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Reaching the Poor: Cash Transfer Program Targeting in Cameroon

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  • Stoeffler, Quentin
  • Mills, Bradford
  • del Ninno, Carlo

Abstract

This paper assesses the ex-post performance of two popular targeting mechanisms, Proxy Means Testing (PMT) and Community-Based Targeting (CBT), in a pilot cash transfer program in Cameroon. CBT is found to perform poorly in terms of selecting households with low per capita consumption when compared to PMT. CBT appears to select households with low physical and human capital, regardless of actual consumption level and shows more variability in the selection decision than PMT. The results suggest caution is needed in employing CBT methods to select households with low per capita consumption in an environment with high poverty rates and limited administrative capacity.

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  • Stoeffler, Quentin & Mills, Bradford & del Ninno, Carlo, 2015. "Reaching the Poor: Cash Transfer Program Targeting in Cameroon," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205270, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea15:205270
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.205270
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    2. Follett, Lendie & Henderson, Heath, 2023. "A hybrid approach to targeting social assistance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    3. Lendie Follett & Heath Henderson, 2022. "A hybrid approach to targeting social assistance," Papers 2201.01356, arXiv.org.
    4. Basurto, Maria Pia & Dupas, Pascaline & Robinson, Jonathan, 2020. "Decentralization and efficiency of subsidy targeting: Evidence from chiefs in rural Malawi," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
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    6. Hillebrecht, Michael & Klonner, Stefan & Pacere, Noraogo A., 2020. "Dynamic Properties of Poverty Targeting," Working Papers 0696, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    7. Brown, Caitlin & Ravallion, Martin & van de Walle, Dominique, 2018. "A poor means test? Econometric targeting in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 109-124.
    8. Schnitzer,Pascale & Stoeffler,Quentin, 2021. "Targeting for Social Safety Nets : Evidence from Nine Programs in the Sahel," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9816, The World Bank.
    9. Patrick Premand & Pascale Schnitzer, 2021. "Efficiency, Legitimacy, and Impacts of Targeting Methods: Evidence from an Experiment in Niger," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(4), pages 892-920.
    10. Han, Huawei & Gao, Qin, 2019. "Community-based welfare targeting and political elite capture: Evidence from rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 145-159.
    11. Henderson, Heath & Follett, Lendie, 2022. "Targeting social safety net programs on human capabilities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    12. Jensen, Nathaniel & Stoeffler, Quentin & Fava, Francesco & Vrieling, Anton & Atzberger, Clement & Meroni, Michele & Mude, Andrew & Carter, Michael, 2019. "Does the design matter? Comparing satellite-based indices for insuring pastoralists against drought," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 59-73.
    13. M. Savy & S. Fortin & Y. Kameli & S. Renault & C. Couderc & A. Gamli & K. Amouzou & M. L. Perenze & Y. Martin-Prevel, 2020. "Impact of a food voucher program in alleviating household food insecurity in two cities in Senegal during a food price crisis," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(2), pages 465-478, April.
    14. Quentin Stoeffler & Francis Fontshi & Aimé Lungela, 2020. "Targeting in Practice: A Review of Existing Mechanisms for Beneficiary Selection in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 824-829, July.
    15. Hillebrecht, Michael & Klonner, Stefan & Pacere, Noraogo A., 2023. "The dynamics of poverty targeting," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    16. Fuchs, Lisa Elena & Orero, Levi & Apondi, Victoria Atieno & Kipkorir, Lang'at, 2021. "How to stop wasting money in international development: Using a structured group selection approach to counter procedural inefficiency," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    17. Porisky, Alesha & Mohamed, Tahira Shariff & Muthui, Patrick Mutinda, 2023. "Kenya’s ‘Universal’ social pension: The politics of registration in Marsabit County," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    18. Houssou, Nazaire & Asante-Addo, Collins & Andam, Kwaw S., 2017. "Improving the targeting of fertilizer subsidy programs in Africa south of the Sahara: Perspectives from the Ghanaian experience," IFPRI discussion papers 1622, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Della Guardia, Anne & Lake, Milli & Schnitzer, Pascale, 2022. "Selective inclusion in cash transfer programs: Unintended consequences for social cohesion," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).

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