How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?

Policy-oriented discussions often assume that "better targeting" implies larger impacts on poverty or more cost-effective interventions. The literature on the economics of targeting warns against that assumption, but evidence has been sca...

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Main Author:	Ravallion, Martin
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:	ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAM ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS COST EFFECTIVENESS COUNTERFACTUAL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISABILITY ECONOMIC FACTORS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FAMILY BENEFITS FOOD STAMPS FOOD SUBSIDIES GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME HEADCOUNT INDEX HOUSEHOLD INCOME ILLNESS IMPACTS ON POVERTY IMPERFECT INFORMATION INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GAINS INCOME SOURCES INDICATOR TARGETING INEQUALITY INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS LABOR FORCE LABOR SUPPLY LIVELIHOOD LOCAL AUTHORITIES MEAN INCOME MEASURES OF POVERTY MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES NATIONAL POLICY NET INCOME NEW POOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATION RATES PER CAPITA INCOME PERFECT TARGETING PERSONAL COMMUNICATION POLICY ANALYSIS POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY MAKERS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLITICAL ECONOMY POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TARGETING POLITICAL SUPPORT POOR POOR PEOPLE POPULATION SIZE POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY GAP INDEX POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INDEX POVERTY LINE POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY OUTCOMES POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY TRAPS PROGRESS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCING POVERTY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL SECURITY SOCIAL WELFARE SQUARED POVERTY GAP SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX TARGETED SOCIAL PROGRAMS TARGETING TRANSFER PAYMENTS URBAN AREAS URBAN POPULATION URBAN POVERTY WORKFARE PROGRAMS
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8665762/relevant-targeting-success-antipoverty-program http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7541

id	okr-10986-7541
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-75412021-04-23T14:02:34Z How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program? Ravallion, Martin ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAM ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS COST EFFECTIVENESS COUNTERFACTUAL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISABILITY ECONOMIC FACTORS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FAMILY BENEFITS FOOD STAMPS FOOD SUBSIDIES GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME HEADCOUNT INDEX HOUSEHOLD INCOME ILLNESS IMPACTS ON POVERTY IMPERFECT INFORMATION INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GAINS INCOME SOURCES INDICATOR TARGETING INEQUALITY INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS LABOR FORCE LABOR SUPPLY LIVELIHOOD LOCAL AUTHORITIES MEAN INCOME MEASURES OF POVERTY MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES NATIONAL POLICY NET INCOME NEW POOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATION RATES PER CAPITA INCOME PERFECT TARGETING PERSONAL COMMUNICATION POLICY ANALYSIS POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY MAKERS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLITICAL ECONOMY POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TARGETING POLITICAL SUPPORT POOR POOR PEOPLE POPULATION SIZE POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY GAP INDEX POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INDEX POVERTY LINE POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY OUTCOMES POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY TRAPS PROGRESS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCING POVERTY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL SECURITY SOCIAL WELFARE SQUARED POVERTY GAP SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX TARGETED SOCIAL PROGRAMS TARGETING TRANSFER PAYMENTS URBAN AREAS URBAN POPULATION URBAN POVERTY WORKFARE PROGRAMS Policy-oriented discussions often assume that "better targeting" implies larger impacts on poverty or more cost-effective interventions. The literature on the economics of targeting warns against that assumption, but evidence has been scarce. The paper begins with a critical review of the strengths and weaknesses of the targeting measures found in practice. It then exploits an unusually large micro data set for China to estimate aggregate and local-level poverty impacts of the country's main urban antipoverty program. Standard measures of targeting are found to be uninformative, or even deceptive, about impacts on poverty and cost-effectiveness in reducing poverty. In program design and evaluation, it would be better to focus directly on the program's outcomes for poor people than to rely on prevailing measures of targeting. 2012-06-08T16:54:16Z 2012-06-08T16:54:16Z 2007-11-01 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8665762/relevant-targeting-success-antipoverty-program http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7541 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4385 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAM ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS COST EFFECTIVENESS COUNTERFACTUAL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISABILITY ECONOMIC FACTORS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FAMILY BENEFITS FOOD STAMPS FOOD SUBSIDIES GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME HEADCOUNT INDEX HOUSEHOLD INCOME ILLNESS IMPACTS ON POVERTY IMPERFECT INFORMATION INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GAINS INCOME SOURCES INDICATOR TARGETING INEQUALITY INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS LABOR FORCE LABOR SUPPLY LIVELIHOOD LOCAL AUTHORITIES MEAN INCOME MEASURES OF POVERTY MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES NATIONAL POLICY NET INCOME NEW POOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATION RATES PER CAPITA INCOME PERFECT TARGETING PERSONAL COMMUNICATION POLICY ANALYSIS POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY MAKERS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLITICAL ECONOMY POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TARGETING POLITICAL SUPPORT POOR POOR PEOPLE POPULATION SIZE POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY GAP INDEX POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INDEX POVERTY LINE POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY OUTCOMES POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY TRAPS PROGRESS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCING POVERTY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL SECURITY SOCIAL WELFARE SQUARED POVERTY GAP SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX TARGETED SOCIAL PROGRAMS TARGETING TRANSFER PAYMENTS URBAN AREAS URBAN POPULATION URBAN POVERTY WORKFARE PROGRAMS
spellingShingle	ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAM ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS COST EFFECTIVENESS COUNTERFACTUAL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISABILITY ECONOMIC FACTORS ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FAMILY BENEFITS FOOD STAMPS FOOD SUBSIDIES GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME HEADCOUNT INDEX HOUSEHOLD INCOME ILLNESS IMPACTS ON POVERTY IMPERFECT INFORMATION INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME GAINS INCOME SOURCES INDICATOR TARGETING INEQUALITY INSTRUMENTAL VARIABLES INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS LABOR FORCE LABOR SUPPLY LIVELIHOOD LOCAL AUTHORITIES MEAN INCOME MEASURES OF POVERTY MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES NATIONAL POLICY NET INCOME NEW POOR NUMBER OF PEOPLE PARTICIPATION RATES PER CAPITA INCOME PERFECT TARGETING PERSONAL COMMUNICATION POLICY ANALYSIS POLICY DISCUSSIONS POLICY MAKERS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POLITICAL ECONOMY POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TARGETING POLITICAL SUPPORT POOR POOR PEOPLE POPULATION SIZE POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY GAP INDEX POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INDEX POVERTY LINE POVERTY MEASURES POVERTY OUTCOMES POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY TRAPS PROGRESS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCING POVERTY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL SECURITY SOCIAL WELFARE SQUARED POVERTY GAP SQUARED POVERTY GAP INDEX TARGETED SOCIAL PROGRAMS TARGETING TRANSFER PAYMENTS URBAN AREAS URBAN POPULATION URBAN POVERTY WORKFARE PROGRAMS Ravallion, Martin How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?
relation	Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4385
description	Policy-oriented discussions often assume that "better targeting" implies larger impacts on poverty or more cost-effective interventions. The literature on the economics of targeting warns against that assumption, but evidence has been scarce. The paper begins with a critical review of the strengths and weaknesses of the targeting measures found in practice. It then exploits an unusually large micro data set for China to estimate aggregate and local-level poverty impacts of the country's main urban antipoverty program. Standard measures of targeting are found to be uninformative, or even deceptive, about impacts on poverty and cost-effectiveness in reducing poverty. In program design and evaluation, it would be better to focus directly on the program's outcomes for poor people than to rely on prevailing measures of targeting.
format	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author	Ravallion, Martin
author_facet	Ravallion, Martin
author_sort	Ravallion, Martin
title	How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?
title_short	How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?
title_full	How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?
title_fullStr	How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?
title_full_unstemmed	How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?
title_sort	how relevant is targeting to the success of an antipoverty program?
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2012
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8665762/relevant-targeting-success-antipoverty-program http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7541
_version_	1764402473148088320

How Relevant is Targeting to the Success of an Antipoverty Program?

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