1. Cash Transfers Cornelia Mihaela Tesliuc Social Safety Nets Core Course
February 26, 2008 1

2. Cash Transfers: Summary Sheet
Needs Based transfers (which include food stamps), non-contributory pensions, family allowance
Intended Beneficiaries
Poor working families
Those not expected to work – children, the elderly, disabled
Those needing temporary relief
Targeting Methods
Means and proxy means and/or
Categorical: children, old, disabled, etc.
Key Design Features
Good administration for selection of beneficiaries and cash/food stamp distribution
Distribution and reclamation chain for food stamps
Advantages
Have lower administrative costs than many other programs
Do not distort prices
Transfers can directly meet critical household needs
Benefits can be differentiated by level of need, household size or composition, etc.
Disadvantages
Targeting methods can be information intensive
Transfers are fungible, subject to unintended household uses
Appropriate Context
Essential commodities available on the private market 2

3. Outline What are cash transfers? Types of programs
How important are they?
Pros and cons
When are cash transfer appropriate?
Design considerations 3

4. A word of caution on terminology
Universal versus targeted programs
The only universal SSN program is subsidies – all individuals can benefit
All other SSN programs, including “universal child allowances”, are targeted. Targeting method: categorical / demographic
Cash transfers may be conditional or unconditional
“Conditional transfer” refers to the requirement that some condition must be fulfilled by the recipient in order to receive the program transfer, such as workfare or human capital investment
“Unconditional” DOES NOT mean “universal” 4

5. Types of cash transfer programs
Cash transfer programs provide cash or near-cash assistance to the poor and certain deserving or vulnerable groups.
Objective: Increase the incomes of the poor; facilitate government reforms; protect the poor from shocks.
Type of programs
A. Needs-based social assistance programs
B. Social pensions: noncontributory transfers to offset the risks of old age
C. Family allowances
D. Food stamps
E. Tax Credits 5

6. A. Need-based Social Assistance Programs
Common in OECD, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and some Latin American countries.
Aimed at chronic poor
Government funded
May be guaranteed minimum income program, or last-resort social assistance program
Involve some sort of means-testing (income and asset testing for GMI, proxy-means testing for last-resort)
Income threshold: may be linked to average or minimum statutory wages, or minimum cost of living 6

7. A. Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMIs)
Examples:
(most European OECD countries)
Belgium;
Bulgaria;
Czech Republic;
Estonia;
Finland;
France;
Germany;
Hungary;
Romania;
Slovakia.
Targeted cash assistance that guarantees a minimum for households below an income threshold;
A safety net for the poorest, aims to cover the bottom 5-10% of the population. In practice, most cover less than 5%;
Complementary to other social protection (pensions, unemployment benefits, family allowances);
Benefit levels are generally equal to the difference between monthly hh income and the threshold, but vary according to hh size;
Targeting based on income and asset testing by social workers through social welfare offices;
Common in the new EU states, which introduced GMIs following the collapse of full employment under socialism; and OECD countries

8. Example: Bulgaria Guaranteed Minimum Income Basic design features
Target group
Poorest 10%
Targeting method
Income and asset test
Eligibility criteria
Income, assets, family composition
Eligibility rules
Nationally determined
Financing
Central budget 100%
Implementation
Deconcentrated units of the line ministry
Benefit level
~28 Euro ( June 1, 2005)
Varies depending of the applicant’s earned income
Benefit formula
GMI Treshold – Total income of the family 8 8

9. Spending on GMIs in EU and Transition economies
In 2003/2004, the spending on GMIs in EU25 countries ranged between 0 (few countries which at the moment did not have such a scheme) and 0.8 percent of GDP, with an average of 0.2% of GDP. 9

10. GMIs Outcomes in selected countries
Coverage – percentage of persons covered in each quintile
Targeting – percentage of funds going to each quintile
Adequacy – share of beneficiaries’ consumption covered by the benefit
Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania
Means tested income support are residual programs
Spending around 0.2% of the GDP on these benefits 10

11. GMIs Outcomes (cont’d)11

12. B. Social Pensions Examples: Australia, New Zeeland
Canada
South Africa,
Namibia,
Mauritius,
Botswana
India,
Bangladesh
Nepal
Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Brazil
Designed to offset old-age poverty risk, for those above age 65 who:
Incomplete employment history
Informal sector workers who prefer to stay outside contributory system
Lifetime poor
Funded mainly from general revenues, social insurance fund or payroll surcharge
Benefit: ranges from 14% to 36% of average wage
Setting appropriate benefit level
If high relative to minimum contributory undermines incentives to contribute (Uruguay case)
If too low, won’t contribute to poverty alleviation, admin costs become large share of total (Argentina, Turkey)
Total cost can vary:
70% of poverty specific threshold to those 65+ in 15 African countries ranges from 0.7% of GDP in Madagascar to 2.4% in Ethiopia (Kakwani and Subarrao, 2004) 12

13. Social Pension Examples
Chile: shifted from a social-insurance to a mandatory private insurance system in Govt. fully funds a minimum social pension (equivalent to $39/month) as a “bottom tier” of the privately funded system to men >65 and women>60. Covers abound 8-10% of pensioners.
Bangladesh: Govt. funded; community targeted means-tested social pension for low-income >57 years persons. Provides Taka 120/month ($2). 13 13

14. Social Pension Brazil and South Africa example
Factors behind the development of development of non-contributory pensions
Government committed to expand welfare
Explicit redistribution from urban to rural to reduce migration
Cash transfers to poor older people politically acceptable because less likely to create work disincentives
Social pensions seen as instrumental in reducing social unrest

15. Social Pension Brazil and South Africa example
Impacts
South Africa
Incidence of poverty (at 1$/day) would have been 40% rather than 35% in the absence of pensions (Case and Deaton, 1998)
Health status of children and older people were higher in benficiary HHs (Case 2001)
Enrollment rates of school age children higher among pension beneficiary households (Duflo 2003)
Brazil
Increased access to credit (electronic banking card used as proof of creditworthiness (Schwarzer and Quero, 2002)
Use part of pensions to purchase seeds and agricultural tools (Delago and Cardoso, 2000)
Enrollment rates of school age children higher among pension beneficiary households (Carvalho 2000)

16. C. Family allowances
Offset child raising costs (32-45% of LDC population are kids compared to 15-18% in higher income nations).
Easy to identify beneficiary families
Can be pro- or anti-natalist
Wide child age eligibility range (<3 to <21)
Often a flat-rate benefit, birth grant and other allowances provided
Recent trend: targeting, mean-testing and higher benefits for the poor and for unwed mothers
Higher benefits accorded to families with children with special needs
Examples:
Most OECD European countries
Central and Eastern Europe, Former Soviet Union countries
South Africa
Argentina 16

17. Example: Family allowance The South African Child Support Grant
Introduced in 1998 to replace the state maintenance grant. As of 2006, the program provides a monthly grant of R 190 (about US$27) to 7.1 million poor children younger than 14.
65 percent of all the children in South Africa live in families that would qualify for the program and 80 percent of these actually participate into the program.
Take-up rates were lower when the program first started because of the difficulty of getting documentation for children and caregivers.
The government made substantial efforts and was able to increase the participation of poor children in the program, but some work remains to be done to reach those poor families without proper documentation

18. The South African Child Support Grant, cont.
Implementing agency: the South African Social Security Agency, separate government agency
Eligibility: documentation to demonstrate primary responsibility for care giving, proof of age, official proof of employment and income of the applicant and spouse
Payment of benefits: managed and monitored at national level and disbursed by third party contractors at provincial level
Low administrative costs
Impact: program linked to reduction in poverty, higher labor market participation, and increase in school attainment.

19. D. Near Cash: Food Stamps
Food stamps, vouchers or coupons are cash-like instruments that can be used to purchase food at authorized retail locations
The value of the stamp is backed by gov. commitment to pay
Amount of transfer based on the gap between the amount spent on food and the amount needed to acquire a minimum food basket
Some programs restrict HHs to buy only a few specific foods or they may allow them to purchase any food
Examples:
United States
Honduras
Sri Lanka
Mexico
Colombia
Jamaica (until 2002)

20. Tax Credits (TCs) Examples:
Income support provided through the tax system for those who work and fill an income tax statement.
People with earnings below a set level of income pay negative tax (e.g. receive a transfer) on the shortfall of their earnings below the threshold;
Can take the form of a cash benefit (UK), and/or as a reduction in the amount of taxes paid or withheld from earnings (US, Netherlands);
May be accompanied by other assistance, including credits for child care and housing (UK, NZ are focused on family support);
Preconditions are a global income tax; personal ID #s; small informal sector (no TCs exist in high informality EU countries (Greece, Portugal).
Examples:
US: EITC;
UK: Working Families Tax Credit;
NZ: Working for Families;
Netherlands: Tax Credit;
Ireland: Family Income Supplement;
Australia: Family Tax Benefit
Canada: Child Tax Benefit.

21. GMI (monthly cash allowances)
Different cash transfer programs often weave a comprehensive SSN: example from Bulgaria
Targeted Social Assistance Programs
GMI (monthly cash allowances)
Heating allowances
Child allowances
General objectives –poverty alleviation:
(а) to assist citizens who are not able to satisfy their basic living needs on their own;
(b) social reintegration of beneficiaries;
Specific objectives:
to add up to the incomes of poor persons and families up to a legally defined threshold;
to stimulate an active behavior (work requirement);
to contribute to the social integration of beneficiaries (link to other services).
to guarantee minimum heating for low income groups of population in winter season.
to encourage low-income parents to bring up their children;
to stimulate children to go to school.
Targeting method
Means test combined with the category approach (filters)
Eligibility criteria
Centrally determined.
income, family size, age, labor and health status of applicants and their family
income status of families and enrolment in school
Type of financing
Based on the principle of national solidarity:
Financed from general revenues from taxes.

22. How Important are Cash Transfers?
Level of spending
Coverage of the poorest
Generosity (level of benefit) 22

23. How Important are Cash Transfers? Spending on Social Insurance and SSNs23

24. How Important are Cash Transfers
How Important are Cash Transfers? Coverage of the poorest 20% by SP programs in transition economies
Coverage of the poorest quintile by Social Protection Programs
Countries ranked in decreasing order by per capita GDP in 2000 PPP 24

25. How Important are Cash Transfers? Generosity: Need-based assistance25

26. How Important are Cash Transfers? Generosity: Family allowances26

27. How Important are Cash Transfers? Generosity : Social Pensions27

28. How Important are Cash Transfers? Generosity : social assistance
Transfers as a share of Total income/consumption, selected countries in Latin America
Source: Linder, Shapiro, Skoufias (2006) Redistributing Income to the Poor: Public Transfers in Latin America and the Caribbean 28

29. Cash transfers: Pros and Cons
Least-cost solution to reduce current poverty.
Subject to price inflation
Consumer decide how to use the cash to meet their needs
Use might not be optimal (unintended use of transfers) – if not with women
Do not distort prices
Work disincentives
Automatic stabilizers (guaranteed minimum income programs)
Attractive to local elites –limited political popularity
Benefits can be differentiated by level of need, household size, composition
Implementation can be information intensive
Low administrative costs
Reduces fiscal discretion, contributes to expenditure creep 29

30. When is Cash Appropriate?
To reduce current (income or consumption) poverty
When transitory shocks (or reforms) trigger large welfare losses among the vulnerable
When the vulnerable have either permanent or mobile access to financial facilities
When food is too costly to transport, and is locally available.
During emergencies when there is an adequate food supply.
When the “demand” for health, nutrition and education services is insufficient (or the returns from child labor too high) for parents to improve children’s human resource development 30

31. When are cash transfers an inappropriate part of a safety net?
Shallow financial markets (hard to move cash)
When administrative targeting is not possible, hence self-targeting is the only option (no inferior cash)
When supply of essential goods and services has been disrupted (wars, natural disasters)
When programs aim explicitly to modify recipient consumption behavior (e.g. cash rarely given to substance abuse victims)
When safety net is funded with in-kind contributions (e.g. food aid recipient countries) 31

32. Design Considerations
Keep expectations reasonable (!)
Program responds appropriately to risk and is fiscally sustainable
Resources targeted to the needy/vulnerable
Benefits are adequate
Avoid undesired incentive effects (will be covered in a separate session)
Transfers are gender inclusive
Adequate administrative capacity
Political support is sustainable 32

33. 1. Reasonable Expectations
Cash transfers don’t “solve” poverty or eliminate risk
Some benefit leakage will occur
Not all needy can be covered by any single program
Urban-bias happens
Number of programs typically expands when social protection systems are developed 33

34. 2. Program is Sustainable
Long-term sustainability
Adequate budget available for annual total benefit outlays and administrative costs
Threat to sustainability: insufficient budget to meet program objectives
Arrears
Discretionary, instead of rule-based allocation of benefits
Partial payments
Understaffing, which leads to greater leakage
Ad hoc adjustment to inflation, erosion of purchasing power 34

35. 2. Program responds appropriately to risk Estimating Transfer Costs: Needs-Based Program35

36. 3. Targeting: Beneficiary Selection and Exit Rules
Other sessions will cover targeting in detail;
No “perfect” targeting:
Target groups typically receive 30-75% of direct benefits in cash transfer programs around the world;
Cash transfers are better targeted than in-kind
Entry and exit conditions must be well-known and be enforced:
Must be a steady flow of expected entry and exits to avoid dependency and exploding costs 36

37. 4. Benefits are adequate Generosity Incentive effects. Concerns over:
Covered in a separate section
Generosity
measured by replacement-income concept or transfer-to-wage ratios
Incentive effects. Concerns over:
Reduction of the labor effort of beneficiaries
Crowding out of private transfers (remittances, charity)
Changes in savings and investment behavior
Changes in attitudes (e.g. less motivation to acquire human capital) 37

38. 6. Making Cash Transfers Gender-Inclusive
Why?
Female headed households may face greater risks
Women may make better use of transfers
Poverty payoffs to better women’s nutrition and empowerment shown to reduce half or more of infant malnutrition.
How?
Gender reviews to identify risks and legislative inequity
Old-age pensions and family allowances tend to “self-target” women
Legislative reform to provide equal access to welfare 38

39. 7. Administrative Capacity to Deliver
Challenges
Political interference in staffing & investment
Fragmented policy making and programs fragmented amongst many agencies
Delays in processing claims
Poor record-keeping
Failure to explain the schemes to members and public
Poor terms of service
Excessively complex procedures and regulations
Neglect of compliance, M&E and policy research functions
Reform Options
Establish professional criteria and staff certification boards
Separate policy and operational aspects---contract out the later to social partners
Consolidate and harmonize programs
Central gov to prepare guidelines and local govs to prepare implementation rules
Earmark funds for M&E, audit, and policy research
Automation after basic systems in place 39

40. 8. Sustainable Political Support
New programs tend to start during a crisis but political interest quickly fades;
Avoid changing structure of key programs to de-politicize the intervention;
Analysis, information outreach and social partner consultation can help build political consensus and sustain support
Programs with good M&E may gain and maintain support
Political sensitization needed to avoid patronage in design, and conflict between assistance and development spending
Universal or narrow targeting 40

41. Cash Transfers: Summary Sheet
Needs Based transfers (which include food stamps), non-contributory pensions, family allowance
Intended Beneficiaries
Poor working families
Those not expected to work – children, the elderly, disabled
Those needing temporary relief
Targeting Methods
Means and proxy means and/or
Categorical: children, old, disabled, etc.
Key Design Features
Good administration for selection of beneficiaries and cash/food stamp distribution
Distribution and reclamation chain for food stamps
Advantages
Have lower administrative costs than many other programs
Do not distort prices
Transfers can directly meet critical household needs
Benefits can be differentiated by level of need, household size or composition, etc.
Disadvantages
Targeting methods can be information intensive
Transfers are fungible, subject to unintended household uses
Appropriate Context
Essential commodities available on the private market 41 41