Proxy means testing

TABLE 4.2 Administrative Costs of Targeting for Soioctod Means-Tested and Proxy Means-Tested Programs, Variens Years... 

Individual or Household Assessment. Castaneda and Lindert (2005) provide an in-depth treatment of the implementation details of household targeting systems based on case studies of Brazii s unverified means test Chile s, Colombia s, Costa Rica s, and Mexico s proxy means tests and the verified means tests used in the United States. It is especially rich in dealing with the details of data collection, database management, and the like. 

Tesliuo and others (forthcoming) provide an in-depth treatment of the implementation of means-tested systems based on case studies in Albania, Bulgaria, the Kyrgyz Republic, Lithuania, and Romania and on Armenia s proxy means test. 

The minimum skills required relate to the targeting method used and how data collection is organized. For proxy means tests, much of the work required for data collection using massive survey drives is contracted out to professional survey teams that will understand the questionnaire and survey techniques, but may know little about the program or social policy. Their job is basically to collect the data that determine eligibility. 

Castaneda and Lindert (2005) consider experience with information systems for several Latin American means and proxy means testing systems. They identify the following lessons ... 

When Coady, Grosh, and Hoddinott (2004) undertook their study, outcome data were only available for a few of the new proxy means tests. Since then data have become available for several more programs, all of which are quite well targeted. If these measurements had been part of the original study proxy means tests would likely have joined the ranks of the methods that reliably produce progressive results. 

However, evaluations cannot answer every question policy makers might ask in relation to a particular program. In particular, they cannot address many what if questions. What if the program were made national What if the proxy means-test formulas were changed Such questions can be examined, even if not definitively, using a variety of ex... 

The best targeting mechanisms for food transfer programs include the use of individual targeting mechanisms, such as means tests and proxy means tests self-targeting meth-... 

CCT programs have mostly developed a combination of careful targeting mechanisms, usually involving poverty maps and proxy means tests, and sometimes community targeting, to select individual households. As is usual with targeting systems, implementation details are crucial to achieve the desired targeting outcomes (see chapter 4). 

Armenia 1999 Replacement of 26 categorically targeted payments with a single proxy means-tested family benefit... 

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