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LOCAL DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECTS OF GOVERNMENT CASH TRANSFERS IN CHILE
Author(s) -
Agostini Claudio A.,
Brown Philip H.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
review of income and wealth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.024
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1475-4991
pISSN - 0034-6586
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2009.00373.x
Subject(s) - cash transfers , economics , poverty , inequality , subsidy , poverty reduction , cash , public economics , development economics , government (linguistics) , macroeconomics , economic growth , market economy , mathematical analysis , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics
Despite rapid economic growth and poverty reduction, inequality in Chile has remained high and remarkably constant over the last 20 years, prompting academic and public interest in the subject. Due to data limitations, however, research on inequality in Chile has concentrated on the national and regional levels. The impact of cash subsidies to poor households on local inequality is thus not well understood. Using poverty‐mapping methods to asses this impact, we find heterogeneity in the effectiveness of regional and municipal governments in reducing inequality via poverty‐reduction transfers, suggesting that alternative targeting regimes may complement current practice in aiding the poor.