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Ration Cards in Egypt: Targeting, Leakage, and Costs

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  • Hebatallah Ghoneim

    (Faculty of Management Technology, The German University in Cairo)

Abstract

Huge public deficits set a restructuring of the subsidy system at the forefront of Egyptian public policy reforms. This generates a great tension to the government specially that a quarter of the population is living in poverty and relies on food subsidies. As a compromise, the government has introduced a number of reforms in order to stop a further increase of the subsidy costs and to reduce the inefficiency of the system. One of the core elements of the reforms was the introduction of the smart ration card in 2010. Three years after the introduction, this economic policy paper assesses the success of this reform by assessing the targeting effect, the leakage situation, and the cost effectiveness of the smart ration card. The analysis is based on a number of interviews and on a questionnaire, which was distributed in the Cairo region.

Suggested Citation

  • Hebatallah Ghoneim, 2013. "Ration Cards in Egypt: Targeting, Leakage, and Costs," Working Papers 36, The German University in Cairo, Faculty of Management Technology.
    • Handle: RePEc:guc:wpaper:36
    as

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    File URL: http://mgt.guc.edu.eg/wpapers/036ghoneim2013.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2013
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Adams, Richard H., 2000. "Self-targeted subsidies - the distributional impact of the Egyptian food subsidy system," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2322, The World Bank.
    2. Ahmed, Akhter U. & Gutner, Tamar & Lofgren, Hans & Bouis, Howarth E., 2001. "The Egyptian food subsidy system: structure, performance, and options for reform," Research reports 119, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Alderman, Harold & von Braun, Joachim & Sakr, Sakr Ahmed, 1982. "Egypt's food subsidy and rationing system: a description," Research reports 34, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Richard H. Adams, Jr., 2000. "Self-Targeted Subsidies: The Political and Distributional Impact of the Egyptian Food Subsidy System," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 49(1), pages 115-136.
    5. Besley, Timothy J & Kanbur, S M Ravi, 1988. "Food Subsidies and Poverty Alleviation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(392), pages 701-719, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food subsidy; social safety net; ration card; poverty; Egypt;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • H71 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • O23 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Development

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