This paper presents a cost-benefit analysis of the first cohort (2002-03) of selected ultra-poor (SUP) households of BRAC’s CFPR. The analysis calculates the benefit of the program using primary data collected through a set of surveys. The benefit is measured as the increase in expenditure on food consumption, increase in medical expenses and/or income foregone from workdays lost as a result of an increase in the (financial) capacity to take such decisions, and increase in net financial and housing assets of the SUP households compared to not selected ultra-poor (NSUP) households. As the social worth of improved expenditure is higher for poorer households, different social weights have been assigned to the benefit accrued by different sub-categories of households. Households were categorized on the basis of either per capita income or per capita energy consumption of SUP households in 2002. An alternative calculation of benefit has also been carried out by comparing the increase in per capita income of SUP households with that of NSUP households. The analysis shows that the special investment program of CFPR represents the productive use of development funds for the benefit of ultra-poor households in Bangladesh with obvious implications for additional investment.
Authors: Sinha, Sanjay; Gidwani, Jyoti; Das, Narayan Chandra
Type: Case Study
Year: 2008
