
Stephen Kidd
Principal Social Policy Specialist
Stephen Kidd has for over three decades supported robust strategies and effective delivery in social development and social protection in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Latin America. Stephen led DFID’s social protection work, policy at HelpAge International, and a development programme in Paraguay. He proudly hails from Newcastle.
FOLLOW @JustKIDDing_DP
Stephen Kidd's Work

Exploring the Evidence, Background Research Papers for Preparing the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS) of Bangladesh
In this paper Stephen Kidd contributed chapter’s 7 & 8. 7. Building a Social Protection System to Address the Demographic Challenges Faced by Bangladesh. 8. International Best Practice in Social...
SHARE




Scoping and Sector Review of Social Protection in Somaliland
This Scoping Study and Sector Review is a strategic analysis of the existing policy landscape in Somaliland in order to inform the development of a Social Protection system.
SHARE




What has the Covid-19 crisis taught us about social protection?
In our latest Pathways Perspective, Stephen Kidd and Daisy Sibun reflect on some of the key lessons we have learnt about social protection in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.
SHARE




The effectiveness of the graduation approach: what does the evidence tell us?
Stephen Kidd and Diloá Athias critically assess what the evidence tells us about the effectiveness of the Graduation approach.
SHARE




How to Finance Inclusive Social Protection
A guide to financing social protection developed by UNESCAP to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. Development Pathways contributed to...
SHARE




Investing in the future: A universal benefit for Sri Lanka’s children
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how a universal child benefit can help children in Sri Lanka reach their full potential.
SHARE




Emergency Universal Child Benefits: Addressing the Social and Economic Consequences of the COVID-19 Crisis in South Asia
This paper, written in partnership with UNICEF’s Regional Office for South Asia, makes the case for South Asian countries to implement emergency Universal Child Benefits (UCB) during the COVID-19 crisis.
SHARE




Hit and Miss: An assessment of targeting effectiveness in social protection – Summary version with updated analysis
One of the most highly charged debates in social protection is how best to undertake targeting: while some social protection practitioners are passionate advocates of income testing (or poverty targeting), others highlight the many advantages of universal selection. However, as with any debate, it is best to first look at the evidence.
SHARE




Social Protection and Disability in Zambia
The report presents findings from a short study in Zambia to examine its social protection system and programmes and identifies the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in accessing them.
SHARE




Potential impacts of social pensions in Viet Nam
A report, commissioned by the International Labour Organization, that focuses on Viet Nam's social pensions and examines two options for expanding it to achieve universal coverage.
SHARE




Tackling the COVID-19 economic crisis in Sri Lanka: Providing universal, lifecycle social protection transfers to protect lives and bolster economic recovery
This summary paper, written in partnership with United Nations Sri Lanka, summarises findings from a series of Policy Briefs that aim to provide evidence to support the Government of Sri Lanka in its social protection response to the economic crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
SHARE




Analysing the scope for social protection in Somaliland
In the absence of government-led social protection schemes, Save the Children is piloting a child-sensitive social protection (CSSP) programme in Somaliland. Anh Tran, from Development Pathways, is working with Save the Children to analyse the scope for social protection in Somaliland, building on the CSSP, and providing specific recommendations to lay the foundation for building inclusive social protection schemes in Somaliland, that leave no children behind.
SHARE




Building a National Social Protection System Fit for Uzbekistan’s Children and Youth
This paper examines the challenges faced by the population of Uzbekistan, in particular those faced by its children and young people, and aims to assess the effectiveness of the current social protection system in addressing these challenges.
SHARE




The social contract and the role of universal social security in building trust in government
Trust in government is the basic building block of any successful nation-state. It needs to be at the very top of the list of government priorities since, once trust is undermined, the state itself can be threatened. History tells us that a key factor in building trust is the provision of universal public services since they can be enjoyed by everyone on an equal and impartial basis.
SHARE




Kenya Social Protection Sector Review 2017: Main Report
The Kenya Social Protection Sector Review Report, released by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, offers a strategic review of the evolution of Kenya’s social protection sector between 2011 and 2017 and includes many lessons for other countries as they seek to expand their social protection systems.
SHARE




Analysis of Refugee Vulnerability in Uganda
The aim of this report was to review the current selection criteria for food assistance in Uganda by presenting an in-depth vulnerability study.
SHARE




Social Protection and Disability in Rwanda
This working paper is part of a series of publications that identify good practice in enabling the inclusion of persons with disabilities in social protection systems and programmes. It finds...
SHARE




Addressing the COVID-19 economic crisis in Asia through social protection
This paper examines social security responses that Asian countries have already implemented in response to COVID-19 and proposes a range of more effective complementary or alternative approaches.
SHARE




Building A Better Future A child-sensitive social protection system for Uzbekistan
The proposals set out in this paper aim to re-design the national system of child benefits. If implemented, the reforms could become an important means of building a more prosperous and inclusive Uzbekistan.
SHARE




Addressing the Economic Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis in South Asia through Universal Lifecycle Transfers
This paper was prepared for UNICEF to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and to stimulate discussion on how to fund an effective fiscal response COVID-19 in South Asia.
SHARE




Calling Marcus Rashford: universal child benefits need you!
Last week, the United Kingdom’s social protection system took yet another big step back towards the 19th Century. The news broke that, during the current COVID-19 lockdown, when schools are closed to most pupils, the Government is providing schoolchildren living in poverty with food handouts, rather than offering their families cash. To make a bad situation worse, the food on offer is of limited nutritional quality while the main beneficiary of the scheme has been the business that was contracted by the Government...
SHARE




Addressing the economic crisis of COVID-19 in Asia through social protection
UNDP Asia-Pacific and Development Pathways worked to prepare an analytical background paper on fiscal mechanisms to promote inter-generational equity. However, midway through the project, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With all Asian economies having been hit hard by the crisis and economic growth falling significantly, Development Pathways conducted additional research and analysis to develop a publication.
SHARE




Leaving No-one Behind: Building Inclusive Social Protection Systems for Persons with Disabilities
This report examines how to make social protection systems and schemes more inclusive of persons with disabilities. Social protection can play a key role in empowering persons with disabilities by...
SHARE




Hit and Miss: An assessment of targeting effectiveness in social protection with additional analysis
This paper (now updated with additional analysis as of June 2020) is the result of a global review of the effectiveness of different methods of selecting social protection recipients, both...
SHARE




The social contract and the role of universal social security in building trust in government
A strong social contract is a precious resource in any country. Without it, citizens will be reluctant to pay their taxes resulting in governments being unable to collect the revenues they need to offer good quality public services to their citizens.
SHARE




New podcast: “Universal social security and the social contract”
The latest episode of the Pathways’ Perspective: The Podcast is out this week, with a discussion on universal social security and the social contract.
SHARE




Strengthening the social contract through child-sensitive social protection: building a case for a Universal Child Benefit in South Asia
Development Pathways is supporting the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia in generating costing, impact and fiscal space analysis for Universal Child Benefits (UCBs) in South Asian countries.
SHARE




Evaluating the economic fallout of COVID-19 and applicability of child-sensitive social protection mechanisms in Sri Lanka
Over the course of April to May, Development Pathways has been working closely with UNICEF to analyse the economic fallout of the coronavirus in child-sensitive social protection in Sri Lanka.
SHARE




Black Lives Matter – in social protection and international development
Our blogger, Stephen Kidd, is a Senior Social Policy Specialist at Development Pathways. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has highlighted the systemic racism that is deeply embedded within the attitudes and institutions of rich nations. While the immediate focus has been on police brutality, institutional discrimination permeates both public...
SHARE




Why We Need Social Protection
This e-learning guide, developed by UNESCAP with Development Pathways, raises awareness of the role social protection systems can play in tackling poverty.
SHARE




How to Design Inclusive Social Protection Systems
The policy guide sets out a step-by-step process of extending coverage in order to realise the right to social security for all, citing a number of examples including Nepal, a low-income nation that introduced an old age pension for everyone aged 75 years and over and a scheme for widows aged 60 years.
SHARE




How to Implement Inclusive Social Protection Schemes
The practical guidance How to Implement Inclusive Social Protection Schemes outlines the need for effective operational delivery to ensure the right amount of money is paid to the right person at...
SHARE




Social Protection and Disability in South Africa
This working paper launches a new series of publications that identify good practice in enabling the inclusion of persons with disabilities in social protection systems and programmes. It finds that...
SHARE




Pro-Poor or Anti-Poor?
Stephen Kidd considers the growing role of the World Bank and IMF in shaping national social protection policies as questions are being asked about their approach to the issue.
SHARE




Transfer Values in Kenya’s National Social Security System
This report seeks to examine the current transfer values of Kenya’s tax-financed social security schemes and assess whether they are set at an appropriate level.
SHARE




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...
SHARE




The World Bank’s new White Paper falls short on its objective of ‘protecting all’
The World Bank recently issued a White Paper on rethinking social protection systems to extend coverage. While at first glance this is an honourable goal, the proposals in Protecting All: Risk-Sharing for a Diverse and Diversifying World of Work would do little to achieve this aim. The paper proposes a rollback of...
SHARE




Social pensions and their contribution to economic growth
A Ugandan Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development and the Expanding Social Protection programme report reviews evidence on how social pensions help expand local economies. It says that a number...
SHARE




Anti-Social Registries: how a database excludes many from social protection
A craze sweeping the social protection world for Social Registries is systematically depriving some of the world’s poorest not only of social protection but also of access to vital services. So argues our...
SHARE




The effectiveness of the Graduation Approach: What does the evidence tell us?
In a special edition of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth’s Policy in Focus, the graduation approach to poverty reduction is explored by a number of contributors. The paper...
SHARE




Exclusion by Design: the effectiveness of the Proxy Means Test
In recent years, the proxy means test (PMT) has become the predominant targeting mechanism for social assistance schemes in developing countries. It has many powerful advocates and claims that it...
SHARE




Social Protection for Informal Workers in Asia
A book addressing gaps in social protection for informal workers in Asia that discusses issues that need to be addressed, including financing, design, governance, and political economy. Chapter 7 by...
SHARE




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...
SHARE




To condition or not to condition: what is the evidence?
‘The World Bank do not like having conditions imposed on them: so why impose them on others?’ In the first of our Pathways Perspectives of the year, we look at...
SHARE




The Effectiveness of Targeting: Options for Uganda
This paper attempts to clarify the concept of targeting within the context of Uganda and discuss the most effective means of ensuring that ‘the poor’ and vulnerable are included in...
SHARE




Uganda’s Senior Citizens’ Grant: A success story from the heart of Africa
In this paper Development Pathways’ Stephen Kidd discusses the success of Uganda’s Senior Citizens’ Grant (SCG), with evidence from the evaluation of the programme. The SCG, a Government of Uganda...
SHARE




Inclusive lifecycle social security: An option for Uganda?
Inclusive lifecycle social security: an option for Uganda? considers the feasibility and likely effects of introducing a comprehensive social protection system in the low-income country. The report, available for download below, for...
SHARE




Exploring how to bridge the gap between social protection, technology, responsible financial inclusion and regulation at our event in Nairobi, Kenya
The event focused on how stakeholders can, and should, aim to ensure that social protection schemes and programmes are not only inclusive but delivered responsibly.
SHARE




We’re hosting an event in Kenya
Development Pathways will be hosting an event in Nairobi, Kenya that will explore the nexus between inclusive social protection, technologies and financial inclusion. With leading experts in the field, Dr Stephen Kidd, Dr Milkah Chebii, Richard Chirchir and Sarah Langhan speaking at the event.
SHARE




The Political Economy of ‘Targeting’ of Social Security Schemes
Don’t target ‘the poor’ if you really want to help ‘the poor’ In this edition of our Pathways Perspectives, Stephen Kidd examines the evidence on the political economy of ‘targeting’. By...
SHARE




Child wellbeing and social security in Georgia: the case for moving to a more inclusive national social security system
This UNICEF paper examines a range of options for increasing the impacts of the national social security system on children. It suggests that if Georgia is considering extending the Child...
SHARE




The design and management of cash transfer programmes: an overview
Social protection programmes are increasingly recognised as an important tool for tackling poverty and inequality in developing countries, with many implementing large-scale cash transfer programmes aiming to offer comprehensive access...
SHARE




Child-Sensitive Social Protection in Fiji: Assessment of the Care and Protection Allowance
UNICEF and Fiji’s Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation commissioned Development Pathways to carry out the assessment of the Care and Protection Allowance, a national scheme that provides monthly cash transfers and food vouchers to children in vulnerable and low-income families.
SHARE




Establishing Comprehensive National Old Age Pension Systems
KfW Development Bank commissioned Stephen Kidd through Development Pathways for this paper which describes and explains the policy options available to developing countries committed to offering universal pension coverage and...
SHARE




Social Protection: An Effective and Sustainable Investment in Developing Countries
A KfW paper details some of the impacts of tax-financed social protection schemes in developing countries and the significant positive benefits that they bring. These range from building human capital to...
SHARE




Stephen Kidd speaks at Bangladesh Social Security Conference held in Dhaka City
Stephen Kidd delivered two presentation in a two-day Social Security Conference in Dhaka City, Bangladesh this week.
SHARE




Social Exclusion and Access to Social Protection schemes
Exclusion from social protection remains a significant challenge. This study, based on interviews with researchers and programme implementers in Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, and a literature review and experience across many countries, explores factors behind this.
SHARE




The Misuse of the Term ‘Graduation’ in Social Policy
In our 14th Pathways Perspective, Stephen Kidd, Senior Social Policy Advisor, discusses why the term ‘graduation’ should be eliminated from international development discourse. The term ‘graduation’ conflates the two concepts...
SHARE




Rethinking ‘Targeting’ in International Development
Stephen Kidd argues that the debates on targeting are essentially ideological, and we need to rethink the way in which we approach the issue.
SHARE




Achieving Education and Health Outcomes in Pacific Island Countries
A research paper examining the challenges facing Pacific Island countries as they strive to improve the health and education of their people. It examines the policies that need to be...
SHARE




Poverty, Vulnerability and Social Protection in the Pacific – the Role of Social Transfers
This paper examines the evidence on poverty and vulnerability and its causes in the region, and seeks to understand what role social transfers such as pensions, child grants and disability grants, could play in tackling poverty.
SHARE




Bolsa unFAMILIAr
Senior Social Policy Specialists Stephen Kidd and Karishma Huda write about the misconceptions of Brazil’s conditional cash transfer, Bolsa Familia, in the ninth edition of our Pathways Perspectives publications. Our...
SHARE




The Zomba conditional cash transfer experiment: An assessment of its methodology
In the 6th edition of our Pathways Perspectives publications, Stephen Kidd and Rebecca Calder examine the results of a study undertaken by the World Bank in an attempt to assess...
SHARE




A Case Study of How Not to do Targeting Analysis
Stephen Kidd provides a critique of a recent World Bank paper that provides an excellent example of how not to do targeting analysis. The World Bank paper demonstrates how to...
SHARE




Social Safety Net ≠ Safety Net
This Perspective argues that the majority of “social safety nets” do not, in fact, fulfil the minimum criteria of a “safety net:” in effect, they are not available to catch people as they fall into poverty.
SHARE




Child Poverty in OECD Countries: Lessons for Developing Countries
Child Poverty in OECD Countries: Lessons for Developing Countries by Stephen Kidd is a think piece examining how developed countries have tackled child poverty, and what this might mean for...
SHARE




Good practice in the development of management information systems for social protection
In recent years, social protection has moved rapidly up the policy agenda in developing countries. Debates on the design of social protection schemes, however, are often dominated by ideological discussions....
SHARE




Assessing Targeting Options for Nepal’s Social Grants – What Does The Evidence Tell Us?
The Government of Nepal and development partners have been working together to develop a stronger evidence base to inform thinking about social protection policy and support the implementation and scale...
SHARE




Equal pensions, equal rights: achieving universal pension coverage for older women and men in developing countries
In most countries, state pensions are financed from pay-roll taxes. However, such pensions have a strong male bias, with more men than women accessing them while also receiving higher benefits....
SHARE


