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Two errors of targeting
Author(s) -
Cornia Giovanni Andrea,
Stewart Frances
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.3380050503
Subject(s) - scope (computer science) , order (exchange) , balance (ability) , government (linguistics) , public economics , development economics , economics , economic growth , political science , psychology , computer science , finance , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience , programming language
The authors analyse the relationship between two errors which commonly arise in the attempt to ‘target’ government expenditures on poor people: ‘E‐mistakes’ in which benefits are provided to the non‐poor as well as the poor, and ‘F‐mistakes’ in which some of the poor fall outside the scope of the programme. Existing redistributive programmes are examined in order to determine the right balance between the two types of error, and the conclusion is reached that in a majority of cases universal‐benefit programmes dominate programmes of precisely targeted support.