IMF Says Targeted Transfers Need Less Fiscal Spending in Crises

The International Monetary Fund is urging governments to use temporary income support for vulnerable households during cost-of-living shocks, citing a large fiscal gap between targeted aid and measures that suppress prices.

Price-suppressing measures can require three to 22 times the fiscal resources of temporary, targeted transfers to provide comparable protection. Transfers can protect households while preserving price signals and fiscal space.

“Targeted and temporary transfers are the most effective way of protecting the most vulnerable,” IMF staff wrote.

From 1996 through 2025, the IMF cataloged policy responses in 76 countries: 14 low-income developing countries, 36 emerging markets and 26 advanced economies. A separate analysis of how interventions affected different income groups covers 18 European countries from 2021 to 2023.