GW4 Research and Policy Seminar: Transnational transformations in social protection: concepts, instruments and contexts (2nd July 2018) University of Bath- By Fábio Veras Soares, Senior Research Coordinator at IPC-IG

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The expansion of non-contributory social
protection worldwide and its implications
for SDG 1: monitoring by the ILO and WB
GW4 Research and Policy Seminar: Transnational transformations in social
protection: concepts, instruments and contexts (2nd July 2018)
University of Bath
Fabio Veras Soares – IPC-IG

2. Social Protection – definition issue
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There is no universal definition of what social protection is… and which
programmes/benefits should be included under it and what would be left out of its
scope.
In developing countries, the boundary between social protection and social
development policies is even more difficult to determine.
Borrowing Barrientos (2010) classification:
-Social policy/public finance approach (experience of developed countries)
-Social protection functions (developmental approach)

3. Social Protection – social policy/public finance
In the first approach (social policy/public finance) social protection has three main components:
• social insurance – contributory schemes providing protection against life-course and work-
related hazards/risks (disease, disability to work, aging, or unemployment)
• social assistance – non-contributory tax-financed programmes (transfers and services)
addressing poverty and deprivation
• employment related policies: covering (a) passive policies protecting the rights and
entitlements of workers - providing income replacement and (b) active programmes and
policies promoting employment and labour productivity – skills development, training and
job intermediation
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4. Social Protection – development approach
There are 4 Social Protection functions in the developmental approach (Devereux and Sabates-
Wheeler):
• Protective – relieve conditions of poverty and deprivation (targeted resources – cash
transfers, food transfers, vouchers - and services)
• Preventive – avert conditions of poverty and deprivation (contributory schemes – pension
and health insurance; tripartite financed; savings clubs and crop and income
diversification)
• Promotional - enhance real incomes and capabilities – livelihood enhancing programmes
(microfinance, school feeding, agricultural input subsidies)
• Transformative - address concerns of social equity and exclusion – legal and regulatory
frameworks to protect socially vulnerable groups against discrimination.
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5. Social Protection – development approach
A working definition of social protection as per the development approach would
encompass: “the set of all initiatives, both formal and informal, that provide:
(i) social assistance to extremely poor individuals and households ;
(ii) social services to groups who need special care or would otherwise be denied access to
basic services;
(iii) social insurance to protect people against the risks and consequences of livelihood
shocks; and
(iv) social equity to protect people against social risks such as discrimination or abuse.
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6. Implications of the differences for SP coverage measurement
• Although both approaches tend to overlap, there are some differences. For example, the
developmental approach tends to encompass areas such as microfinance, agricultural input
subsidies, school feeding, crop and income diversification, livelihood support, etc. which would
not be included in the social policy definition of social protection.
• These differences in approach can be particularly relevant in rural areas. If, on one hand, one
could argue that rural extension services, technology transfers to family farmers and livelihood
programmes are comparable to active labour market policies for urban workers… on the other
hand, interventions such as investment grants, subsidized credit, input subsidies seem to fall
outside the scope of social protection in the public policy approach.
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7. Inter-agency Social Protection Assessments (ISPA tools) definition (SPIAC-B):
Social protection refers to the set of policies and programmes aimed at preventing or
protecting all people against poverty, vulnerability, and social exclusion throughout their
lifecycles, with a particular emphasis towards vulnerable groups.
Social protection can be provided in cash or in-kind, through non-contributory schemes,
providing universal, categorical, or poverty-targeted benefits such as social assistance,
contributory schemes with social insurance being the most common form, and by building
human capital, productive assets, and access to jobs.
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8. Social protection systems are one of the targets of SDG 1 (End poverty in all its forms
and everywhere):
Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures
for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the
vulnerable.
In addition, the importance of social protection for sustainable development is reflected in
several other goals, including:
➢ universal health coverage (SDG 3.8),
➢ gender equality (SDG 5.4),
➢ decent work and economic growth (SDG 8.5) and
➢ greater equality (SDG 10.4).
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9. There is one indicator for Social Protection target (1.3):
• Indicator: 1.3.1 - Percentage of population covered by social protection
floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons,
persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the
poor and the vulnerable…
But in reality it is collected by two different agencies:
1.3.1a – ILO
1.3.1b – World Bank
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10. • Indicator: 1.3.1a – ILO
The indicator reflects the proportion of persons effectively covered by a social protection
system, including social protection floors. It also reflects the main components of social
protection: child and maternity benefits, support for persons without a job, persons with
disabilities, victims of work injuries and older persons.
Measurements of effective coverage should reflect how in reality legal provisions are
implemented.
It refers to the percentage of people actually receiving benefits of contributory and non-
contributory social protection programmes, plus the number of persons actively contributing to
social insurance schemes.
• Source: Data is collected through an administrative survey – the social security
inquiry. Secondary data sources include existing global databases of social protection
statistics, including those of the World Bank, UNICEF, UNWOMEN, HELPAGE, OECD
and the International Social Security Association.
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11. Evolution of social security systems by branch: family and
children benefit is the second least prevalent – but it has
been the focus of recent expansion on the non-contributory
sector
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12. • Indicator: 1.3.1b – World Bank
Coverage of social protection and labour programmes (SPL) is the percentage of population
participating in social insurance, social safety net, and unemployment benefits and active labor
market programs. Estimates include both direct and indirect beneficiaries.
ASPIRE coverage indicators refer to the ‘effective’ coverage definition, measuring the direct
and indirect beneficiaries who are actually receiving social protection benefits at the time
nationally representative household survey data are collected, as within a target group (total
population, for different income quintiles, total population in urban and rural areas).
Information on country SPL programs included in ASPIRE is limited to what is captured in the
respective national household survey and does not necessarily represent the universe of
programs existing in the country.
• Source: Data are calculated from national representative household surveys using
ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection - Indicators of Resilience and Equity, The World
Bank (see datatopics.worldbank.org/aspire/)
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13. • Indicator: 1.3.1a – ILO
Also includes information on vulnerable persons covered by social assistance, measured
as the ratio of social assistance recipients to the total number of vulnerable persons (children
plus adults not covered by contributory benefits and persons above retirement age not
receiving contributory benefits)
Mainly based on ILO’s Social Security Inquiry (SSI)—periodic collection of administrative data
from national ministries
Potential caveats: it does not measure other types of social protection, such as in-kind or
school feeding programmes, focus on programmes anchored in nat. legislation, lack
information about whether the poorest and most vulnerable children are covered.
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15. • Indicator: 1.3.1a – ILO
In MENA, only 2 countries were reported to have non-contributory child and family benefits:
Libya (universal, not means-tested) and Iraq (means-tested social assistance)
Some example of missing programmes:
➢ Morocco Tayssir
➢ Tunisia PNAFN/PPAS
➢ Egypt Takaful & Karama
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18. • Indicator: 1.3.1a – ILO
Mozambique appears as having an family/child benefit (Programa de Subsidio Social Básico?)
where as Child Grant Programme in Lesotho, OVC-CT (and the others NSNPs are not
covered) in Kenya, or LEAP’s programme…
Or other programmes highlighted in the State of Social Safety Net 2018:
➢ Tanzania – CT component of the Productive Social Safety Net Programme
➢ Senegal – National Cash Transfers Programme
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21. • Indicator: 1.3.1a – ILO
In Latin America again… ranks do not seem right... Children in Brazil are reported to have the
highest coverage of social protection systems including floor, 96.5%, while just 78.3 of the
elderly are covered… although Brazil has no Universal Child Allowance and the formal sector
benefit is means tested… but the country does have a universal rural pension and a means-
tested old age benefit beyond the contributory schemes for the elderly!
In the case of Argentina that does have a universal child allowance (AUH) … children
coverage is reported at 84.6%...also behind Chile that is reported as having 93.1.
Uruguay that has the Family Allowances and a strong social protection system covering both
formal and informal sectors is reported to have a coverage of 66.2%!
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23. Distribution of transfers by Per Capita Income Percentile
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Source: Soares & Souza (2012): http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCPolicyResearchBrief27.pdf

24. ARGENTINA – Children-related benefits
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Source: Elaboración Guillermo Cruces using INDEC, BESS 2016, Ministerio de Trabajo 2015, ENAPROSS 2015 y Boletín Mensual
AUH Septiembre 2016..

25. • Indicator: 1.3.1b – World Bank
Incidence of Social Pension in the poorest quintile – assumption: generosity is bad.
Example of using of what is on the survey: the case of Brazil – omission of non-contributory
universal pension.
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26. State of Safety net 2018 – coverage of poorest quintile
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27. State of Safety net 2018 – Spending
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28. Concluding remarks
➢Strong need to have more clarity on who the SDG 1.3.1
indicators are collected.
➢Missing opportunity to communicate with governments in a
clear way.
➢Reveal problems in SPIAC-B work… after years of joint work
WB and ILO still can’t produce complementary indicators…
➢Other potential contributors are left out… leading to many of
alternative mappings… that perhaps could become inputs.
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29. Many Thanks
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