Public social spending in Africa: Do the poor benefit?

Education and health care are basic services essential in any effort to com bat poverty and are often subsidized with public funds to help achieve that purpose. This paper examines the effectiveness of public social spending o n education and health care in several African countries and finds that the se programs favor not the poor, but those who are better-off. It concludes that this targeting problem cannot be solved simply by adjusting the subsid y program. The constraints that prevent the poor from taking advantage of t hese services must also be addressed if the public subsidies are to be effe ctive.