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Poverty alleviation strategies under informality: evidence for Latin America

Author

Listed:
  • Martin Caruso Bloeck

    (University of California, Berkeley)

  • Sebastian Galiani

    (University of Maryland)

  • Federico Weinschelbaum

    (Universidad Tocuato di Tella)

Abstract

Strategies based on growth and inequality reduction require a long-run horizon, and this paper therefore argues that those strategies need to be complemented by poverty alleviation programs. With regards to such programs, informality in Latin America and the Caribbean is a primary obstacle to carry out means testing income-support programs, and countries in the region have therefore mostly relied on proxy means testing mechanisms. This paper studies the relative effectiveness of these and other mechanisms by way of a formal model in which workers choose between job opportunities in the formal and informal sectors. Although the means testing mechanism allows for a more pro-poor design of transfers, it distorts labor decisions made by workers. On the other hand, (exogenous) proxy means testing does not cause distortions, but its pro-poor quality is constrained by the power of observable characteristics to infer income levels. However, since taxation is necessary to fund programs, redistribution becomes less effective, especially for programs other than means testing. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these results for the design of more efficient targeting programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Caruso Bloeck & Sebastian Galiani & Federico Weinschelbaum, 2019. "Poverty alleviation strategies under informality: evidence for Latin America," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-40, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:laecrv:v:28:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1186_s40503-019-0074-4
    DOI: 10.1186/s40503-019-0074-4
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    1. Agustin Redonda & Christopher Axelson, 2021. "Assessing pension-related tax expenditures in South Africa: Evidence from the 2016 retirement reform," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-54, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Poverty; Inequality; Means testing; Proxy means testing; Latin America and the Caribbean;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J38 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Public Policy
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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