From Universal Food Subsidies to a Self-Targeted Program: A Case Study in Tunisian Reform.

Outlines Tunisia' innovative strategy of reducing the budgetary costs of food subsidies in a manner that is politically acceptable and that protects the nutritional status of the poor. The government uses "self-targeted programs," whereby subsidies are shifted to items consumed primarily by low-income groups, while prices of unsubsidized, higher-quality items are liberalized, appealing to higher-income groups who then consume less of the subsidized foods.