poor preference targeting—the preferences of the poor have not been adequately considered in project selection. Finally, political economy considerations and perverse incentives created by project performance requirements also constrain targeting, although evidence suggests that decentralized targeting can be made more effective by monitoring
projects to improve performance incentives.
Another important question is the extent to which participatory development initiatives improve project quality and performance. Here, there is some evidence that participatory projects create effective community infrastructure and improve welfare outcomes, but the evidence does not establish that it is the participatory elements that are
responsible for improving project outcomes. Few studies compare community-based projects with centralized mechanisms of service delivery, so it is difficult to tell whether alternate project designs would have produced better outcomes.
