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Journal of Political Economy Vol. 126 No. 2 2018

Tangible Information and Citizen Empowerment: Identification Cards and Food Subsidy Programs in Indonesia

Abhijit Banerjee1; Rema Hanna2; Jordan Kyle3; Benjamin A. Olken1; Sudarno Sumarto4

1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology · 2 Harvard University Press · 3 International Food Policy Research Institute · 4 Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulan Kemiskinan (TNP2K) and SMERU Research Institute

Abstract

Redistribution programs in developing countries often “leak” because local officials do not implement programs as the central government intends. We study one approach to reducing leakage. In an experiment in over 550 villages, we test whether mailing cards with program information to targeted beneficiaries increases the subsidy they receive from a subsidized rice program. On net, beneficiaries received 26 percent more subsidy in card villages. Ineligible households received no less, so this represents substantially lower leakage.

DOI
10.1086/696226
Volume
126
Issue
2
Pages
451-491
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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