Decentralization and efficiency of subsidy targeting: Evidence from chiefs in rural Malawi.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Basurto MP
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7224518 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Decentralization and efficiency of subsidy targeting: Evidence from chiefs in rural Malawi.
Basurto Maria Pia MP Dupas Pascaline P Robinson Jonathan J
Journal of public economics 20200501
Lower-income countries spend vast sums on subsidies. Beneficiaries are typically selected via either a proxy-means test (PMT) or through a decentralized identification process led by local leaders. A decentralized allocation may offer informational advantages, but may be prone to elite capture. We study this trade-off in the context of two large-scale subsidy programs in Malawi (for agricultural inputs and food) decentralized to traditional leaders ("chiefs") who are asked to target the needy. U ...[more]
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