Abstract
For policy purposes, it is often as useful to assess the impact of reforms to a benefit or public expenditure program as it is to evaluate the effect of existing programs. For administrative or political reasons, it may indeed be impossible to eliminate or to amend dramatically the structure of existing programs. Hence, comparing a current tax or benefit program with a situation in which it is supposed not to exist may not be very useful for practical purposes. Marginal reforms to such programs are nevertheless often feasible, and we therefore focus on them in this chapter. As we will see, focusing on marginal reforms also has the advantage of making it possible to measure the welfare impact of such reforms independently of the behavioral adjustment that individuals may make in reaction to these reforms.
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(2006). Poverty Alleviation: Policy and Growth. In: Poverty and Equity. Economic Studies in Inequality, Social Exclusion and Well-Being, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-33318-5_12
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