Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?

Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?

In the last few years, proposals to introduce a universal basic income or universal basic income (UBI) have proliferated. Proponents point out that narrowly targeted programs exclude many of the poor. Critics point out that universality spreads lim...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Majoka, Zaineb, Palacios, Robert
Format: Brief
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2019
Subjects:
SOCIAL PROTECTION
TARGETING
POVERTY REDUCTION
SOCIAL SAFETY NETS
CASH TRANSFERS
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
POVERTY LINE
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/748311574398803352/Targeting-versus-Universality-Is-There-a-Middle-Ground
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32789
id okr-10986-32789
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-327892021-09-16T15:06:02Z Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground? Majoka, Zaineb Palacios, Robert SOCIAL PROTECTION TARGETING POVERTY REDUCTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS CASH TRANSFERS SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POVERTY LINE In the last few years, proposals to introduce a universal basic income or universal basic income (UBI) have proliferated. Proponents point out that narrowly targeted programs exclude many of the poor. Critics point out that universality spreads limited resources thinly over the population limiting the impact on poverty for a given level of spending. While high income countries can claw back the transfer to the higher income group through a progressive income tax, this is not possible in developing countries where most people operate in the informal sector. This note looks at an alternative to either narrow targeting or UBI. It uses household survey data from 52 low and middle-income countries to compare the poverty impact of a UBI to a transfer that is gradually reduced as estimated consumption increases. The taper can be set at different rates and can lead to zero transfers to households above a chosen threshold. The tapered UBI (TUBI) can be based on proxy indicators for unobserved income from special surveys and administrative databases. Both are becoming more common as government databases are digitized. 2019-12-05T17:23:13Z 2019-12-05T17:23:13Z 2019-10 Brief http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/748311574398803352/Targeting-versus-Universality-Is-There-a-Middle-Ground http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32789 English Social Protection and Jobs Policy and Technical Note,no. 22; CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Brief
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic SOCIAL PROTECTION
TARGETING
POVERTY REDUCTION
SOCIAL SAFETY NETS
CASH TRANSFERS
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
POVERTY LINE
spellingShingle SOCIAL PROTECTION
TARGETING
POVERTY REDUCTION
SOCIAL SAFETY NETS
CASH TRANSFERS
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
POVERTY LINE
Majoka, Zaineb
Palacios, Robert
Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?
relation Social Protection and Jobs Policy and Technical Note,no. 22;
description In the last few years, proposals to introduce a universal basic income or universal basic income (UBI) have proliferated. Proponents point out that narrowly targeted programs exclude many of the poor. Critics point out that universality spreads limited resources thinly over the population limiting the impact on poverty for a given level of spending. While high income countries can claw back the transfer to the higher income group through a progressive income tax, this is not possible in developing countries where most people operate in the informal sector. This note looks at an alternative to either narrow targeting or UBI. It uses household survey data from 52 low and middle-income countries to compare the poverty impact of a UBI to a transfer that is gradually reduced as estimated consumption increases. The taper can be set at different rates and can lead to zero transfers to households above a chosen threshold. The tapered UBI (TUBI) can be based on proxy indicators for unobserved income from special surveys and administrative databases. Both are becoming more common as government databases are digitized.
format Brief
author Majoka, Zaineb
Palacios, Robert
author_facet Majoka, Zaineb
Palacios, Robert
author_sort Majoka, Zaineb
title Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?
title_short Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?
title_full Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?
title_fullStr Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?
title_full_unstemmed Targeting versus Universality : Is There a Middle Ground?
title_sort targeting versus universality : is there a middle ground?
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2019
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/748311574398803352/Targeting-versus-Universality-Is-There-a-Middle-Ground
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32789
_version_ 1764477300238188544

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