From BEP roundtable discussion: Targeting in Developments

1. Policy and Research Intersection
on Targeting
Bridging Evidence and Policy Seminar Series
Sikandra Kurdi
Egypt Country Program
IFPRI
Cairo | October 2, 2023

2. • Choose targeting approach
• Select specific policy
variables (i.e. cutoffs,
weights)
• Communicate approach to
stakeholders
• Evaluate targeting relative to
objectives
• Evaluate relationship between
targeting and impact
• Describe theoretical trade-offs
• Use theory to predict behavioral
responses
• Use data to develop formulas
for predicting poverty or other
characteristics
• Set and prioritize objectives
Policy Research
Policy
Research
Policy/ Research Intersection on Targeting

3. IFPRI Research on Targeting in Egypt
 IFPRI targeting evaluation of Takaful in 2017
oInclusion and exclusion errors similar to other large scale PMT
programs
oHighest exclusion errors in urban areas where outreach had not been
intensive
oTakaful impacts were higher among older households
oAnalysis using ELMPS panel data highlights that household PMT
score is higher with age even after controlling for consumption
oSupports recent change in policy to have higher cut-offs for older
households
 Ongoing evaluation of overlap in targeting between Takaful and EFB
oEFB impacts are higher on non-Takaful beneficiaries

4. State of the Global Literature on Targeting
Recent literature review Banerjee, Hanna, Olken, Lisker (August 2023)
 Experimentation with new modalities of targeting (remote sensing, telephone data)
 Technical adjustments in PMT some gains from quantile-based regression, machine
learning but not major improvements
 Examine degree to which PMT induces mis-reporting (India, Mexico)
 Degree to which self-selection models create distortions in labor supply (India, US,
Indonesia)
 Compare PMT based targeting/ community-based targeting (Indonesia, Liberia, India,
Malawi, Niger, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire) – generally less effective than PMT, though
some studies find preferred by community and much cheaper
 Future research needed:
o How to improve community-based targeting
o How to improve dynamic targeting

5. Motivations to discuss and research targeting in Egypt
 Egypt experience can contribute to global literature and regional literature
oRecent explosion of social protection programming in MENA region
 Policy goals in Egypt:
oInform targeting of major national programs:
oTakaful and Karama
oTamween
oShare lessons learned among NGOs to improve targeting of other
development programs
oUnderstand how Takaful/ Tamween targeting complements targeting by
other development interventions