Comparing community-based and data-driven targeting approaches for humanitarian assistance: Evidence from Southern Madagascar

Food assistance transfers in cash and in kind are a critical part of the response to food insecurity; and resources are always meagre in comparison to the need, making targeting recipients critically important. Food assistance transfers in cash and in kind are a critical part of the response to food insecurity; and resources are always meagre in comparison to the need, making targeting recipients critically important. We use representative monthly panel data collected over two years from 1,800 households in Madagascar’s Great South, paired with administrative data on targeting and assistance received, to investigate two core questions. First, how different are the households identified through different targeting methods, in terms of who is targeted and their characteristics and/or needs? Second, which group improves more, and for longer, following the receipt of assistance?