Targeting assistance to the poor and food insecure : a review of literature

This report reviews existing literature on food aid targeting, with emphasis on two main types: administrative targeting by preset indicators (exogenous and socioeconomic differences as well as those of sex, age, and health), and self-targeting via appeal to consumer preferences, the use of restrictive distribution methods, and public works programs. According to the report, appropriate targeting mechanisms are those which identify and select the target population as quickly and accurately as possible with minimum fiscal burden. Since the costs of administrative targeting of individual households outweigh the benefits, the evidence appears to favor self-targeting mechanisms, especially the provision of subsidized inferior commodities and labor-intensive public works. Potential advantages of these methods include more accurate identification of the food insecure, more timely provision of assistance, less political and social opposition, and lower economic and administrative costs. Public works programs, when successful, have been flexible in design and have paid attention to the local culture, geography, and economy. Effectiveness may also be improved, inter alia, by: (1) coordinating with national economic policy as well as regional and national development goals; (2) allowing the free flow of private information and trade; (3) keeping public works wages sufficiently low to discourage the non-target population; and (4) coordinating with national or international early warning systems. Any targeting involves a tradeoff, but the total disincentive effects are likely to be small relative to the benefits of greater nutrition to productivity and human capital. Includes 8-page bibliography.