Government Programs and Poverty

Wodon, Quentin (2001): Government Programs and Poverty. Published in: Mexico: A Comprehensive Development Agenda for the New Era (September 2001): pp. 569-616.

Abstract

The strategy of the Zedillo Administration for the reduction of poverty relied on both broad-based social expenditures and targeted poverty programs. Broad-based social expenditures are devoted to the areas of social security and healthcare, education, job training, and housing. Targeted poverty programs focus on investing in the human capital of the poor, promoting income and employment opportunities for the poor, and improving the physical infrastructure of poor areas. Public funding for targeted programs has increased much faster over the last dozen years than the programmable budget. Within targeted spending, half of the funds are devoted to human capital, a third to physical infrastructure, and the rest to income opportunities. This paper is based on the poverty assessment for Mexico completed by the World Bank. It evaluates the impact of government programs and policies on poverty. After summarizing the key findings through 10 strategic questions, the paper reviews broad-based social expenditure and government programs targeted to the poor.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Mexico; poverty; government programs; impact evaluation
• Subjects: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty > I38 - Government Policy ; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H53 - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs

References

Siaens, C., and Q. Wodon, 2003, Food Subsidies and Consumption Inequality in Mexico, Estadística (Journal of the Inter-American Statistical Institute), 55(164-5): 283-302.

Cord, C., and Q. Wodon, 2001, Do Mexico’s Agricultural Programs Alleviate Poverty? Evidence from the Ejido Sector, Cuadernos de Economía, 114: 239-56.

Wodon, Q., B. de la Brière, C. Siaens, and S. Yitzhaki, 2003, The Impact of Public Transfers on Inequality and Social Welfare: Comparing Mexico’s PROGRESA to Other Government Programs, in Y. Amiel and J. A Bishop, editors, Fiscal Policy, Inequality and Welfare, Research on Economic Inequality, Volume 10, Elsevier Science/JAI Press, Amsterdam, 147-171.

Wodon Q., and M. Minowa, 2001, Training for the Urban Unemployed: A Reevaluation of Mexico’s Probecat, in S. Devaradjan, F. Hasley, and L. Squire, editors, World Bank Economists' Forum, World Bank, Washington DC, 197-215.

Wodon, Q., and E. Velez, 2001, Poverty and Inequality, in M. Giugale, O. Lafourcade, and V. Nguyen, editors, Mexico: A Comprehensive Development Agenda for the New Era, World Bank, Washington, DC, 85-116.