Street‐Level Bureaucrats and Frames of Deservingness: How Client Categorisations Shape the Implementation of Ghana's LEAP Cash Transfer Programme

ABSTRACT Drawing on Lipsky's theory of street‐level bureaucracy, this study explores how frontline workers' discretionary judgements influence Ghana's Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) cash transfer programme. Using van Oorschot's CARIN framework of deservingness ( Control, Attitude, Reciprocity, Identity and Need ), this study examines how administrators and community actors categorise clients. Based on in‐depth interviews, findings reveal that officials prioritise Control, Attitude and Need , favouring clients perceived as grateful, genuinely needy and lacking control over their circumstances. These subjective frames exclude some eligible beneficiaries, demonstrating how deservingness judgements can reinforce inequality and emphasising the need for training and clearer operational guidelines.