Poor targeting: a response to Pathways’ paper on how best to reach those in poverty
19/03/2019
Nicholas Freeland Sometimes in life there are things that you know, instinctively, to be true; but you lack the proof with which to convince others. It is then particularly gratifying when the necessary proof emerges. I have experienced just such a moment of gratification with the appearance of Development Pathways’...
PREVIOUS POSTS
All work and no pay: The invisibilisation of women’s labour in public works programmes
Anasuya Sengupta On International Women’s Day, I want to bring attention to a silent scandal within public works programmes, increasingly referred to as productive safety net programmes in many low-income countries. These are, as many of you know, good old-fashioned workfare schemes – usually donor-funded or supported – that have...
08/03/2019
SHARE
Questioning women’s role as the sole recipients of benefits: contrasting evidence on gender-sensitive social protection programming
Juan Gonzalo Jaramillo Mejia In the midst of speaking to families benefitting from various social assistance schemes in rural Mexico, an on-line conversation has made me question again the assumption that it is best to target women as the main recipient of benefits. On International Women’s Day, can we further delve into that discussion, interrogate the prevailing narratives on gender and...
08/03/2019
SHARE
Uganda’s Senior Citizens Grant: Evaluation reveals further evidence on its impacts
Stephen Kidd A mark of a decent society is a guarantee that all citizens can enjoy income security once they reach old age. At least 56 countries worldwide now provide pensions to more than 90 per cent of older people and a growing number of low- and middle-income countries are...
01/03/2019
SHARE
The curious case of women leaving the labour market in India
Anasuya Sengupta Recently, in the midst of participating in a launch event for an ODI/HelpAge International study on older women’s work, I thought back on the lives of the women in my family, from India. In the early 1940s – really, not that long ago – my grandmother was married off...
21/02/2019
SHARE
Universal Child Benefits and the need for disability- and equity-sensitive social protection
Alexandra Barrantes highlights her take-aways on disability and dignity from the recent Universal Child Benefits conference in Geneva. A couple of weeks ago, UNICEF and the ILO gathered together a large group of international experts, practitioners and government officials to discuss Universal Child Benefits (UCBs). The issue prompting the discussions was the compelling the case for UCBs and for universal social protection in general. Although countries around...
18/02/2019
SHARE
Could the Who’s Who Agree on What’s What? Reflections on the Universal Child Grants (*aka* UCB ) Conference
Shea McClanahan Conference organisers can be congratulated for bringing together some of the most influential and up-and-coming thinkers and practitioners in social protection for last week’s International Conference on Universal Child Grants in Geneva. Top minds from international organisations and entities exchanged ideas with key national policymakers, practitioners, consultants and...
15/02/2019
SHARE
The demise of Mexico’s Prospera programme: a tragedy foretold
Stephen Kidd looks at the recent shocking news that Mexico’s Prospera programme has been abolished and explains why it should come as a surprise to no-one. Stephen Kidd The big story in the social protection world last week was the news that Mexico’s Prospera programme is to be abolished after...
06/02/2019
SHARE
Out of reach: targeting fails to keep pace with household dynamics
Can poverty-targeting work effectively if it assumes fast-changing households are static? Nicola Ansell discusses research which underscores the challenges to the selection mechanisms ahead of a forthcoming global review of the evidence. Nicola Ansell What is a household? Around the world, policymakers frequently confront this seemingly simple concept, only to find...
29/01/2019
SHARE
The meaning of ‘pro-poor’ (as understood by the World Bank)
How can social protection schemes that exclude the majority of the poorest in Kyrgyzstan and globally be described as ‘pro-poor’? Stephen Kidd investigates in a new blog for the New Year. Stephen Kidd A short while ago, I wrote a blog explaining how poverty-targeted social protection schemes are ‘pro-rich’ while...
08/01/2019
SHARE