Geographic inequity in a decentralized anti-poverty program : a case study of China, Vol. 1 of 1

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Geographic inequity in a decentralized anti-poverty program : a case study of China

Author:	Ravallion, Martin;	Collection Title:	Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 4303
Country:	World;	Date Stored:	2007/08/06
Document Date:	2007/08/01	Document Type:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English	Rel. Proj ID:	1W-Growth And Trade Policy -- -- P109675;
Region:	The World Region	Report Number:	WPS4303
SubTopics:	Poverty Monitoring & Analysis; Economic Theory & Research; Inequality; ; Services & Transfers to Poor	Volume No:	1 of 1

Summary: The central governments of many developing countries have chosen to decentralize their anti-poverty programs, in the expectation that local agents are better informed about local needs. The paper shows that this potential advantage of decentralized eligibility criteria can come at a large cost, to the extent that the induced geographic inequities undermine performance in reaching the income- poor nationally. These issues are studied empirically for (probably) the largest transfer-based poverty program in the world, namely China's Di Bao program, which aims to assure a minimum income through means-tested transfers. Poor municipalities are found to adopt systematically lower eligibility thresholds, reducing the program's ability to reach poor areas, and generating considerable horizontal inequity.


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