Comparing the poverty-reduction efficiency of targeted versus universal benefits amid crises

Adnan Shahir, Ravi Kanbur, Jukka Pirttilä and Pia Rattenhuber

No wp-2023-100, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: This study evaluates which type of benefit—a universal benefit, a proxy mean-tested benefit, or a categorical benefit— better cushions the poverty effects of income shocks in a developing economy. We compare the effectiveness of the three benefit schemes on poverty first conceptually and then by considering two different crisis scenarios, the COVID-19 pandemic and a hypothetical agricultural shock, in a tax-benefit microsimulation model for Ethiopia.

Keywords: Social protection; Income distribution; Poverty; Microsimulation; COVID-19; Ethiopia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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