Introduction

5

Choosing among Targeting Methods

Margaret Grosh, Phillippe Leite, Matthew Wai-Poi, Emil Tesliuc, Juul Pinxten, Nina Rosas, and Priyanka Kanth

Introduction

The choice among different targeting methods must be grounded in understanding the larger hierarchy between policy objectives, program design, targeting methods, implementation, and metrics for measurement. A policy objective is an overarching goal, such as “learning for all” or “reduction of poverty.” A program is an intervention that is implemented to achieve the policy objective and can be population wide or for a certain subset of the population. The program design refers to all the parameters for the program—who it is meant to serve, the benefits and services to be provided, the duration of these, and so forth. A targeting method is a tool to identify the population intended to be served by a specific program, to conduct eligibility assessments. Implementation affects all elements of program design. This book is particularly concerned with the elements around eligibility determination. Targeting metrics show how well the program reached the intended population and the associated costs. A fuller impact evaluation helps to discern how the program changed key outcomes such as poverty, inequality, participation in the labor force and earnings, savings or investment in enterprises, the use of education or health services, and any of a long list of education or health outcomes. Figure 5.1 provides a simplified

260 | Revisiting Targeting in Social Assistance

Figure 5.1 Hierarchy of Action

Policy objectives

Program level

Delivery system

Targeting method

Targeting metrics

EXAMPLES

Poverty reduction Education for all

Female empowerment Universal social protection

Provide a specific set of services or benefits to a defined intended population, for example, income support to the poor, scholarships to out-of-school youth, or reproductive health services to adolescents Generally, multiple programs help to achieve a single goal Similarly, single programs may contribute to multiple goals

Outreach Assessment of needs and conditions Enrollment Provision of benefits or services

Self-targeting Geographic Demographic Welfare based

Means test

Hybrid means test

Proxy means test

Community-based targeting

Dichotomous, for example, errors of inclusion, errors of exclusion, and targeting differential Continuous, for example, coverage, incidence, and distributional characteristic Costs, for example, administrative costs, transaction costs, stigma or social discord, and incentives

Impacts

On poverty and distribution On human capital On labor activity

Source: Original compilation for this publication.

overview of these elements. Reality is more complex as there are interactions along the hierarchy—especially between the choice of targeting method and the program’s delivery system.

To discern the best way to achieve improvements requires understanding where along the hierarchy problems occur. For example, if a high level of errors of exclusion is observed, it is important to sort out whether that is because the program’s budget and decisions about generosity lead to a

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smaller number people who can be served than the size of the intended population, or whether the intended population does not know about the program and apply for it, or whether eligibility assessments are incorrect in a significant number of cases.

To achieve high-level social policy objectives, countries offer a myriad of programs to their residents, including some that are universally accessible and some that are more narrowly focused on a particular group. Social protection programs often have multiple outcomes and can cater to multiple policy objectives; similarly, a policy objective could be supported by several different programs often directed at specific population groups. Social protection contributes to the high-level goals of achieving reductions in poverty and inequality, handling risk, building human capital and prosperity, and mitigating and adapting to climate change. As chapter 1 explains, the policy objective of universal social protection is supported by social assistance and social insurance programs of many designs and intentions. The programs include guaranteed minimum income and other unconditional and conditional cash transfers; child allowances and social pensions; school feeding; food stamps and heating assistance; productive inclusion and training; unemployment, disability, and maternity benefits; and pensions plans.

Policy makers determine the population of focus for each social program based on high-level objectives, followed by an analysis of desired outcomes and the patterns of gaps or differences in those outcomes across the population, subject to available resources and notions of the social contract/ political economy of the country. For example, to help meet an antipoverty objective, some countries may aim to extend income support to all poor people and choose to introduce a poverty-targeted program that covers families of any composition; other countries might start with a social pension to help protect the elderly from poverty. To help meet a societal goal that all children by age five are well prepared for school, countries will carry out a diagnostic. Some may find that the problem is inadequate quality or coverage of services for health, education, and stimulation programs for preschool children. Others may find that the problem is less rooted in the supply of services and more in the ability of poor households to provide food, shelter, and supportive parental attention, and that extra support for these families is needed through cash or in-kind assistance. Once the population of focus for a given program is loosely determined, policy makers need to work through a series of issues, such as those handled in chapter 3, to make more precise whom they seek to serve.

While the list of targeting methods is not new1 (see table 5.1), the lessons and experience with them have expanded markedly in recent years—how they can be adapted to or combined in different contexts; how they have evolved with growing social protection programming, capacity, and ambition; and with the data revolution. This chapter sketches the list of