Social Protection- Targeting the Poor? UNU, Maastricht University 2012

There has been an ongoing debate on whether and to what degree non-contributory social transfers should be targeted to the poor, to all citizens in a particular vulnerability category (e.g. people with disabilities, affected by HIV, the elderly) or apply universally to every citizen. A number of authors have argued that going universal is a win-win situation, both for the poor, the middle class as well as those who are in power. We would therefore expect broad-based support behind a universal scheme, in particular in countries where poverty is widespread. On the basis of attitudinal surveys with the urban, rural and student population in Zambia, findings actually detect more support for targeting the poor than could be predicted. These findings are corroborated by experimental evidence from rural Zambia but need to be researched in other countries also.