This presentation is part of the programme of the International Seminar "Social Protection, Entrepreneurship and Labour Market Activation: Evidence for Better Policies", organized by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG/UNDP) together with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Colombian Think Tank Fedesarrollo held on September 10-11 at the Ipea Auditorium in Brasilia.

1. WoŵeŶ͛s IdeŶtity, SoĐial PƌoteĐtioŶ
and Entrepreneurship
Dev Nathan
Institute for Human Development, India and Duke
University, USA
Govind Kelkar
Landesa, Rural Development Institute, India & Seattle,USA

2. Identity in Development
• Identity – ƌeƋuiƌed foƌ aŶ iŶdiǀidual͛s ƌight to aĐĐess foƌŵal iŶstitutioŶs,
such as government entities, employers, banks
•
• Industrialized countries – official identity established at birth
•
• South Asia had highest proportion of children not registered at birth – 63%
against 55% in Sub-Saharan Africa
•
• India – non-registration of 45% of 26 million births p.a.; Urban-rural
variation
•
• BioŵetƌiĐ ideŶtifiĐatioŶ ĐaŶ eliŵiŶate ͚ideŶtity gap͛
• China, India, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Indonesia – and many others using it
•
• Aadhaar – IŶdia͛s ďioŵetƌiĐ ideŶtifiĐatioŶ systeŵ has ƌeaĐhed ϲϱ0ŵillioŶ

3. Why Identity ?
• To access state and formal services – food, subsidies,
elections, property, credit
• Consequences of Being Marginalized and Invisible –
– Forced to pay bribes, subject to extortions (e.g. homeless
in cities)
•
– Higher transaction costs
•
– Reinforces inequality

4. Benefits of Identity For Poor
• A pavement-dweller, [on how Aadhaar helps]
͚The poliĐe ǁoŶ͛t haƌass us.͛
•
• Foundational identity – does not itself confer
any benefits, but can be used for anything
requiring establishing identity
– Bank account, etc.

5. Women and Identity
• Women, traditionally, have only had a relational
identity (daughter/wife/mother)
•
• For matters related to the state, need a personal
identification, which can be verified by a third party
•
• This is Aadhaaƌ͛s first rupture with tradition
•
• Can allow move from household-based entitlements to
individual-based entitlements

6. Benefit: Enhance WoŵeŶ’s AgeŶcy
• Receive transfers in own name
• AĐt oŶ oŶe͛s oǁŶ ĐhoiĐes
– E.g. widows using their pensions to buy medicines
• Many steps to empowerment- plus
overcoming resistance of men

7. Aadhaar - Direct Benefits Transfer
• [Cash Transfer]
•
• Aadhaar plus micro-ATMs (point-of-sale
instruments)
•
• Woman will get the full household
entitlement

8. Formalization
• Can support formalization – e.g. of rights as
street vendors
•
• Portability of rights – importance in context of
migration
•
• Last-mile for financial inclusion (Only 25%
households have bank accounts)
– Can be linked to private data bases (pay a fee for use)

9. Reducing Cost of Service Delivery
• Problem of ghost and duplicate cards
• E.g. in AP more BPL cards than state
households in Census
• Biometric identification – can eliminate ghost
and duplicate cards
– More than 25% saving

10. Women and Entrepreneurship
• Do not own assets, e.g. land, for collateral
•
• Need support from male members to access bank
loans
• Restricted to home-based, self-employment with
low working capital requirements
•
• Can social protection deal with this problem?

11. Social Protection
• Income / consumption support to poor and
non-poor
• Financial access to health care
• Non-contributory and contributory systems
• But social protection is loaded with patriarchal
Ŷoƌŵs of ͚head of the household͛

12. Social Protection and
Entrepreneurship
• Additional income can e nable investment and
increase productivity
• Assured minimum can increase risk-taking ability
• Manage trade-off between immediate needs and
future livelihoods
• Manage disasters without asset sale

13. Providers of Social Protection
• Usually the State
• Also the Community (in traditional
communities)
• What about Group Social Protection, as in
IŶdia͛s SHGs aŶd soŵe MFI gƌoups?

14. Individual identity of women
• MFI clients are 95% women
• Services delivered to women
• Use within household affected by patriarchal
norms
– But evidence shows – over loan cycles women
assert their decision-making on use of credit
• Plus benefits of being organized
– Able to get better public services

15. Consumption Stipend
• For ultra-poor till they can arrange staple food
on their own
– In 18 months become regular MFI clients
• BRAC (Bangladesh)
• Combines government-subsidised food and asset transfer
with micro-finance
• Later become regular MFI clients

16. Sickness Allowance
– ͚WheŶ a ŵeŵďeƌ falls siĐk, ǁe pay ‘s.ϳϱ as siĐk
allowance per day. If she is not a member, mere
loan will be given͛
– ͚If the member is genuine, she will be supported
by the cluster fund for any such immediate needs
like shelteƌ daŵage oƌ siĐkŶess.͛
• Sickness is major reason for non-poor to
become poor – cost of treatment, income loss

17. Savings or loan for distress
– SaǀiŶgs aŶd haǀiŶg ͚ŵoŶey at haŶd͛ ƌeasoŶ foƌ
feeling secure
– Members are able to use borrowing or savings
rather than sale of assets in distress

18. Savings and insurance
• Then move on to micro credit (BASIX)
• Provide consumption loans, as against
Grameen Bank model where consumption
loans are not allowed

19. Impact
• Enable women, over time, to reduce share of
consumption loans and increase share of income-generating
activities
• Reduce share of income from agricultural labour
to self-employment
• The share of NREGA income that is saved is much
less than the investment from the MFI. Why?
• MFI money has to be returned, unlike NREGA
money; that would induce some investment in
income-generating activities

20. Conclusion
Group-based social protection
Can provide consumption and healthcare
support
And enable women to access working
capital and become entrepreneurs.