, mapping, monitoring, and early warningApplied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Vol.14815 July 2021Social Protection and State–Society Relations in Environments of Low and Uneven State CapacityAnnual Review of Political Science, Vol.24, No.1Assessing the performance of beneficiary targeting in Brazil's More Doctors ProgrammeHealth Policy and Planning, Vol.36, No.215 January 2021The Politics of Social Protection in Kenya: State Capacity, Political Competition and Social Pension Registration in Marsabit CountySSRN Electronic Journal, Vol.8Beyond Manipulation: Administrative Sorting in Regression Discontinuity DesignsJournal of Causal Inference, Vol.8, No.123 December 2020Motives behind community participation: Evidence from natural and artefactual field experiments in Sri LankaPacific Economic Review, Vol.25, No.521 December 2020Conditional Cash Transfers and Homogeneous Spaces: The Politics of Multiplicative EffectsLatin American Policy, Vol.11, No.25 November 2020Coverage of non-receipt of cash transfer (Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty) and associated factors among older persons in the Mampong Municipality, Ghana – a quantitative analysisBMC Geriatrics, Vol.20, No.115 October 2020Can Rationing Increase Welfare? Theory and an Application to India's Ration Shop SystemAmerican Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol.12, No.4Intake, Registration, and Assessment of Needs and Conditions3 December 2020Payments of Cash Benefits3 December 2020Eligibility and Enrollment3 December 2020Broad-based subsidies or targeted transfers? Distributional equity vs macroeconomic costsJournal of Economic Policy Reform13 July 2020Political favouritism and social conflict: a case study of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in PakistanArea Development and Policy, Vol.5, No.314 June 2019Targeting in Practice: A Review of Existing Mechanisms for Beneficiary Selection in the Democratic Republic of CongoJournal of International Development, Vol.32, No.524 March 2020Use of conditional cash transfers for addressing gender-based inequalities in health and education among children: studying the impact of the Shubh Laxmi scheme in Rajasthan, IndiaBehavioural Public Policy, Vol.629 June 2020Community-Based versus Statistical Targeting of Anti-Poverty Programs: Evidence from Burkina FasoJournal of African Economies, Vol.29, No.310 December 2019Is Bigger Always Better? How Targeting Aid Windfalls Affects Capture and Social CohesionComparative Political Studies, Vol.53, No.3-418 June 2019Financial innovations and sanitation services: the battle between low-income users and shareholdersBulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Vol.47, No.4725 March 2020The Targeting Benefit Of Conditional Cash Transfers19 February 2020International Donors and Social Policy Diffusion in the Global South30 June 2020A Global Assessment of Nontariff Customer Assistance Programs in Water Supply and Sanitation22 February 2020The Optimal Allocation of Resources Among Heterogeneous IndividualsSSRN Electronic JournalHow to Target Households in Adaptive Social Protection Systems? Evidence from Humanitarian and Development Approaches in NigerThe Journal of Development Studies, Vol.55, No.sup16 December 2019Adaptive Safety Nets for Rural Africa: Drought-Sensitive Targeting with Sparse Data24 December 2019How is equity approached in universal health coverage? An analysis of global and country policy documents in Benin and SenegalInternational Journal for Equity in Health, Vol.18, No.117 December 2019Receiving Social Assistance in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Negating Shame or Producing Stigma?Journal of Social Policy, Vol.1484 November 2019Most of Africa's Nutritionally Deprived Women and Children Are Not Found in Poor HouseholdsThe Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol.101, No.41 October 2019How Can African Governments Reach Poor Farmers with Fertiliser Subsidies? Exploring a Targeting Approach in GhanaThe Journal of Development Studies, Vol.55, No.924 October 2018Targeting subsidised inpatient services to the poor in a setting with limited state capacity: proxy means testing in Myanmar's hospital equity fund schemeTropical Medicine & International Health, Vol.24, No.930 July 2019Multidimensional Wellbeing Inequality in a Developing Country: A Case Study of VietnamSocial Indicators Research, Vol.145, No.120 March 2019Do Income Supplemental Programs for Older Adults' Help Reduce Primary Caregiver Burden? Evidence from MexicoJournal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, Vol.1125 June 2019Isolated illiteracy and access to social programs: evidence from BrazilInternational Journal of Social Economics, Vol.46, No.5Targeting Ultra-Poor Households in Honduras and PeruWorld Bank Economic Review, Vol.33, No.123 April 2019Targeting Humanitarian Aid Using Administrative Data: Model Design and ValidationSSRN Electronic JournalIdentifying Poor Refugees for Targeting of Food and Multi-Sectoral Cash Transfers in NigerSSRN Electronic JournalHow much does community-based targeting of the ultra-poor in the health sector cost? Novel evidence from Burkina FasoHealth Economics Review, Vol.8, No.14 September 2018Non-contributory pension programs and frailty of older adults: Evidence from MexicoPLOS ONE, Vol.13, No.112 November 2018A Proxy Means Test for Sri Lanka6 November 2018Religious Fractionalisation and Crimes in Disaster-Affected Communities: Survey Evidence from BangladeshThe Journal of Development Studies, Vol.54, No.106 November 2017Retooling Poverty Targeting Using Out-of-Sample Validation and Machine LearningWorld Bank Economic Review, Vol.32, No.313 November 2018Inclusion and exclusion errors in the targeted supplementary feeding programme of EthiopiaMaternal & Child Nutrition, Vol.14, No.411 June 2018Concepts, Definitions, and Indicators for Social Protection Analysis28 June 2018Proxy Means Tests to Identify the Income Poor: Application for the Case of VietnamJournal of Asian and African Studies, Vol.53, No.429 May 2017Efficiency, Legitimacy and Impacts of Targeting Methods: Evidence from an Experiment in Niger4 May 2018The targeting effectiveness of Egypt's Food Subsidy Programme: Reaching the poor?International Social Security Review, Vol.71, No.28 May 2018A Synthesis of Multidimensional Poverty19 January 2018Children & Society, Vol.32, No.6The Informational Basis of Emerging Social Assistance in Low and Middle-Income CountriesSSRN Electronic JournalSharing the Pie: Undernutrition, Intra-Household Allocation, and PovertySSRN Electronic JournalData Mining Approach to Decision Support in Social WelfareYou Are What Your Parents Think: Height and Local Reference PointsSSRN Electronic JournalWhy a universal Child Grant makes sense in Nepal: A four-step analysisGlobal Social Policy, Vol.17, No.323 September 2017How effective and efficient are social programs on food and nutritional security?Food and Energy Security, Vol.6, No.421 November 2017Regional social assistance systems: Why and how targeting policy is introducedRegional Research of Russia, Vol.7, No.416 December 2017The Use of Common Area k-Sample Test in Evaluating Targeting Methodologies: An Application to the Case of EgyptSocial Indicators Research, Vol.133, No.311 July 2016DOES GOVERNMENT SPENDING AFFECT INCOME INEQUALITY? A META-REGRESSION ANALYSISJournal of Economic Surveys, Vol.31, No.422 August 2016The impact of targeted subsidies plan on electricity consumption, sale, receivables collection and operating cash flowInternational Journal of Social Economics, Vol.44, No.4Social exclusion and access to social protection schemesJournal of Development Effectiveness, Vol.9, No.228 March 2017Effective targeting of social programmes: an overview of issuesJournal of Development Effectiveness, Vol.9, No.224 April 2017Are Poor Individuals Mainly Found in Poor Households? Evidence Using Nutrition Data for Africa4 April 2017PROTOCOL: The effect of cash transfers on social solidarity: A systematic reviewCampbell Systematic Reviews, Vol.13, No.116 June 2017The World Bank, Development, and Health14 September 2017Are Targeted Unconditional Cash Transfers Effective? Evidence from a Poor Region in IndiaSocial Indicators Research, Vol.130, No.228 November 2015Controlling Administrative Discretion Promotes Social Equity? Evidence from a Natural ExperimentPublic Administration Review, Vol.77, No.130 June 2016A Poor Means Test? Econometric Targeting in Africa4 January 2017Sociocultural and institutional contexts of social cash transfer programs: Lessons from stakeholders' attitudes and experiences in GhanaGlobal Social Policy, Vol.16, No.324 July 2016State budget transfers to Health Insurance Funds for universal health coverage: institutional design patterns and challenges of covering those outside the formal sector in Eastern European high-income countriesInternational Journal for Equity in Health, Vol.15, No.115 January 2016Implementing demand side targeting mechanisms for maternal and child health-experiences from national health insurance fund program in Rungwe District, TanzaniaGlobalization and Health, Vol.12, No.12 August 2016Urban food retailing and food prices in Africa: the case of Addis Ababa, EthiopiaJournal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, Vol.6, No.2The political economy of targeting - a critical reviewDevelopment Policy Review, Vol.34, No.612 October 2016Retooling Poverty Targeting Using Out-of-Sample Validation and Machine Learning5 December 2016Los riesgos de los programas de transferencias condicionadas y la construcción de ciudadanía: el caso de Progresa/Oportunidades de MéxicoReflexión Política, Vol.18, No.3513 July 2016How Poverty Indicators Confound Poverty Reduction Evaluations: The Targeting Performance of Income Transfers in EuropeSocial Indicators Research, Vol.127, No.324 June 2015Nigeria's Government Spending on Basic Education and Healthcare in the Last Decade: What has Changed After Reforms?Social Indicators Research, Vol.127, No.326 June 2015Inequalities among malnourished children in IndiaInternational Journal of Social Economics, Vol.43, No.6Long-Term Impacts of an Unanticipated Risk Event: The 2007/08 Food Price Crisis and Child Growth in Indonesia19 May 2016The Brink of Poverty: Implementation of a Social Assistance Programme in Rural ChinaJournal of Current Chinese Affairs, Vol.45, No.11 April 2016Targeting Disaster Aid in Post-Tsunami Sri LankaDevelopment Policy Review, Vol.34, No.22 February 2016Evolution of health coverage in Mexico: evidence of progress and challenges in the Mexican health systemHealth Policy and Planning, Vol.31, No.129 March 2015Does the underlying definition of household impair programme targeting?Journal of Development Effectiveness, Vol.8, No.119 August 2015Non-Contributory Social Transfer Programmes in Developing Countries: A New Data Set and Research AgendaSSRN Electronic JournalDecentralized versus Statistical Targeting of Anti-Poverty Programs: Evidence from Burkina FasoSSRN Electronic JournalLend a Hand: Poor People, Support Systems, Safety Nets, and Inclusion19 November 2015A Comparison of Two Simple, Low-Cost Ways for Local, Pro-Poor Organizations to Measure the Poverty of Their ParticipantsSocial Indicators Research, Vol.124, No.213 November 2014Predictors of Health Among Refugee Adults from Myanmar and the Development of Their ChildrenJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Vol.17, No.526 August 2014A diagnostic tool for estimating the incidence of subsidies delivered by water utilities in low- and medium-income countries, with illustrative simulationsUtilities Policy, Vol.34Introduction: Safety Nets in Africa—Effective Mechanisms to Reach the Poor and Most Vulnerable7 May 2015Effective Targeting Mechanisms in Africa: Existing and New Methods7 May 2015Short- and Long-Term Targeting in Kenya7 May 2015Targeting Effectiveness of Safety Net Programs in Senegal7 May 2015Costing alternative transfer modalitiesJournal of Development Effectiveness, Vol.7, No.11 December 2014Reducing child poverty and assessing targeting performance: Governmental cash transfers in TaiwanInternational Journal of Social Welfare, Vol.24, No.17 August 2014Is the process for selecting indigents to receive free care in Burkina Faso equitable?BMC Public Health, Vol.14, No.17 November 2014Ethical considerations related to participation and partnership: an investigation of stakeholders' perceptions of an action-research project on user fee removal for the poorest in Burkina FasoBMC Medical Ethics, Vol.15, No.120 February 2014Réformer et étendre les régimes de protection sociale des pays émergents d'Amérique latine : entre héritage institutionnel et réception d'idéesRevue française des affaires sociales, Vol.13, No.3The Politics and Practicalities of Universalism: Towards a Citizen-Centred Perspective on Social ProtectionThe European Journal of Development Research, Vol.26, No.315 May 2014Can the Expansion of Social Protection bring about Social Transformation in African Countries? The Case of ZambiaThe European Journal of Development Research, Vol.26, No.37 July 2014The Role of Last-Resort Income Support in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region26 August 2014Eligibility26 August 2014Data Mining Approach to Decision Support in Social WelfareInternational Journal of Business Intelligence Research, Vol.5, No.2Old-age pensions and population health: A global and cross-national perspectiveGlobal Public Health, Vol.9, No.314 February 2014Addressing Equity3 April 2014Reforming Pensions in Developing and Transition Countries: Trends, Debates and ImpactsEffectiveness of Existing Safety Net Programs: An Analysis3 April 2014Cohesive and connected communities create resilience28 January 2016How to target: overview on current targeting methods in social protectionKey principles to improve programmes and interventions in complementary feedingMaternal & Child Nutrition, Vol.918 September 2013Are cash transfers a realistic policy tool for poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from Congo-Brazzaville and Côte d'IvoireGlobal Social Policy, Vol.13, No.22 August 2013Multidimensional Targeting: Identifying Beneficiaries of Conditional Cash Transfer ProgramsSocial Indicators Research, Vol.112, No.21 February 2013Paying attention to detail: how to transfer cash in cash transfersEnterprise Development and Microfinance, Vol.24, No.1Improving the Targeting of Social Assistance in Albania: Evidence from Micro-simulations6 November 2012Policies for Sustainable Development: The Commercialization of Smallholder Agriculture14 December 2012The Most Effective Means of Social Protection? An Evaluation of the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Schooling and Child Labour in PeruBasic Income Studies, Vol.8, No.2Programas De Pensiones No Contributivas Y Su Viabilidad Financiera: El Caso De México (Noncontributory Pension Programs and Their Financial Viability: The Mexican Case)SSRN Electronic JournalSafety Nets and Food Programs in Asia: A Comparative PerspectiveSSRN Electronic JournalFinding the Best Indicators to Identify the PoorSSRN Electronic JournalMali: 2012 Article IV Consultation, Request for Disbursement Under the Rapid Credit Facility and Cancellation of the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement—Staff Report; Staff Supplements; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for MaliIMF Staff Country Reports, Vol.13, No.44Is Informal Sector Work an Alternative to Workfare Benefits? The Case of Pre-program Expansion and Economic CrisisReview of Development Economics, Vol.16, No.418 October 2012Survey of recent developmentsBulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, Vol.48, No.2Street-level workers' criteria for identifying indigents to be exempted from user fees in Burkina FasoTropical Medicine & International Health, Vol.17, No.619 April 2012The Political Economy of Relief Aid Allocation: Evidence from MadagascarWorld Development, Vol.40, No.3Assessing Asset IndicesDemography, Vol.49, No.12 December 2011Targeting Cash Transfer Programs for an Older PopulationSSRN Electronic JournalFraming Social Inclusion Policies - Draft Background Paper for the World Bank Social Development Department's Flagship Study on Social InclusionSSRN Electronic JournalIdentifying Potential Programs and Platforms to Deliver Multiple Micronutrient InterventionsThe Journal of Nutrition, Vol.142, No.130 November 2011Economic Inequality and Child Stunting in Bangladesh and Kenya: An Investigation of Six HypothesesPopulation and Development Review, Vol.37, No.413 December 2011Challenges of scaling up and of knowledge transfer in an action research project in Burkina Faso to exempt the worst-off from health care user feesBMC International Health and Human Rights, Vol.11, No.S28 November 2011The effects of social policy on income inequality in SerbiaPost-Communist Economies, Vol.23, No.3How effective can efficient be? Social assistance in Kosovo and what it means for childrenJournal of European Social Policy, Vol.21, No.3The Impact of the Increase in Food Prices on Child Poverty and the Policy Response in MaliSSRN Electronic JournalMarginal Benefit Incidence Analysis of Public Spending in NigeriaSSRN Electronic JournalEvaluating Social Protection Pro

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 341 citations exist upstream.