IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/fpr/fcnddp/174.html

Evaluating the cost of poverty alleviation transfer programs: an illustration based on PROGRESA in Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Coady, David
  • Perez, Raul
  • Vera-Ilamas, Hadid

Abstract

"A common criticism of antipoverty programs is that the high share of administrative (nontransfer) costs substantially reduces their effectiveness in alleviating poverty. Yet there is surprisingly little hard empirical evidence on such programs' costs. A recent international review of targeted poverty alleviation programs in less developed countries found cost information which was rarely comparable between studies for fewer than one-third of the programs examined. Improved information and a better understanding of the costs of such programs are crucial for effective policymaking. This study proposes and implements a methodology for a comparative analysis of the level and structure of costs of three similar poverty alleviation programs in Latin America, in order to assess their cost-efficiency. The findings underscore that any credible assessment of cost-efficiency requires a detailed analysis of program cost structures that goes well beyond simply providing aggregate cost information." Authors' Abstract

Suggested Citation

  • Coady, David & Perez, Raul & Vera-Ilamas, Hadid, 2004. "Evaluating the cost of poverty alleviation transfer programs: an illustration based on PROGRESA in Mexico," FCND discussion papers 174, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:fcnddp:174
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/160647
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Coady & Margaret Grosh & John Hoddinott, 2004. "Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries : Review of Lessons and Experience," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 14902, April.
    2. Newman, John & Rawlings, Laura & Gertler, Paul, 1994. "Using Randomized Control Designs in Evaluating Social Sector Programs in Developing Countries," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 9(2), pages 181-201, July.
    3. Maluccio, John A. & Flores, Rafael, 2004. "Impact evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program: the Nicaraguan Red de Protección Social," FCND discussion papers 184, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Natàlia Caldés & John A. Maluccio, 2005. "The cost of conditional cash transfers," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(2), pages 151-168.
    5. Haddad, Lawrence James & Adato, Michelle, 2001. "How Effectively Do Public Works Program Transfer Benefits To The Poor? Evidence From South Africa," FCND Discussion Papers 16394, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Hoddinott, John & Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2004. "The Impact of PROGRESA on Food Consumption," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(1), pages 37-61, October.
    7. Behrman, Jere R & Sengupta, Piyali & Todd, Petra, 2005. "Progressing through PROGRESA: An Impact Assessment of a School Subsidy Experiment in Rural Mexico," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 237-275, October.
    8. Behrman, Jere R. & Hoddinott, John, 2001. "An Evaluation Of The Impact Of Progresa On Pre-School Child Height," Discussion Paper Briefs 15917, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Fafchamps, Marcel & Quisumbing, Agnes R., 1999. "Social roles, human capital, and the intrahousehold division of labor," FCND discussion papers 73, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Schultz, T. Paul, 2001. "School subsidies for the poor," FCND briefs 102, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Caldes, Natalia & Coady, David P. & Maluccio, John A., 2004. "The Cost Of Poverty Alleviation Transfer Programs: A Comparative Analysis Of Three Programs In Latin America," FCND Discussion Papers 16419, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Caldes, Natalia & Coady, David & Maluccio, John A., 2006. "The cost of poverty alleviation transfer programs: A comparative analysis of three programs in Latin America," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 818-837, May.
    2. Amanda Glassman & Jessica Todd, 2007. "Performance-Based Incentives for Health: Conditional Cash Transfer Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean," Working Papers 120, Center for Global Development.
    3. Maluccio, John, 2005. "Coping with the “coffee crisis†in Central America: the role of the Nicaraguan Red de Protección Social," FCND discussion papers 188, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Maluccio, John A. & Flores, Rafael, 2004. "Impact evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program: the Nicaraguan Red de Protección Social," FCND discussion papers 184, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Skoufias, Emmanuel & McClafferty, Bonnie, 2001. "Is PROGRESA working? summary of the results of an evaluation by IFPRI," FCND discussion papers 118, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Coady, David & Perez, Raul & Vera-Ilamas, Hadid, 2005. "Evaluating the cost of poverty alleviation transfer programs: an illustration based on PROGRESA in Mexico," FCND discussion papers 199, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Rawlings, Laura B. & Rubio, Gloria M., 2003. "Evaluating the impact of conditional cash transfer programs : lessons from Latin America," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3119, The World Bank.
    8. Schady, Norbert & Rosero, José, 2008. "Are cash transfers made to women spent like other sources of income?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 101(3), pages 246-248, December.
    9. Coady, David, 2004. "Designing and evaluating social safety nets: theory, evidence, and policy conclusions," FCND discussion papers 172, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Gustavo J. Bobonis, 2011. "The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Marriage and Divorce," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(2), pages 281-312.
    11. de Brauw, Alan & Hoddinott, John, 2011. "Must conditional cash transfer programs be conditioned to be effective? The impact of conditioning transfers on school enrollment in Mexico," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 359-370, November.
    12. Caldes, Natalia & Coady, David P. & Maluccio, John A., 2004. "The Cost Of Poverty Alleviation Transfer Programs: A Comparative Analysis Of Three Programs In Latin America," FCND Discussion Papers 16419, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Justine Burns & Malcolm Kewsell & Rebecca Thornton, 2009. "Evaluating the Impact of Health Programmes," SALDRU Working Papers 40, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    14. Arndt, Channing & Simler, Kenneth R., 2005. "Estimating utility-consistent poverty lines," FCND briefs 189, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    15. Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2004. "Are experience and schooling complementary? Evidence from migrants' assimilation in the Bangkok labor market," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 489-513, August.
    16. del Ninno, Carlo & Dorosh, Paul A. & Smith, Lisa C., 2003. "Public policy, food markets, and household coping strategies in Bangladesh: lessons from the 1998 floods," FCND discussion papers 156, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    17. Yamauchi, Futoshi, 2007. "Social learning, neighborhood effects, and investment in human capital: Evidence from Green-Revolution India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 37-62, May.
    18. Ahmed, Akhter U. & Arends-Kuenning, Mary, 2006. "Do crowded classrooms crowd out learning? Evidence from the food for education program in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 665-684, April.
    19. Felipe Barrera-Osorio & Marianne Bertrand & Leigh L. Linden & Francisco Perez-Calle, 2008. "Conditional Cash Transfers in Education Design Features, Peer and Sibling Effects Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in Colombia," NBER Working Papers 13890, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:fpr:fcnddp:174. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ifprius.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.