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Social Rate of Return: A New Tool for Evaluating Social Programs

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Social Welfare Functions and Development
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Abstract

A growing number of developing countries are investing in a variety of social programs to improve the welfare of their people, particularly those who are poor and vulnerable. In fact, these programs have become an important pillar of economic development policies. According to a World Bank report The State of Social Safety Nets 2015, as many as 1.9 billion people are beneficiaries of safety net programs; of which, 44 % receive in-kind transfers, 37 % receive cash based transfers, and the remaining 19 % receive other forms of benefits such as fee waivers.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A social welfare function is quasi-concave if \( \min \left[W(x),W(y)\right]\le W(\rho x+\left(1-\rho \right) \) y) for any ρ with \( 0<\rho <1 \) and for any two vectors x and y in the domain of W.

  2. 2.

    A high administrative cost is incurred when the program targets specific groups such as the poor and vulnerable.

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Kakwani, N., Son, H.H. (2016). Social Rate of Return: A New Tool for Evaluating Social Programs. In: Social Welfare Functions and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58325-3_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58325-3_10

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-58324-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-58325-3

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