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This paper compares for 13 Latin American countries the poverty and inequality impacts of cash transfer programs that are given to all children and the elderly (that is, "categorical" transfers), to programs of equal budget that are confined to the poor within each population group (that is, "poverty targeted" transfers). The analysis finds that both the incidence of poverty and the depth of the poverty gap are important factors affecting the relative effectiveness of categorical versus poverty targeted transfers. The comparison of transfers to children and the elderly also supports the view that choosing carefully categories of beneficiaries is almost as important as targeting the poor for achieving a high poverty and inequality impact. Overall, the findings suggest that although in the Latin American context poverty targeting tends to deliver higher poverty impacts, there are circumstances under which categorical targeting confined to geographical regions (sometimes called "geographic targeting") may be a valid option to consider. This is particularly the case in low-income countries with widespread pockets of poverty.

Cash transfer programs --- Inequality --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Poverty gap --- Poverty Monitoring & Analysis --- Poverty Reduction --- Poverty targeted transfers --- Regional Economic Development --- Rural Poverty Reduction --- Services & Transfers to Poor --- Social Development

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This paper compares for 13 Latin American countries the poverty and inequality impacts of cash transfer programs that are given to all children and the elderly (that is, "categorical" transfers), to programs of equal budget that are confined to the poor within each population group (that is, "poverty targeted" transfers). The analysis finds that both the incidence of poverty and the depth of the poverty gap are important factors affecting the relative effectiveness of categorical versus poverty targeted transfers. The comparison of transfers to children and the elderly also supports the view that choosing carefully categories of beneficiaries is almost as important as targeting the poor for achieving a high poverty and inequality impact. Overall, the findings suggest that although in the Latin American context poverty targeting tends to deliver higher poverty impacts, there are circumstances under which categorical targeting confined to geographical regions (sometimes called "geographic targeting") may be a valid option to consider. This is particularly the case in low-income countries with widespread pockets of poverty.

Cash transfer programs --- Inequality --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Poverty gap --- Poverty Monitoring & Analysis --- Poverty Reduction --- Poverty targeted transfers --- Regional Economic Development --- Rural Poverty Reduction --- Services & Transfers to Poor --- Social Development

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This open access book asks whether cash-transfer programs for very low-income households promote social and economic citizenship and, if so, under what conditions. To this end, it brings together elements that are too often considered separately: the transformation of social and economic citizenship rights in a market-centered context, and the increasing popularity of cash transfer as an instrument both of social policy and humanitarian action. We link these by juxtaposing theoretical treatment of citizenship and inclusion with concrete policy case studies set in contemporary Turkey. Cases are taken both from domestic social policy and international relief efforts aimed at Syrian refugees. Theoretical discussion and case studies lead to the conclusion that cash transfer programs can promote economic and social inclusion – if deployed at an appropriate scale; if sufficient financial, technical, and social resources are available; and if program design and implementation promotes market inclusion of beneficiaries both as consumers and workers.

Public administration --- Public Policy --- Migration Policy --- Open Access --- market citizenship --- refugees --- cash transfer programs --- humanitarian assistance --- Turkey --- non-governmental organisations --- social cash transfer --- citizenship --- social policy --- European Union --- forced migration --- refugee policy --- ESSN --- humanitarian cash-transfer --- migration --- Citizenship --- Economic development --- Income maintenance programs --- Poor --- Economic aspects. --- Social aspects. --- Social conditions --- Economic policy

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Conditional cash transfers boosted a major reduction in poverty and a significant decrease in inequality in developing countries over the past decade. However, their success in promoting economic development is challenged by the claim that they deal with short-term poverty relief without providing the poor with the tools for breaking away from poverty by their own means. This claim, however, could be dismissed if conditional cash transfers had an effect on entrepreneurship. This paper assesses whether Bolsa-Familia increases the probability of starting a new venture in Brazil, decomposing its potential effects into three channels: alleviation of the wealth constraint, insurance against negative outcomes of risky activities, and reduction of the labor supply of children (through the effect of the conditionality). The effect of each of these channels is separately estimated using data from National Household Surveys in 2004 and 2006, for which the households of transfer beneficiaries can be identified. The results indicate that entrepreneurship is indeed stimulated by the program in urban areas throughout the insurance and wealth constraint alleviation effects, notwithstanding that new ventures are typically secondary sources of income. Finally, the conditionality seems not to have an impact on the level of entrepreneurship.

Cash transfer programs --- Cash transfers --- Developing countries --- Economic development --- Economic Theory & Research --- Emerging Markets --- Labor Policies --- Labor supply --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Outcomes --- Poor --- Poverty --- Poverty Reduction --- Private Sector Development --- Rural Poverty Reduction --- Services & Transfers to Poor --- Social Protections and Labor --- Wealth

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Although weather shocks are a major source of income fluctuation, most of the world's poor lack insurance coverage against them. Absence of formal insurance contributes to poverty traps, as investment decisions are conflicted with risk management ones: risk-averse farmers tend to underinvest and produce lower yielding yet safer crops. In the past few years, weather index insurance has gained increasing attention as an effective tool to provide small-scale farmers coverage against aggregate shocks. However, there is little empirical evidence about its effectiveness. This paper studies the effect of the recently introduced rainfall-indexed insurance on farmers' productivity, risk management strategies, as well as per capita income and expenditure in Mexico. The identification strategy takes advantage of the variation across counties and across time in which the insurance was rolled-out. The analysis finds that the presence of insurance in treated counties has significant and positive effects on maize productivity. Similarly, there is a positive association between the presence of insurance in the municipality and rural households' per capita expenditure and income, although no significant relation is found between the presence of insurance and the number of hectares destined for maize production.

Administrative Costs --- Adverse Selection --- Agricultural Development --- Agricultural Insurance --- Agricultural Land --- Agricultural Policy --- Agricultural Production --- Agricultural Productivity --- Agricultural Technology --- Agriculture --- Basis Risk --- Beneficiaries --- Cash Crops --- Cash Transfer Programs --- Cash Transfers --- Checks --- Claims --- Communal Land --- Consumption Smoothing --- Contracts --- Counterfactual --- Covariate Shocks --- Coverage --- Credit --- Crop Insurance --- Crop Varieties --- Crops & Crop Management Systems --- Debt Markets --- Development Economics --- Drought --- Durable --- Durable Assets --- Economics --- Effects --- Efficiency --- Equity --- Exchange --- Expenditure --- Extreme Poverty --- Famine --- Farmers --- Female Labor --- Female Labor Force --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Financial Support --- Guarantee --- Household Head --- Household Income --- Household Survey --- Illiteracy --- Implicit Contracts --- Incentives --- Income --- Income Smoothing --- Indemnity --- Indemnity Payments --- Infant Mortality --- Information --- Insurance --- Insurance & Risk Mitigation --- Insurance Company --- Insurance Contracts --- Insurance Coverage --- Insurance Market --- Insurance Policies --- Insurance Premiums --- Insurance Product --- Insurances --- Insurers --- Interest --- International Bank --- Investment --- Investment Decisions --- Irrigation --- Labor --- Labor Force --- Labor Policies --- Lack of Infrastructure --- Land Quality --- Land Size --- Loans --- Loss --- Malnutrition --- Management --- Market --- Market Failures --- Measures --- Minimum Wages --- Moral Hazard --- Mortality --- Organizations --- Outcomes --- Policies --- Policyholders --- Political Economy --- Poor --- Poor Rural Household --- Poverty --- Poverty Index --- Poverty Levels --- Poverty Reduction --- Premiums --- Private Insurance --- Private Insurance Companies --- Production --- Production of Cash Crops --- Productivity --- Productivity Growth --- Profit --- Programs --- Property Rights --- Rates --- Real Income --- Reinsurance --- Reinsurance Markets --- Rights --- Risk --- Risk Exposure --- Risk Management --- Risk Management Strategies --- Risk Sharing --- Risk Sharing Arrangements --- Risk Taking --- Risk Transfer --- Risks --- Running Water --- Rural --- Rural Areas --- Rural Household --- Rural Level --- Rural Population --- Rural Poverty --- Rural Poverty Reduction --- Rural Settings --- Social Protections and Labor --- Standards --- Supply --- Theory --- Training --- Transfer Programs --- Transfers --- Value --- Wages