an exceptional case however is provided by the united states practice of targeting poor households where such diversity is extensively taken into account ignoring householdspecific diversities constitutes a fatal methodological flaw if poverty lines and gaps are to be used public transfers of goods and services are usually excluded this produces a significant gap when it comes to health and education services particularly in developing economies where the role of public provision is usually substantial in the absence of such information one can only speculate over actual outcomes with respect to these key basic needs