1. Rethinking Graduation and Social
Protection: A Realistic Aspiration?
Lisa Hannigan , Senior Sector Specialist Social
Protection
Paba Siriwardana, Social Protection Specialist

2. What is social protection? What is its aim?
Tackle poverty, vulnerability and promote
pro-poor economic growth

3. But what does it mean in the context of
graduation?
Protection (cash transfer)
Prevention (insurance)
Promotion (economic opportunities)

4. Time bound vs. Escape from poverty?

5. What are the common graduation
programs?
Asset Transfer Programs
• BRAC CFPR – Targeting the Ultra
Poor
Public Works Programs
• Ethiopia’s Public Safety Net
Program

6. Why are they popular?
Clear exit strategy
Value for money
Return on investment

7. Why are they contentious?
• Loses sight of the fundamental purpose of
social protection
• Time frames are too short to break the
cycle of poverty

8. • Assumes lives and livelihoods are linear
and the assets will make them resilient
against future shocks.
• Assumes programs are replicable across
different contexts
• Can be gender blind

9. What do beneficiaries think?
“Beneficiaries themselves, of course, have no
concept of the point at which they might have
graduated”
- Nicholas Freeland, Consultant

10. What are the risks of supporting graduation
programs?
• If political support is fixated on (unrealistic)
graduation targets, a failure to reach them
can not only cut the ‘productive’ element
of the program, but also the ‘protective’
element
• Perverse incentives if thresholds are known

11. What does the evidence tell us about the
success of graduation programs?
• Positive results – but for how long?
• Indicators for measuring resilience adequate or too low?
• Do we need more insights from
beneficiaries?
• Can the program be undermined by the
state? (India’s NREGA impact on CGAP pilot)

12. Where to from here?
How to use graduation wisely
• Poverty reduction is a long term
investment, not a 3 – 5 year project
• Need a broad based comprehensive social
protection strategy that addresses lifecycle
risks
• Examples: Aid program investments in
Indonesia and the Philippines