Publication Details
Abstract
This article addresses one of the most pressing problems of regional anti-poverty policy - the efficient allocation of limited public resources. The purpose of the study is to develop an original composite indicator, the Poverty Reduction Potential Index (PRPI), that quantifies the poverty-reduction potential of individual mahallas (neighbourhood communities), and to build on it a targeted, differentiated intervention mechanism. Methodologically, the PRPI aggregates ten indicators grouped into three blocks - need, economic potential and social infrastructure - using min-max normalisation and expert-analytical weighting on a (0;10) scale. The methodology was tested on passport and household-registry data for 516 mahallas of the Bukhara region. The results show that only 0.97% (5) of mahallas fall into the high-potential group, 5.23% (27) into the medium group, 45.93% (237) into the low group and 47.87% (247) into the very-low group, empirically confirming the inefficiency of a uniform (one-size-fits-all) transfer policy. Based on these results, a differentiated mechanism is proposed for the four groups, structured into short-, medium- and long-term phases with clearly assigned responsible institutions and monitoring criteria. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the dynamic group-transition design of the index, which makes it replicable in other regions.