Conditional Cash Transfers, Public Provision of Private Goods, and Income Redistribution

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2007
Volume: 97
Issue: 1
Pages: 491-502

Score contribution per author:

4.022 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper examines the role of cash transfers as a screening device when combined with in-kind transfers. It shows that linking in-kind to cash transfers makes first-best redistribution possible despite the government's inability to tell rich and poor individuals apart. Moreover, the maximal attainable welfare for the poor can be pushed beyond its first-best level by distorting downward the quality of the indivisible good the poor receive relative to the cash value of their net transfers. Using in-kind transfers alone, as in Besley and Coate (1991), leads to a third-best solution. (JEL D31, H23, H41)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:97:y:2007:i:1:p:491-502
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25