Assessing the targeting of the anti-poverty measure "Reddito di Cittadinanza" using Small Area Estimation Methods

Sustainable Development Goal 1 calls for the implementation of nation- ally appropriate social protection systems to contrast poverty. In Italy, a crucial anti- poverty policy is the “Reddito di Cittadinanza” (RdC) introduced in April 2019. In this work we aim at evaluating the targeting of the RdC in 59 local areas rep- resented by the region by degree of urbanisation level in Italy. To measure the lo- cal poverty share, we estimate At-Risk-of-Poverty rates and Absolute Poverty rates through the application of Small Area Estimation models. Our results suggest that the RdC shows very heterogeneous targeting performance at the local level, exclud- ing large shares of poor households from the program