HKS Affiliated Authors

Excerpt

Universal Basic Incomes vs. Targeted Transfers: Anti-Poverty Programs in Developing Countries. Rema Hanna, August 2018, Paper, " Developing country governments are increasingly implementing cash assistance programs to combat poverty and inequality. This paper examines the potential tradeoffs between targeting these transfers towards low income households versus providing universal cash transfers, also known as a Universal Basic Income. We start by discussing how the fact that most households in poor countries do not pay income taxes changes how we conceptually think about Universal Basic Incomes. We then analyze data from two countries, Indonesia and Peru, to document the tradeoffs involved." Link