Christian, Paul2016-08-032016-08-032015-07-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/24785Public transfer programs that allow beneficiaries to choose the transferred good may be more efficient, but the poorest beneficiaries may not participate if the good chosen is too costly. A model shows that program targeting and consumption impacts are tied to selected quality of the provided good. Evidence from a randomized trial in rural India in which groups of beneficiaries choose the variety of rice to be offered as a subsidized loan confirms that choosing lower cost goods self-targets the program towards the poorest beneficiaries. Consumption impacts are biggest for wealthiest households and may be negative for moderately poor households.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOFOOD NEEDSSUBSTITUTIONFOOD CONSUMPTION PATTERNSUTILITY FUNCTIONSFEEDBACKFOOD CONSUMPTIONINCOMEAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONSHGMARGINAL COSTINTEREST RATEPROGRAMSTYINGDISTRIBUTION OF INCOMEWELFAREIMPACTSINDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLDSDISTRIBUTIONAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICSVARIABLESSUBSIDYPRICECORRUPTIONQUALITYWEALTHINFLATIONCHANGE IN CONSUMPTIONPRICE VARIATIONCHOICEMAIZETOTAL EXPENDITUREINTERVENTIONCOOKINGTOTAL CONSUMPTIONSURPLUSINTEREST RATESCRITERIADEBTMARKETSNUTRITIVE VALUEINDICATORSRESEARCHPRODUCTPRICE SUBSIDIESUTILITYHOUSEHOLD WEALTHGRAINSFOOD AIDSUBSIDIESMARKET PRICEEXPENDITURENORMAL GOODINFERIOR GOODSGENERAL EQUILIBRIUMCONSUMPTIONSTAPLE FOODSBUDGET CONSTRAINTGOODFOOD SECURITYSUBSTITUTEECONOMETRIC ANALYSISPROGRAM EVALUATIONCONTROL GROUPSMARKET PRICESPARTICIPATIONVALUECREDITSURPLUS VALUEDEMANDUTILITY FUNCTIONCONSUMER PRICEEXPENDITURESCONSUMERSMEASUREMENTMARKETFOOD TRANSFERSFOODSURVEYSFUNCTIONAL FORMSFOOD INSECURITYTARGETINGFOOD SUBSIDIESFOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMSCAPGOODSTHEORYWEALTHY HOUSEHOLDSEVALUATIONSTATISTICSHOUSEHOLDSPOVERTYSELF HELP GROUPSSUPPLYPURCHASINGINCIDENCE OF POVERTYREDUCTION IN CONSUMPTIONWHEATDISTRIBUTION OF WEALTHRICEHOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURESLIVELIHOODSWHOLESALERSCONSUMPTION LEVELSOUTCOMESHOUSEHOLD DEBTFOODSMARGINAL UTILITYEXPENDITURE DISTRIBUTIONCONSUMPTION INCREASESMARGINAL UTILITY OF CONSUMPTIONHOUSEHOLD EXPENDITUREFOOD SUBSIDYPRICESPARTICIPATION RATESSTORAGEWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/24785