This paper interprets case studies and theory on community involvement in beneficiary
selection and benefit delivery for social safety nets. Several considerations should be …

We review theoretical explanations for in-kind transfers in light of the limited empirical
evidence. After reviewing the traditional paternalistic arguments, we consider explanations …

In many societies, individuals care how others view them. In their efforts to impress, such
individuals engage in consumption signals which attempt to establish higher levels of status …

We consider an economy where most of the health care is publicly provided, and where
there is waiting time for several types of treatments. Private health care without waiting time …

This paper examines the role of public provision of goods as a redistributive mechanism
when tax policies are designed optimally on the basis of the information available to the …

Making a transfer in kind reduces its value to recipients but can improve targeting. We
develop an approach to quantifying this tradeoff and apply it to home care. Using …

We present a model in which the crucial distinction between rich and poor countries is that
governments in rich countries have access to a more productive tax collection technology …

A standard argument in welfare economics maintains that private goods should not be
publicly provided, because cash transfers are always superior to in‐kind transfers. However …

The paper investigates whether price subsidization or public provision of a private good, x, is
the more efficient redistributional instrument in addition to an optimal nonlinear income tax …

Established consumption theory relies heavily on application of individualistic frames and
market models of behavior. A framework built around consumption-oriented groups would …