The argument for impactful, sustainable social protection laid out in The Hague
So-called ‘pro-poor’ social protection programmes lead to fewer of the poorest being covered, and beneficiaries receiving lower transfer values, a seminar in The Hague has heard. Development Pathways’ Senior Social...
Cash transfer design can strengthen or weaken social relationships, universities find
A university research project to identify the impact of cash transfers on social relationships has uncovered that cash transfers are viewed as invaluable for poverty reduction by recipients – but...
Rationing, not targeting
“Will no-one rid me of this troublesome PMT?” [i] Anyone who has worked in social protection knows that the thorniest issue of all is that of “targeting”. The recent polemics on these pages about the inadequacy of the Proxy Means Test (PMT) as a “targeting” mechanism (including my last blog post: Poxy...
Is Nigeria’s Social Protection on the cusp of transformation?
Will the design of a direct cash transfer in Nigeria ensure its ongoing popularity and sustainability? Guest blogger Gbenga Shadare considers Nigeria’s social protection issues. Will community-based targeting of those in poverty provide a necessary safety net? In the course of the last presidential campaign in Nigeria, which saw the People’s Democratic Party overthrown...
Social protection in fragile contexts: the unique role of pensions
A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to attend the international conference on Social Protection in contexts of fragility and forced displacement. One of the recurring messages emerging from the conference was that the ultimate ambition in these contexts should be long-term, nationally-owned social protection systems. I was able to...
Are you designing social protection schemes from a charity or a citizenship paradigm?
Social protection is not always beneficial and popular. A way of predicting whether a programme will have positive impacts and be supported by voters is to identify whether it falls...
The Social Protection Flaw – or how not to win fiscal space for entitlements
The many disadvantages to poverty-targeted social protection include the fact that they never become entitlements that attract popular demand and the financial backing of governments, writes Nicholas Freeland, independent consultant. Freeland highlights...
How a nation can own its social protection strategy: the Case of Mozambique
In Mozambique, there are plans for substantial increases in cash transfers, as the government attempts to fulfil its progressive social protection strategy approved last year, writes Joe Hanlon. That strategy calls for expanding cash payments to most older people and small children. Under plans sent to Parliament, cash transfers to...
How has national ownership of Uganda’s Senior Citizens’ Grant developed?
A visit by Ugandan MPs to London has thrown light on the political economy of social protection, including the circumstances in which a donor-supported programme gains national ownership, writes Alexandra Barrantes. The delegation of Ugandan MPs representing the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection participated in a visit organised by HelpAge International and Age International to the...
The two lives of social protection: the tale of cash transfers and social security
Here’s a curious tale about two very different forms of social protection: one is much loved by researchers, the media and donors, but its charms are debatable; the other is too often shunned by academia, commentators and funders despite holding greater promise and staying-power. We could call them ‘cash transfers’...