Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America

This paper compares for 13 Latin American countries the poverty and inequality impacts of cash transfer programs that are given to all children and the elderly (that is, "categorical" transfers), to programs of equal budget that are confi...

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Main Authors:	Acosta, Pablo, Leite, Phillipe, Rigolini, Jamele
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE POVERTY ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS CARIBBEAN REGION CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS CHANGES IN POVERTY COST EFFECTIVENESS COST-EFFECTIVENESS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC SHOCKS ELDERLY PEOPLE EXTREME POOR HOUSEHOLDS EXTREME POVERTY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN FAMILY MEMBERS FOOD POLICY GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS HEALTH INSURANCE HOUSEHOLD HEADS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IMPACT ON POVERTY INCIDENCE OF POVERTY INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME QUINTILE INEQUALITY OLD AGE PARTICIPATION COSTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POOR POOR BENEFICIARIES POOR CHILDREN POOR EDUCATION POOR HOUSEHOLDS POOR PEOPLE POOR VILLAGES POORER FAMILIES POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS POVERTY GAP POVERTY IMPACT POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INCIDENCE POVERTY LINE POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY STATUS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCTION IN POVERTY REMOTE AREAS RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL HOUSEHOLD RURAL POOR SAFETY NET SAFETY NETS SERVICE DELIVERY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS TARGETED INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TRANSFERS TARGETING TARGETING MECHANISMS TAXATION TRANSPARENCY VULNERABLE GROUPS WIDESPREAD POVERTY
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111108083448 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3642

id	okr-10986-3642
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spelling	okr-10986-36422021-04-23T14:02:11Z Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America Acosta, Pablo Leite, Phillipe Rigolini, Jamele ABSOLUTE POVERTY ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS CARIBBEAN REGION CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS CHANGES IN POVERTY COST EFFECTIVENESS COST-EFFECTIVENESS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC SHOCKS ELDERLY PEOPLE EXTREME POOR HOUSEHOLDS EXTREME POVERTY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN FAMILY MEMBERS FOOD POLICY GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS HEALTH INSURANCE HOUSEHOLD HEADS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IMPACT ON POVERTY INCIDENCE OF POVERTY INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME QUINTILE INEQUALITY OLD AGE PARTICIPATION COSTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POOR POOR BENEFICIARIES POOR CHILDREN POOR EDUCATION POOR HOUSEHOLDS POOR PEOPLE POOR VILLAGES POORER FAMILIES POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS POVERTY GAP POVERTY IMPACT POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INCIDENCE POVERTY LINE POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY STATUS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCTION IN POVERTY REMOTE AREAS RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL HOUSEHOLD RURAL POOR SAFETY NET SAFETY NETS SERVICE DELIVERY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS TARGETED INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TRANSFERS TARGETING TARGETING MECHANISMS TAXATION TRANSPARENCY VULNERABLE GROUPS WIDESPREAD POVERTY This paper compares for 13 Latin American countries the poverty and inequality impacts of cash transfer programs that are given to all children and the elderly (that is, "categorical" transfers), to programs of equal budget that are confined to the poor within each population group (that is, "poverty targeted" transfers). The analysis finds that both the incidence of poverty and the depth of the poverty gap are important factors affecting the relative effectiveness of categorical versus poverty targeted transfers. The comparison of transfers to children and the elderly also supports the view that choosing carefully categories of beneficiaries is almost as important as targeting the poor for achieving a high poverty and inequality impact. Overall, the findings suggest that although in the Latin American context poverty targeting tends to deliver higher poverty impacts, there are circumstances under which categorical targeting confined to geographical regions (sometimes called "geographic targeting") may be a valid option to consider. This is particularly the case in low-income countries with widespread pockets of poverty. 2012-03-19T18:06:04Z 2012-03-19T18:06:04Z 2011-11-01 http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111108083448 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3642 English Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5875 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Latin America & Caribbean Latin America & Caribbean
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	ABSOLUTE POVERTY ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS CARIBBEAN REGION CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS CHANGES IN POVERTY COST EFFECTIVENESS COST-EFFECTIVENESS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC SHOCKS ELDERLY PEOPLE EXTREME POOR HOUSEHOLDS EXTREME POVERTY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN FAMILY MEMBERS FOOD POLICY GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS HEALTH INSURANCE HOUSEHOLD HEADS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IMPACT ON POVERTY INCIDENCE OF POVERTY INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME QUINTILE INEQUALITY OLD AGE PARTICIPATION COSTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POOR POOR BENEFICIARIES POOR CHILDREN POOR EDUCATION POOR HOUSEHOLDS POOR PEOPLE POOR VILLAGES POORER FAMILIES POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS POVERTY GAP POVERTY IMPACT POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INCIDENCE POVERTY LINE POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY STATUS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCTION IN POVERTY REMOTE AREAS RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL HOUSEHOLD RURAL POOR SAFETY NET SAFETY NETS SERVICE DELIVERY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS TARGETED INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TRANSFERS TARGETING TARGETING MECHANISMS TAXATION TRANSPARENCY VULNERABLE GROUPS WIDESPREAD POVERTY
spellingShingle	ABSOLUTE POVERTY ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS CARIBBEAN REGION CASH TRANSFER PROGRAM CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMS CASH TRANSFERS CHANGES IN POVERTY COST EFFECTIVENESS COST-EFFECTIVENESS ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC SHOCKS ELDERLY PEOPLE EXTREME POOR HOUSEHOLDS EXTREME POVERTY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN FAMILY MEMBERS FOOD POLICY GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS HEALTH INSURANCE HOUSEHOLD HEADS HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IMPACT ON POVERTY INCIDENCE OF POVERTY INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME QUINTILE INEQUALITY OLD AGE PARTICIPATION COSTS POLITICAL ECONOMY POOR POOR BENEFICIARIES POOR CHILDREN POOR EDUCATION POOR HOUSEHOLDS POOR PEOPLE POOR VILLAGES POORER FAMILIES POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY ALLEVIATION PROGRAMS POVERTY GAP POVERTY IMPACT POVERTY IMPACTS POVERTY INCIDENCE POVERTY LINE POVERTY RATES POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY STATUS PUBLIC SPENDING REDUCTION IN POVERTY REMOTE AREAS RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL HOUSEHOLD RURAL POOR SAFETY NET SAFETY NETS SERVICE DELIVERY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS TARGETED INTERVENTIONS TARGETED TRANSFERS TARGETING TARGETING MECHANISMS TAXATION TRANSPARENCY VULNERABLE GROUPS WIDESPREAD POVERTY Acosta, Pablo Leite, Phillipe Rigolini, Jamele Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
geographic_facet	Latin America & Caribbean Latin America & Caribbean
relation	Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5875
description	This paper compares for 13 Latin American countries the poverty and inequality impacts of cash transfer programs that are given to all children and the elderly (that is, "categorical" transfers), to programs of equal budget that are confined to the poor within each population group (that is, "poverty targeted" transfers). The analysis finds that both the incidence of poverty and the depth of the poverty gap are important factors affecting the relative effectiveness of categorical versus poverty targeted transfers. The comparison of transfers to children and the elderly also supports the view that choosing carefully categories of beneficiaries is almost as important as targeting the poor for achieving a high poverty and inequality impact. Overall, the findings suggest that although in the Latin American context poverty targeting tends to deliver higher poverty impacts, there are circumstances under which categorical targeting confined to geographical regions (sometimes called "geographic targeting") may be a valid option to consider. This is particularly the case in low-income countries with widespread pockets of poverty.
format	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author	Acosta, Pablo Leite, Phillipe Rigolini, Jamele
author_facet	Acosta, Pablo Leite, Phillipe Rigolini, Jamele
author_sort	Acosta, Pablo
title	Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
title_short	Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
title_full	Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
title_fullStr	Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
title_full_unstemmed	Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America
title_sort	should cash transfers be confined to the poor? implications for poverty and inequality in latin america
publishDate	2012
url	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111108083448 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3642
_version_	1764387577512591360

Should Cash Transfers Be Confined to the Poor? Implications for Poverty and Inequality in Latin America

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