Evaluating the Impact of Egyptian Social Fund for Development Programs

The Egyptian Social Fund for Development was established in 1991 with a mandate to reduce poverty. Since its inception, it has disbursed about $2.5 billion, of which nearly two-fifths was devoted to supporting microcredit and financing community de...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Abou-Ali, Hala, El-Azony, Hesham, El-Laithy, Heba, Haughton, Jonathan, Khandker, Shahidur R.
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	2012
Subjects:	ADULT EDUCATION AMOUNT OF MONEY AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS BANKS BASIC NEEDS BENEFICIARIES BORROWER CALCULATIONS CAPACITY BUILDING CASH TRANSFER CHILD MORTALITY CHILD MORTALITY RATE CLINICS COMMERCIAL BANKS COMMUNITIES COMMUNITY CENTERS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION CONSUMER COST EFFECTIVENESS COST RECOVERY COST-EFFECTIVENESS COUNTERFACTUAL DEVELOPMENT BANK DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS DISABILITY DISSEMINATION DIVERSIFICATION DRINKING WATER DURABLE GOODS DWELLING ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC COST EDUCATION PROGRAM EMERGENCY FUND EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EQUALITY ERADICATION OF ILLITERACY FAMILIES FARM ACTIVITIES FARM INCOME FARM OUTPUT FEMALE FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS FEMALES FINANCES FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES FOOD CONSUMPTION FOOD EXPENDITURE FOOD POLICY HEALTH CENTERS HEALTH INTERVENTIONS HEALTH OUTCOMES HEALTH PROGRAMS HEALTH SPENDING HOUSE CONNECTIONS HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES HOUSEHOLD HEAD HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD SPENDING HOUSES HUMAN CAPITAL HUMAN RIGHTS ILLITERACY ILLITERACY RATE ILLNESS ILLNESSES IMMUNIZATION IMPACT ON POVERTY INCIDENCE OF DISEASE INCIDENCE OF POVERTY INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME POVERTY INCOMES INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLDS INFANT INFANT MORTALITY INFLATION INTEREST RATES INTERMEDIARIES INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE INTERVENTION JOB CREATION LABOR MARKET LAWS LENDERS LEVEL OF POVERTY LIFE EXPECTANCY LITERACY PROGRAMS LITERACY RATES LIVING STANDARDS LOAN LOCAL ECONOMY LOCALITIES LOW-INCOME MALARIA MEDICINES MEDIUM ENTERPRISES METAANALYSIS MICROCREDIT PROGRAMS MINIMUM WAGE MINISTRY OF HEALTH MORBIDITY MORTALITY NATIONAL POVERTY NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS NUTRITION POLICY ANALYSIS POLICY RESEARCH POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER POOR POOR AREAS POOR HEALTH POOR HOUSEHOLDS POOR PEOPLE POOR PERSON POPULATION INFORMATION POPULATION SIZE POVERTY GAP POVERTY LINE POVERTY MEASUREMENT POVERTY RATE POVERTY RATES PRE-NATAL CARE PRIMARY HEALTH CARE PRIMARY SCHOOL PRIMARY SCHOOLS PROBABILITY PRODUCTIVITY PROGRESS PUBLIC BUILDINGS PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SPENDING PUBLIC WORKS QUESTIONNAIRE RISK FACTORS RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL DEVELOPMENT RURAL ROADS SAFETY SAFETY NET SAFETY NET PROGRAMS SANITATION SANITATION FACILITIES SAVINGS SCHOOL ENROLMENT SELF-HELP SHELTER SMALL ENTERPRISES SOCIAL DIMENSION SOCIAL EQUITY SOCIAL FUND SOCIAL FUNDS SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIOECONOMIC DATA STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT TARGETING TOTAL COST TRAINING PROGRAMS TRANSPORTATION UNEMPLOYMENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATES URBAN AREAS URBAN DEVELOPMENT VALUATION VILLAGE LEVEL VILLAGES VULNERABLE GROUPS WAGE WAGES WASTE WATER PROJECT WORKING CAPITAL WORLD POPULATION WORTH YOUTH YOUTH CENTERS
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_20090714144602 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/4184

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Summary:	The Egyptian Social Fund for Development was established in 1991 with a mandate to reduce poverty. Since its inception, it has disbursed about $2.5 billion, of which nearly two-fifths was devoted to supporting microcredit and financing community development and infrastructure. This paper investigates the size of the impact of the Fund s interventions, whether the benefits have been commensurate with the costs, and whether the programs have been targeted successfully to the poor. The core of the impact evaluation applies propensity-score matching to data from the 2004/2005 national Household Income, Expenditure and Consumption Survey. The authors find that Egypt s Social Fund for Development programs have had clear and measurable effects, in the expected direction, for all of the programs considered: educational interventions have reduced illiteracy, health and potable water programs have lowered household spending on health, sanitation interventions have cut household spending on sanitation and lowered poverty, and road projects have reduced household transportation costs by 20 percent. Microcredit is associated with higher household expenditures in metropolitan areas and urban Upper Egypt, but not elsewhere. The Social Fund for Development s road projects generate benefits that, by some estimates, exceed the costs, as do health and potable water interventions; this is less evident for interventions in education and sanitation. The Fund argues that its mission is primarily social, and so should not be judged using a cost-benefit analysis. The Fund support for microcredit is strongly pro-poor; the other programs analyzed have a more modest pro-poor orientation.

Evaluating the Impact of Egyptian Social Fund for Development Programs

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