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Targeting the Poor Using Community Information

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Author Info
Ashok S. Rai
Abstract

Governments and aid agencies target transfers to the poor, but audits to deter the rich are costly. This paper analyzes how community information can reduce targeting costs. If each community is given a hard budget constraint, then targeting costs can be substantially reduced by asking recipients to make reports about each other. Such a scheme is immune to collusion. Community information is of no help in targeting, however, if (a) it cannot be veri…ed by audits or (b) the government cannot commit to a hard budget constraint.

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Paper provided by Center for International Development at Harvard University in its series CID Working Papers with number 22.

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Handle: RePEc:wop:cidhav:22

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Postal: Center for International Development at Harvard University (CID). 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
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Web page: http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidwp/
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Related research
Keywords: Targeting Community Information Audits Collusion Poverty.

Find related papers by JEL classification:
I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Besley, T. & Coate, S., 1989. "Workfare Vs. Welfare: Incentive Arguments For Work Requirements In Poverty Alleviation Programs," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 314, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
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  2. Ma, Ching-To, 1988. "Unique Implementation of Incentive Contracts with Many Agents," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 55(4), pages 555-72, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Bardhan, Pranab & Mookherjee, Dilip, 2005. "Decentralizing antipoverty program delivery in developing countries," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(4), pages 675-704, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Chambers, Robert, 1994. "Participatory rural appraisal (PRA): Challenges, potentials and paradigm," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(10), pages 1437-1454, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Matthew O. Jackson, 2001. "A crash course in implementation theory," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 655-708. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Mookherjee, Dilip & Png, Ivan, 1989. "Optimal Auditing, Insurance, and Redistribution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 104(2), pages 399-415, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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