Poor targeting: a response to Pathways’ paper on how best to reach those in poverty
Nicholas Freeland Sometimes in life there are things that you know, instinctively, to be true; but you lack the proof with which to convince others. It is then particularly gratifying when the necessary proof emerges. I have experienced just such a moment of gratification with the appearance of Development Pathways’...
Can anthropological research inform the design of social protection schemes?
Maia Green Programmes that give money to poor households are implemented across the Global South as part of donor-financed development assistance. Originally designed as a short–term ameliorative for the social impacts of structural adjustment in Latin America, they are now components of development–oriented social policy in countries as diverse as Kenya, the Philippines, Egypt, Ethiopia,...
Social security innovation: is it always the right thing to do?
Matthew Greenslade In the world of international development, why are we all so obsessed by innovation? At the right time, social security innovation is important, vital even, but why is there a bias among donors towards the new? This bias can sound progressive, but it often comes at a cost,...
Double Jeopardy: How Poverty Targeting Mechanisms Unfairly Impact on Families with a Disabled Member
Our guest blogger Ilene Zeitzer, is President of Disability Policy Solutions. An internationally recognised expert on comparative disability policy, Ms. Zeitzer has worked in more than 65 countries on various disability-related issues. In social protection policy, there is probably no better example of the unintentional consequences of well-intentioned policies than poverty...
Targeting Evaluation of the Somalia Shock-Responsive Safety Net for Human Capital Project (SNHCP)
Development Pathways, in partnership with Samuel Hall, conducted a targeting evaluation of the Shock-responsive Safety Net for Human Capital Project (SNHCP). The report finds the SNHCP to be a success in reaching many vulnerable households in challenging environments. By reflecting on these successes and challenges the report provides insights into the lessons learnt for which similar cash transfer programmes can build on in the future.
Book Review: “Revisiting Targeting in Social Assistance: A New Look at Old Dilemmas”
Nicholas Freeland's take on the latest World Bank book on targeting in social assistance.
Three reasons community-based targeting is a threat to social stability
Guest blogger Kia Howson shares why using community-based targeting to define who receives social security can come at a price for many. The number of conflict-affected countries has more than doubled over the last decade.[1] Many low- and middle- income countries are unable to respond to the multitude of challenges they...