The methods to select safety net beneficiaries are the subject of frequent policy debates. This paper presents the results from a randomized experiment analyzing how efficiency, legitimacy, and short-term program effectiveness vary across widely used targeting methods. ... See More + The experiment was embedded in the roll-out of a national cash transfer program in Niger. Eligible villages were randomly assigned to have beneficiary households selected through community-based targeting, a proxy-means test, or a formula designed to identify the food-insecure. Proxy-means testing is found to outperform other methods in identifying households with lower consumption per capita. The methods perform similarly against other welfare benchmarks. Legitimacy is high across all methods, but local populations have a slight preference for formula-based approaches. Manipulation and information imperfections are found to affect community-based targeting, although triangulation across multiple selection committees mitigates the related risks. Finally, short-term program impacts on food security are largest among households selected by proxy-means testing. Overall, the differences in performance across targeting methods are small relative to the overall level of exclusion stemming from limited funding for social programs.  See Less -

Document Type: Policy Research Working Paper Report No.: WPS8412 Document Date: APR 18, 2018

Author: Premand,Patrick; Schnitzer,Pascale Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP8717 Document Date: APR 17, 2018

Author: Nivine Nivine Riad El Kabbag Document also available in: Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP8614 Document Date: APR 12, 2018

Author: Manish Bhattarai Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Project Information Document Report No.: Document Date: APR 11, 2018

Author: Farole,Thomas Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Project Information and Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet Report No.: PIDISDSC23934 Document Date: APR 10, 2018

Author: Coll-Black,Sarah Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP8466 Document Date: APR 06, 2018

Author: Lantonirina Ramaroson Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP8455 Document Date: APR 05, 2018

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Implementation Completion Report Review Report No.: ICRR0020873 Document Date: APR 05, 2018

Author: IEG Review Team Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Implementation Status and Results ReportSocial Protection Project Report No.: ISR31828 Document Date: MAR 30, 2018

Author: Onishi,Junko Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Document Type: Procurement Plan Report No.: STEP8290 Document Date: MAR 29, 2018

Disclosure Status: Disclosed