Support impactful programmes, not cost-cutting, IMF told as it reviews social protection approach
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been advised to focus on the impact of social protection programmes and not only their cost in its new framework for social protection. The...
The debate in the World Bank on the Proxy Means Test hots up: or does it?
It has been great to see the response so far to the debate on the proxy means test (PMT); and, as you’ll know from a recent blog by Nick Freeland, the World Bank itself is beginning to question the value and worth of the PMT. However, we don’t yet know...
Social Assistance in Vietnam: Review and Proposals for Reform
In recent decades, Vietnam’s social protection system has grown, but remains imbalanced, with most benefits continuing to reach the better-off, rather than the majority of the population. Social Assistance in...
Enough with the KIDDing around – let’s tackle the BIG questions!
Not too long ago, my colleague, Stephen Kidd, wrote a blog called ‘The debate in the World Bank on the Proxy Means Test hots up: or does it?’ (you can find the blog here). In it, he took issue with the way that the Bank’s Social Protection and Labour Group is...
Single Registries and Social Registries: Clarifying the Terminological Confusion
Development Pathways is pleased to share our latest Pathways’ Perspective, Single Registries and Social Registries: Clarifying the Terminological Confusion, by Richard Chirchir and Shez Farooq. Richard Chirchir and Shez Farooq seek...
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...
The importance of community perspectives: engaging with the Karamojong in Uganda
As a researcher in training, I had the opportunity to participate in a study into the core causes of food, nutrition, and income insecurity in Karamoja, a sub region in the east of Uganda. This mixed-methods study – undertaken by Development Pathways for the World Food Programme – was my first...
What lies behind the thinking of those driving development at the IMF?
The IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office rarely lives up to its pretention to operate in real independence from the Fund, as its name implies, writes Peter Bavkis. One is hard-pressed to cite IEO reports that embrace thorough critiques of IMF policies, despite their frequency in academic circles and among civil society...
Lost in translation in social protection: rights and development
Those of us working on social protection have, most likely, interacted with both the human rights and international development worlds and noticed their somewhat different approaches to social protection. While there is some overlap between the approaches, they often struggle to work collaboratively. We need to develop a shared language...
Pathways to a universal basic income in low- and middle-income countries
The idea of providing a periodic, unconditional cash transfer to all residents of a country – a universal basic income – has rapidly gained traction in recent years. However, the debate about basic income often seems curiously divorced from the wider debate about the expansion of social security systems, writes...