TARGETING MECHANISMS IN TURKEY

REPUBLIC OF TURKEYMINISTRY OF FAMILY AND SOCIAL POLICYGeneral Directorate of Social Assistance

PRESENTATION PLAN

• Targeting mechanisms

• Targeting mechanisms used in Turkey

• Project for Developing The Scoring Formula Determining the

Beneficiaries of Social Asistances

• Changes over time in the targeting mechanisms of Turkey

TARGETING MECHANISMS

How to determine of individual’s/household’s eligibility for assistances?

TARGETING MECHANISMS-INDIVIDUAL AND/OR HOUSEHOLD EVALUATION-MEANS TESTS

TARGETING MECHANISMS-INDIVIDUAL AND/OR HOUSEHOLD EVALUATION

Community-Based Targeting

•A group or community leader decides who will benefit from the assistance•Easy to apply•Less bureaucratical procedures and staff members•Subjective decisions are used

GROUP TARGETING

• A person who live in a certain geographical location is eligible to receive a social assistance

• Easy to apply• Administratively and

bureaucratically cost-effective

• A person who has a certain demographical characteristics (as age, gender) is eligible to receive a social assistance

• Easily managed• Less bureaucratic procedures

SELF TARGETING

• These programs are arranged in such a way that the poor benefitted from the program providing more advantage than those who are wealthier.

For example, low wages policy.

TARGETING MECHANISMS USED IN TURKEY

TARGETING MECHANISMS USED IN TURKEY

Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations

Administrative records are obtained by central databases of other institutions in ISAS•Population and adress information•Employment Type and Status•Social Security•Income Status•Property Status•Tax liability•Farmer Registration Status•Assistances of other institutions•Unemployment Benefits…

Another informations about households are obtained by application form which is saved in ISAS•Disability condition•Health status•Educational status•Immigration status•Workability status (as the state of be willing to work…)•Other sources of income (as rental income)•Debt situation•Wealth status•Type of house•State spending•Housing facilities …

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM (DSS)

•Administrative Records•Household’s score (obtained scoring formulas)•House visits

10

PROJECT FOR DEVELOPING THE SCORING FORMULA DETERMINING THE BENEFICIARIES OF SOCIAL ASISTANCES

• The project was started in 2009 and completed in 2012

• This project was carried out with the cooperation of GDSA and

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

• It is aimed with this project to obtain scoring formulas based

on household’s objective criterias,

• Household’s poverty scores are generated depend on

household ‘s settlement in which NUTS region’s rural or urban

area,

11

It is examined,•Data from Household Income and Expenditure Survey done by TURKSTAT for the last 5 years ,•Practices of local SAS Foundations in different regions,•Literature review of targeting mechanisms,•Practices of public institutions working in social assistance•Databases in GDSA

and obtained “Application forms”and tried in the pilot study on 1.440 households

PROJECT FOR DEVELOPING THE SCORING FORMULA DETERMINING THE

BENEFICIARIES OF SOCIAL ASISTANCES

12

• Using the data from Household Income and Expenditure Survey done by TSI in 2003 and taking into account the NUTS-1 and the settlement– Income – Consumption – Factor Analysis,

12 x 2 x 3 = 72(NUTS-1) (Urban Area /Rural Area) (Income/Consumption/Factor)formulas generated.

NUTS-1 and Settlement

PROJECT FOR DEVELOPING THE SCORING FORMULA DETERMINING THE BENEFICIARIES OF SOCIAL

ASISTANCES

13

In Consumption and Income Based Models,•Gender,•Education Level,•Owning a job and the sector of the job,•Employment type and status,•Wealth of people,•Goods and assets,are included as independent variables,•More than 100 variables are included in the income based models,•More than 150 variables are included in the consumption based models

Consumption based models are statistically significant compared to income based models.

PROJECT FOR DEVELOPING THE SCORING FORMULA DETERMINING THE BENEFICIARIES OF SOCIAL

ASISTANCES

14

• A survey study which has a sampling size of about 43.000 household and

180.000 person was finished. Survey study is statistically representative

with respect to NUTS-1 and takes into account the settlement types

(rural or urban areas). Survey was held by Turkish Statistical Institute.

• Scoring formulas which previously created was controlled via survey

study data.

PROJECT FOR DEVELOPING THE SCORING FORMULA DETERMINING THE BENEFICIARIES

OF SOCIAL ASISTANCES

15

• The scoring formula project was completed in the end of 2012.

• In the current situation;

– formulas are integrated to Social Assistance Information System

(ISAS)

– Household’s poverty status which calculated via these formulas is

viewed in decision support system.

– So, In addition to verified means test, proxy means test,

geographical targeting are used in Turkey’s targeting mechanisms.

PROJECT FOR DEVELOPING THE SCORING FORMULA DETERMINING THE BENEFICIARIES

OF SOCIAL ASISTANCES

HOUSEHOLD’S DECİSİON SUPPORT REPORT

CHANGES OVER TIME IN THE TARGETING MECHANISMS OF TURKEY

17

• There is no Specific Targeting Mechanisms

• Proxy Means Test was only used in the applications of Conditional Education and Health Assistance Programs (CEHAP) and Income Generating sub-projects.

• In 2009, Social Assistance Information System (SAIS) was implemented by GDSA; The aim of Social Assistance Information System (SAIS);

• Assurance/determination of neediness and personal information of citizens, who apply for social assistances, from central databases and

• Providing (online) data sharing between institutions for preventing reiterated assistances.

• In 2009, with the aim of create a social assistance database which based on Social Assistance Information System (SAIS), project of Integrated Social Assistance Services was started by GDSA, Within the project, Integrated Social Assistance Information System has developed. The system is active already and 28 different questioning are being done under 15 different titles. So, to determine who apply for social assistances has started to use verified means test via administrative records ( for example, owned assets …)

• In 2009, Project for Developing The Scoring Formula Determining the Beneficiaries of Social Assistances was started by cooperation GDSA-TÜBİTAK. Thus, the first step was taken to determine who apply for social assistances with proxy means test.

• Scoring Formula Project was completed

• Application Forms were integrated into the ISAS

• So, in addition to administrative records, informations which gathered application forms are saved into the ISAS

• Decision Support System is opened in the ISAS

• So, In addition to verified means test, proxy means test, geographical targeting and demographical targeting are started to use in Turkey’s targeting mechanisms.

Thanks for listening…Thanks for listening…

18

Pınar YAVUZKANATFamily and Social Policy Expert

Department of Resource Management e-mail: pinar.esen@aile.gov.tr