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Coping with intelligence deficits in poverty-alleviation policies in low-income countries

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  • William Ascher

    (Claremont McKenna College)

Abstract

Poverty-alleviation initiatives in lower-income countries are challenged by intelligence deficits that cause suboptimal designs that threaten their effectiveness, targeting, and sustainability. The uncertainty of theory and information, the adverse consequences of conventional family-level “means testing,” and unpredictable future events and conditions call for auto-targeting and auto-correcting policy designs with built-in adaptive capacity. Numerous categories and examples of these designs from multiple countries are presented.

Suggested Citation

  • William Ascher, 2021. "Coping with intelligence deficits in poverty-alleviation policies in low-income countries," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 54(2), pages 345-370, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:policy:v:54:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s11077-020-09412-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11077-020-09412-0
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    2. Yuanyuan Zhang & Chenyujing Yang & Shaocong Yan & Wukui Wang & Yongji Xue, 2023. "Alleviating Relative Poverty in Rural China through a Diffusion Schema of Returning Farmer Entrepreneurship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.
    3. Chu Qin & Wei Zhang, 2022. "Green, poverty reduction and spatial spillover: an analysis from 21 provinces of China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13610-13629, December.

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