Tunisia - From universal food subsidies to a self-targeted program
Bruton, Henry J. | Hill, Catharine B. [editors]
From 1970 to 1990, the Tunisian government universally subsidized the consumption of basic food-stuffs and a variety of other items. After this period, it launched a series of reforms designed to introduce quality differentiation and improve the targeting of food subsidies. This report describes the self-targeting approach, under which subsidized products are available to all, but are selected specifically to discourage the rich from consuming them. This case study of Tunisia evaluates the effectiveness and makes a mid-term assessment of the impact of targeted food subsidies, particularly on the poor. The study provides a basis from which policy-makers in Tunisia can sharpen their targeting mechanisms, and offers a useful example for other countries on methods of designing and implementing effective self-targeting reform programs. The goal of the self-targeting component is to modify existing institutions in order to reduce leakages to the non-poor and cut the scope of the program, yet protect the welfare and consumption of the poor. It is important to note that the program of self-targeting via quality differentiation in Tunisia is appropriate precisely because a system of food price subsidies was already in place. In cases where self-targeting is deemed appropriate, the technicalities of the program are likely to be specific to the region or country in question.
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