Social protection
Social protection and poverty reduction
Past research on social protection often considered programmes to be costly interventions that did not bring about long-term poverty reduction and diverted resources away from growth enhancing activities. This page contains papers that argue that social protection can play a key role in development as it encourages pro-poor growth and assists both the transitory and the chronically poor.
Page contents
Where is a good place to start?
Shepherd, A., Marcus, R. and Barrientos, A., 2004, ‘Policy Paper on Social Protection’, paper produced for UK Department for International Development (DFID), final draft, Overseas Development Institute (ODI), London
What is meant by social protection? This paper from the Overseas Development Institute answers this question, and discusses safety nets, social assistance and social insurance, and mutual and informal risk management. It argues that well designed social protection can have a positive impact on economic growth and can be affordable even in low-income countries.
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Social protection and chronic poverty
For many years social protection was regarded as a safeguard for those who temporarily dipped below the poverty line. However, recent research is showing that there are strong links between transitory and chronic poverty and therefore social protection mechanisms can have a significant effect on reducing chronic poverty.
Devereux, S., 2002, ‘Can Social Safety Nets Reduce Chronic Poverty?’, Development Policy Review, vol. 20, no. 5, pp.657-675
Institutionalised systems of social welfare are often thought of as unaffordable luxuries for poor countries, or as token handouts which avoid addressing the structural causes of poverty. This article from Development Policy Review presents empirical evidence from three programmes in southern Africa. It argues that transfers can have sustainable developmental potential, and that they should be recognised as effective policy tools in the reduction of chronic poverty.
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Barrientos, A and Shepherd, A., 2003, ‘Chronic Poverty and Social Protection’, paper presented at the CPRC Conference on Chronic Poverty, University of Manchester, April 2003
What is social protection and to what extent does it address chronic poverty? The predominant perspective on social protection focuses on preventing risk, reducing vulnerability and ameliorating the impact of risk realisations. This paper, prepared for the Chronic Poverty Research Centre Conference, focuses on the extent to which social protection thus defined can help reduce chronic poverty. It concludes that new perspectives on social protection can have a role in interrupting risk and vulnerability among the chronic poor.
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Devereux, S., 2006, 'Social Protection Mechanisms in Southern Africa', Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
What social protection measures have been implemented by southern African countries? What lessons can be learnt from these responses to deprivation? This paper from the Institute of Development Studies surveys the policies implemented in six southern Africa nations to protect the vulnerable from destitution and promote the incomes and capabilities of the poor. It argues that countries should focus on food security, market failures and longer-term risk management schemes to provide more co-ordinated, predictable forms of support.
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Social protection and pro-poor growth
It has been argued that social protection mechanisms draw state resources away from other growth promoting activities. The resources below challenge that view and identify ways in which social protection can lead to and encourage pro-poor growth.
DFID, 2006, ‘Social Protection and Economic Growth in Poor Countries’, Social Protection Briefing Note Series no. 4, UK Department for International Development, UK
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Ravallion, M., 2003, ‘Targeted Transfers in Poor Countries: Revisiting the Trade-Offs and Policy Options’, Social Protection Discussion Paper no. 0314, World Bank, Washington
The conventional wisdom in mainstream development policy is that income transfers to the poor, and safety net policies more generally, are at best a short-term palliative and at worst a waste of money. Can income transfers represent a core element of effective long-term poverty reduction? Compiled for The World Bank Social Protection Unit, this paper revisits targeted transfers. It suggests there is scope for using social protection policies to compensate for market failings that help to perpetuate poverty.
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New additions
Document library
Alternative Approaches to Employment-Based Social Protection
Towards a 'Generative' Model of Social Protection: Making the Links to Development Policy
The Case for Direct Cash Transfers to the Poor
