Revisiting Targeting in Social Assistance

Page 359

Table 5.4  Appropriateness and Minimum Conditions of Different Targeting Methods

Method What is it?

Geographic targeting Location determines potential eligibility for benefits When working in isolation, all the population living in the area of intervention are considered eligible

Uses age or other demographic characteristic to determine eligibility for benefits Can be applied in isolation or as an additional criterion in mixed methods

However, it is commonly used as a first phase in targeting, to allocate caseload, with some other method used to further reduce the pool of the eligible

When used alone, sometimes referred to as universal child grants or social pensions

When differences in poverty, vulnerability, or implementation capacity have a sharp geospatial gradient

To address right base approach

May work best when people don’t move too often or easily between the delineated areas

When the program is focused on biological or social vulnerabilities of children or elderly When age or family structure are highly correlated with poverty or vulnerability to poverty

Means testing Compares a measure of the income, consumption, and/or wealth of the social assistance unit (family, household) with eligibility thresholds Often, but not always, verifies a substantial portion of the information with independent sources

When income, consumption, or wealth are relatively easy to verify—for example, through data matching with other government-held records When labor markets are highly formal

Hybrid means testing Measures and verifies sum of income, consumption, and assets, as in a means testing Imputes the value of other flows where they are not verifiable Imputations often fairly simple—for example, marginal productivity per hectare in agriculture, or unit of livestock, or assumption of a few days a month of lowwage employment for day laborers—although more sophisticated estimations may be used When a moderately high share of incomes—but not all— can be verified When labor markets have moderate informality

Proxy means testing Uses easy-to-verify characteristics or proxies (for example, composition of the social assistance unit, size, quality or location of its dwelling, its assets) to predict money-metric well-being Weights derived from statistics/ econometric models of various degrees of sophistication

When informality is too high to make means testing or hybrid means testing viable but householdspecific rankings are still desired

Communitybased targeting Uses organized local-level groups composed by local leaders, civil society, and government officials; group members are from and are very active in the community, and they decide who in the community should benefit

Self-targeting Anyone may participate, but some element of the program makes it unattractive to the less needy For example, a low wage may be offered in exchange for work on community infrastructure or service projects

Lottery A random process to ration program resources or slots for enrollment among individuals, households, or communities that are all eligible

Nutritious but less preferred foods (broken rice, coarse flours, less attractive packaging)

To address program administrator’s myopia and lack of knowledge about the community To promote community engagement and improve accuracy at lowest level

When the program design is conducive

To address the fact that program’s budget is not enough for covering the total number of eligible claimants When it is difficult to rank among many similar claimants, or when such rankings would not be socially accepted

continued next page

Choosing among Targeting Methods | 323

When is it appropriate?

Demographic targeting


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7.5 Performance Triangle for Two Programs

6min
pages 527-529

7.9 Relative Efficiency of Programs

1min
page 517

Concluding Remarks

1min
page 530

7.13 Exclusion and Inclusion Errors

1min
page 525

the Poverty Line

1min
page 516

7.12 Impacts on Poverty and Inequality

2min
page 524

7.3 Inclusion and Exclusion Errors in a 10-Person Economy

4min
pages 510-511

7.4 Targeting Differential

2min
page 512

What to Look for When Conducting Method Assessments

1min
page 509

7.1 Social Program Coverage in Brazil

1min
page 507

Illustrative Case Study on How to Avoid Spurious Interpretations

2min
page 504

Introduction

1min
page 503

References

18min
pages 492-502

Notes

21min
pages 483-491

B6.11.2 Household Consumption, Assets, and Land Access in PSNP Woredas, by PSNP Beneficiary Status, 2008

21min
pages 471-480

Conclusion

4min
pages 481-482

B6.11.1 Criteria for Selecting Beneficiary Households

1min
page 470

Community-Based Targeting

2min
page 469

Key Elements for Community-Based Targeting

4min
pages 467-468

6.10 Machine Learning, Big Data, and Human Rights

6min
pages 464-466

PMT, Machine Learning, and Big Data: What Do We Know?

4min
pages 447-448

Poor Households in Togo

5min
pages 458-460

Formulae

8min
pages 440-443

Its Drivers

1min
page 457

B6.6.1 Distribution of Winners and Losers, by Demographic Group

11min
pages 435-439

6.8 Machine Learning Models That Are Commonly Used

15min
pages 449-455

B6.6.1 Timeline of Key Developments in Georgia’s Targeted Social Assistance Program

1min
page 434

Causal Effect One

25min
pages 418-428

Updating the PMT Formula: The 2013–15 Reform of the Georgia Targeted Social Assistance Program

2min
page 433

6.3 Illustration of PMT Weights for Selected Variables

8min
pages 429-432

Key Elements for PMT Methods: Traditional Models, Processes, and Machine Learning

4min
pages 416-417

B6.4.1 Summary of the Availability and Quality of Administrative Data in Tunisia, 2019

1min
page 415

Hybrid Means Testing Targeting System: The Case of Tunisia

1min
page 414

6.2 Romania: Asset-to-Income Conversion Coefficients

5min
pages 409-411

and Proxy Means Testing Models in Algeria

4min
pages 412-413

6.1 Albania: Imputation of Farm Income

2min
page 408

Key Elements for Hybrid Means Testing

1min
page 403

6.2 Income Test under the Hybrid Means Testing Approach

5min
pages 405-407

6.2 Treatment of Assets in Means-Tested Programs

20min
pages 394-402

Key Elements for Means Tests

6min
pages 391-393

Geographic Targeting: Big Data Are Revolutionizing Poverty Mapping

2min
page 385

6.1 Example of Classification of Developed Area

9min
pages 386-390

6.1 Examples of Big Data

13min
pages 379-384

Some Starting Considerations about Data—Traditional and Big

2min
page 378

Summary

1min
page 358

Notes

7min
pages 363-365

References

19min
pages 366-377

Targeting Methods

9min
pages 359-362

Different Eligibility Approaches

2min
page 348

Addition of Quantitative Information to the Decision-Making Process

4min
pages 346-347

5.8 Illustrative Lessons from the Simulations Literature

8min
pages 354-357

Country

13min
pages 340-345

5.6 Profiling Job Seekers to Differentiate Support

2min
page 336

Methods That Rank People According to Welfare

6min
pages 337-339

a Fragile State

18min
pages 311-319

from Mongolia, Bolivia, and Nepal

5min
pages 331-333

Considerations in Choosing among Welfare Targeting Methods

2min
page 310

Category in Determining Eligibility or Benefits

4min
pages 334-335

B5.3.2 Woreda Selection Does Not Add Much to the PSNP’s Targeting Performance

7min
pages 322-325

5.1 Humanitarian–Social Protection Alignment

6min
pages 307-309

Reflections on Patterns of Use of Targeting Methods

14min
pages 301-306

Patterns in Using and Combining Targeting Methods

4min
pages 299-300

5.1 Common Targeting Methods

2min
page 298

Notes

4min
pages 286-287

Introduction

4min
pages 295-297

Conclusion

1min
page 285

References

10min
pages 288-294

4.7 Examples of How Countries Are Providing Data Security

1min
page 284

Data Protection?

3min
pages 282-283

from Chile and Moldova

7min
pages 278-281

Planning and Adapting Delivery Systems for Crisis Response

14min
pages 263-269

Program Access That Lead to Errors of Exclusion

4min
pages 273-274

Data Systems and Their Role in Supporting Eligibility Determination and Recertification

6min
pages 275-277

Client Interface: The Interaction between People and Institutions

6min
pages 270-272

Jigisemejiri Program

3min
pages 261-262

4.2 How Big Should a Social Registry Be?

17min
pages 253-260

Support Program

17min
pages 245-252

Fortifying Weak Links in the Delivery Chain to Reduce Errors of Exclusion and Inclusion

4min
pages 243-244

Introduction

6min
pages 239-242

References

13min
pages 230-238

3.3 Morocco’s Progress toward Universal Social Protection

6min
pages 221-223

3.2 Food Security and Money-Metric Welfare

14min
pages 194-200

Notes

14min
pages 224-229

“Vulnerability”

4min
pages 192-193

Part I: Even in Times of Stability, Welfare Measurement for Eligibility Determination Is Complex

13min
pages 186-191

References

11min
pages 178-185

Summary

4min
pages 160-161

Recent ASPIRE Survey–Based Evidence of Targeting Outcomes

4min
pages 123-124

Evidence Base for the Costs of Poverty Targeting

27min
pages 147-159

Notes

4min
pages 176-177

Measurement and Interpretation

11min
pages 118-122

References

19min
pages 107-117

Notes

4min
pages 105-106

Conclusion

2min
page 104

Essay 9: Does Universality Increase Budgets and Thus Reduce the Need for Prioritizing the Needy?

9min
pages 99-102

Essay 10: How Do Human Rights Frameworks View Targeting?

2min
page 103

Essay 8: Can Budgets Be Raised over Time to Reduce the Need for Targeting?

4min
pages 95-96

Essay 7: What Does the Distribution of Taxes Imply about the Distribution of Transfers?

4min
pages 91-92

Essay 6: Why Is Redistribution Important?

2min
page 90

1.1 Potential Sources of Revenue

3min
pages 97-98

Essay 5: Is Targeting the Poor Important for Outcomes Other Than Poverty?

4min
pages 88-89

1.1 Contrasting Policy and Budget Scenarios: Base Case

3min
pages 84-85

Essay 3: What Is the Rationale for Targeting by Welfare or Other Metrics?

4min
pages 82-83

Essay 1: Where Does Targeting Fit Conceptually within Universal Social Protection?

4min
pages 75-76

Essay 2: Where Does Targeting Fit Practically within Universal Social Protection?

8min
pages 78-81

References

3min
pages 71-74

Notes

2min
page 70

O.1 Common Targeting Methods

2min
page 58

O.6 Factors to Consider in Choosing a Targeting Method

23min
pages 59-69

Protection Measured?

2min
page 77

O.5 Social Protection Delivery Chain

5min
pages 55-57
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