Cash Transfers and Food Vouchers for Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Do They Reach the Multi-Dimensionally Poor?

We examine in this paper the determinants of access to transfers in the context of the Syrian refugee influx to Jordan, and, in particular, whether vulnerable refugees based on a multidimensional poverty index, have access to different kinds of transfers. We use a publiclyaccessible, nationally-representative dataset that includes both registered and unregistered refugees to assess the adequacy of targeting of transfers. We analyze access to cash assistance and food vouchers as a function of refugee characteristics separately for those residing in camps and in host communities to identify different patterns of access across the two settings. Our findings indicate that transfers appear to be well-targeted to some vulnerable households in both settings including those with disabled members, those with a higher ratio of children among their members, and those with no workers. However, other markers of vulnerability, such as having an older household head, a high proportion of elderly members, or no educated members in the household, appear to be associated with reduced access to transfers. As a result, 37 percent of multidimensional poor households in both settings do not have access to any transfers. Outside the camp setting, these markers of vulnerability are also associated with a lack of registration, which is itself a major barrier to accessing transfers.