Decentralized Targeting of an Antipoverty Program

Type Journal Article - Journal of Public Economics
Title Decentralized Targeting of an Antipoverty Program
Author(s)
Volume 89
Issue 4
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2005
Page numbers 705-727
URL http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTABCDEWASHINGTON2001/Resources/galasso_ravallion.pdf
Abstract
It is now common for central governments to delegate authority over the targeting of antipoverty programs to better informed—but potentially less accountable—community organizations, while the center retains control over how much goes to each locality. We model the inter-connected behavior of the various actors in such a setting. The model's information structure provides scope for econometric identification. Results for Bangladesh’s Food-for-Education Program indicate that within-village targeting improved with program size, and with lower land inequality, less remoteness, fewer shocks, and less private redistribution. Power in community decision making clearly mattered to the outcomes. However, there is little sign that the center’s program placement took account of village attributes conducive to reaching the poor.

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