Social protection
in Asia and the Pacific
Gabriele Koehler
Development economist
Visiting Fellow, Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team, IDS Sussex
EC Social Protection Training Course
Asia and Pacific Region
Bangkok 12-15 June 2012
Session 1 Day 2
Overview of session:
I. Introduction: the “quiet revolution” –
snapshot from the global South
II. The Asian-Pacific big picture
III. Social protection schemes and instruments:
interactive discussion
IV. Summarising & outlook – quick quiz on
“good” social protection
I. The “quiet revolution”
• Social protection gaining massive support in
multilateral fora, in regional agreements, in
countries, and in North-South and SouthSouth development cooperation
• Numerous, and many large schemes in place
across the globe
• Regional specifics
• Asia with some of the largest and most
innovative schemes globally
Social protection reforms in middle- and
low-income countries across the globe
• Asignación Universal por Hijo para Protección
Social in Argentina
• Bolsa Familia (and the new Brasil Sem
Miséria) programme) in Brazil
• Productive Safety Nets in Ethiopia
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee in India
• Di bao reforms in China
• Progresa and Oportunidades in Mexico.
Regional typologies of SP
• Latin America
– addressing hunger and poverty, “human development oriented”,
conditional cash transfers
• Africa
– poverty and asset building, predominantly unconditional transfers
• South Asia
– hunger, poverty, social exclusion, mixture of conditional and
unconditional, employment schemes as a frequent format
• East Asia and Pacific
– addressing risk, mixed conditional and unconditional cash transfers,
CCTs in Indonesia or Philippines; pensions in East Asia; universal health
systems in China, Philippines, Thailand
• Central Asia
- emphasis on cash transfers to address transition poverty
Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America
Argentina
Programa Familias
Bolivia
Beca Futuro
Brazil
Bolsa Familia, Bolsa Escola
Chile
Chile Solidario
Colombia
Familias en Accion Program
Costa Rica
Programa Superemonos
Ecuador
Bono de Desarrollo Humano
El Salvador
Red Solidaria
Honduras
Programa de Asignacion Familiar
Mexico
Progresa, Oportunidades
Nicaragua
Red de Proteccion Social
Unconditional Cash Transfers in
sub-Saharan Africa
Social protection:
South Asia
Foodrelated
measures
•Cooked
school meals
(IND)
•Subsidized
PDS (IND,
NPL, BGD)
•Subsidized
grain prices
Social
Assistance
•Universal old
age pension
(NPL)
•Benazir Income
Support Program
(PAK)
•Child benefit
(NPL)
•Unorganized
sector health
insurance (IND)
Public
works
•National Rural
Employment Guarantee
(IND)
•Employment Generation
Programme for the
Poorest (BGD)
•Karnali Programme;
Employment Guarantee
Act (NPL)
•Employment generation
for rural unskilled
workers (PAK)
Affirmative action
•Secondary
school stipend
for girls (BGD)
• Education for all
(NPL)
•Child grants for
girls (IND)
•Rural
development and
community based
interventions
(IND)
Human
rights
•Right to
food/National Food
Security Act (IND)
•Mid-day meal
(IND)
•Right to education
(all)
•Right to health
services (all)
•Right to work (IND)
•Right to
information (IND,
BGD, NPL)
II. An Asian-Pacific snapshot –
challenges
&
selected country examples
Unequal progress in sub-regions
The Asia-Pacific share of the
world’s deprived
Source: Asia-Pacific Regional MDG report 2011/12
(ESCAP/ADB/UNDP)
Social protection coverage
Cambodia
China
Minimum Living Subsidy Scheme (DiBao)
since 1997
Description
•The scheme pays the difference between the monthly income of poor households and an income
minimum
Objectives
•To assist poor households in urban China
•to provide five guarantees for the elderly in the areas of housing, food, clothing, medical care, and
burial expenses
•transfers to childless and elderly people.
Monthly transfers
•102 Yuan for poor urban households
•37 Yuan for poor rural households
Target population and coverage
The “3 NOs”, no ability to work, no source of income, and no supporting from family members.
In 2007 :
22.7 million poor urban households
34.5 million poor rural households
2020 target:
1.3 billion citizens.
India
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
Indonesia
Objective:
• JAMKESMAS scheme: Access to health care to the poor and near
poor (76.4 million people)
• Universal health insurance coverage by 2014
Components:
• Subsidized rice to targeted households (“rice for the poor” )
• Scholarships for students from poor families
• JAMSOSTEK: pilot for informal economy workers
Instruments:
• Unconditional Cash Transfers (2005 and 2008)
• Conditional cash transfer program (Program Keluarga Harapan) and
Community Empowerment programme (PNPM).
Kazakhstan
Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) scheme
(2002)
Objective:
• All families to receive the subsistence minimum, fixed by each region
Audience:
• Families with children, the unemployed, care providers for children and the working poor
Format
• monthly cash transfer
Early assessment:
• certain problems defining eligibilities
• serving its fundamental purpose of providing basic assistance for the poor
• satisfactory number of family units were graduating from the scheme
Pakistan
Benazir Income Support Programme
(BISP) (2008)
• Largest direct cash grant scheme in Pakistan’s history
• 3.5 million economically distressed persons affected by poverty
and inflation
• Cash transfers of $13 per month, disbursed every two months
• Women as transfer recipient in each household
• Poverty score card methodology (2010)
• National Database Registration Authority (NADRA)
• Partnership with private sector commercial banks
• From $154 million = 0.4 per cent of total government spending
(2007/8) to $474 million = 1.3 per cent (2009/2010)
Solomon Islands
Rapid Employment Project
2010
Audience:
• the urban poor especially youth, in the capital
Objectives:
• generate income
• life-skill development training: life skills workshops dealing with domestic violence, money
management and health awareness
• longer term employment prospects
• enhanced infrastructure and services, esp in informal settlements
Planned outcome:
• estimated 500,000 labour days of work over the five years of the project
• road repair, maintenance, construction and garbage collection
ADB Social protection index
• Social protection expenditure—
• The total number of beneficiaries of social
protection programs— “coverage”
• The number of poor beneficiaries of social
protection programs— “distribution”
• Social protection expenditure going to the
poor— “impact”
• Average for Asia: 0.36
III. Social protection
schemes and instruments:
interactive group discussion
Some guiding questions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is the challenge?
What is the vision?
What type of intervention is in place?
How does it work?
What is the coverage?
What is the cost?
What are obstacles to this intervention?
How could it be moved towards universalising or
systematising social protection?
• What is missing?
Social protection by challenge
Situation
Emergency and Crisis
Situations
Human Development
Constraints – poverty,
access to social services
Seasonal Unemployment
and Food
Insecurity
Health Shocks
Vulnerable Groups
Intervention
Country examples
Social protection by types
• Income oriented cash transfers (family benefits, social
pensions, etc.);
• food insecurity-oriented (food and cash; school meals);
• human development oriented (education, health grants,
health insurance);
• social inclusion oriented (scholarships, girl child grants);
• Employment and asset-oriented (public works
programmes, microcredit);
• emergency related (food for work, food subsidies);
• refugee/displaced person-conflict related
Social protection by type
Country level: a phased approach
Step 2 –Assessment of social protection
SPF
Existing SP Planned SP
Gaps
Recomme
objectives provision provisions
ndations
Design Implemen(strategy)
gaps tation issues
Health
Children
Working
age
Elderly
The Social Protection
Situation
Social Protection Floor
template: guarantees and
objectives
Design gaps and
implementation
issues (to
complete the SPF)
Priority policy
options to be
decided through
national dialogue
Country discussion
Country
Bangla
desh
Cambo
dia
China
India
Indone
sia
Lao
PDR
Nepal
Philippi
Intervention
Challeng
e addressed
Objectiv
e
Indica
Cover
Obstacle Shortco
tors of
age/cost s
mings
progress /index
/success
Role for
EC Del
GROUP WORK:
SOCIAL PROTECTION
COUNTRY PROGRAMMES
• Present 1-2 country´s
programme within the group
• Distill main characteristics for
both
• Prepare 5-minute summary for
plenary
Country discussion
Country
Bangladesh
Cambod
ia
China
India
Indonesi
a
Lao PDR
Nepal
Philippi
Interven
tion
Challenge
addressed
Objective
Indicators
of
progress/s
uccess
Coverage/
cost/index
Obstacle
Shortcomings
Social
pension
Old age
poverty
Coverag
e of all
>70
Take up
rate yr 2
…
0.5%
GDP
Min of
Child
Welfare
Bias to
well-off
Role for EC
Del
Pathways to “Four SPF guarantees”
Bangladesh: Strategy…
Tajikistan :…
India: RSBY, NREGA
Cambodia: NSPS with
clear reference to the
SPF … including HEFs,
CBHIs, Food
distribution, PWPs,…
Thailand: UC scheme,
minimum pension
scheme (500 THB)
Sri Lanka: …
Indonesia: Jamkesmas,
Jampersal, PKH, Rice
for the poor, PNPM
China: minimum living
standard guarantee
program; new rural
corporative medical care
(NRCMC); health insurance
for urban uninsured
residents (HIUR); rural oldage pension
Lao: extension of SHP
for all
Philippines: universal
health reform
Nepal: broad range
Vietnam: 10 years Social
security strategy
IV. Summarising & outlook
Pathways to social protection
Bangladesh: Strategy…
Tajikistan :…
India: RSBY, NREGA
Cambodia: NSPS with
clear reference to the
SPF … including HEFs,
CBHIs, Food
distribution, PWPs,…
Thailand: UC scheme,
minimum pension
scheme (500 THB)
Sri Lanka: …
Indonesia: Jamkesmas,
Jampersal, PKH, Rice
for the poor, PNPM
China: minimum living
standard guarantee
program; new rural
corporative medical care
(NRCMC); health insurance
for urban uninsured
residents (HIUR); rural oldage pension
Lao: extension of SHP
for all
Philippines: universal
health reform
Nepal: broad range
Vietnam: 10 years Social
security strategy
Country
Intervention
Challeng Objectiv
es adde
ressed
Indica
tors of
progress/su
ccess
Cover
age/cost/ind
ex
Obstacl
es
Bangla
desh
Rural
empoy
ment/i
ncome
generat
ion.
Scale
up
32%
BPL;
Employ
ment;
gender
Women
have
sustain
income
2.5%ofGDP
owners
hip
China
Reform
of SP
system
Rural/u Univers
rban.
al soc
Urbanis sec
Expand
rural
pension
100 billRMB Central Lack of
Y
soc ass.
/prov/l policy
…RMB
ocal
framewor
Country discussion
Cash
for
work
env .
Assets
accum
ulated
p
family
Shortcomi
ngs
R
o
le
f
o
r
E
C
D
el
Y
QUICK QUIZ
WHAT IS “GOOD” SOCIAL PROTECTION?
…
…
QUICK QUIZ
WHAT IS “GOOD SOCIAL PROTECTION”?
Rights based - Universal right/universal coverage
Citizenship- or residents-based
Accompanied by supply side measures
Accompanied by decent work policy & action
Addresses crises, chronic poverty, vulnerabilities
Well-targeted and publicised entitlements for socially excluded groups
Special effort to reach disadvantaged households/communities
Systemic – uniting fragmented systems
 Sustainable, predictable, meaningful benefit levels
Affordable and long-term sustainable
Tax financed
Empowerment: space to civil society and public action
Manageable
Advanced IT
Monitoring & evaluation systems
Reading & resource list
Armando Barrientos, Miguel Niño-Zarazúa and Mathilde Maitrot 2010. Social Assistance in Developing
Countries Database. Brooks World Poverty Institute. University of Manchester . Version 5.0 July 2010 .
http://www.bwpi.manchester.ac.uk/resources/social-assistance-database-version-5.pdf
Sri Wening Handayani, 2010.Enhancing Social Protection in Asia and the Pacific. The Proceedings of the
Regional Workshop. Asian Development Bank. Manila..
http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/pub/2011/proceedings-enhancing-social-protection.pdf.
Gabriele Koehler, 2011. „Transformative Social Protection: Reflections on Policy Experiences in Four South
Asian Countries‟, IDS Bulletin 42.5. www.ids.ac.uk
Gabriele Koehler, Marta Calì, Mariana Stirbu 2009. Social protection in South Asia. A review. UNICEF Regional
Office South Asia. http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/files/social_protection_in_south_asia__a_review_-_unicef_rosa_2009.pdf
ILO. Global Extension of Social Security. GESS data base. http://www.socialprotection.org/gimi/gess/ShowMainPage.do
Reading & resource list
Social protection in Asia Research group 2010. Social protection in Asia: research findings and policy lessons .
Programme synthesis reporthttp://www.socialprotectionasia.org/Conf-prgrampdf/SPA_SynthReport_web.pdf
UN Development Group Asia-Pacific 2011. Social Protection Issues Brief. Prepared by UNDP Thematic Group
on Social Protection. Annex. http://www.socialprotection.org/gimi/gess/RessShowRessource.do?ressourceId=26321
UNDP 2011 Ensuring Inclusion: e-Discussion on Social Protection . Asia-Pacific Inclusive Growth and
Development. Summary of e-Discussion. UNDP Asia and Pacific Regional Centre BANGKOK.
http://www.gabrielekoehler.net/Data/Sites/1/UNDP%20Asia%20Pacific%20SP%20eDiscussion-Final160112-1.pdf
UN ESCAP 2011. The Promise of Protection Social Protection and development in Asia and the Pacific.
http://www.unescap.org/sdd/publications/social-protection/UN-Promise-of-Protection.pdf
World Bank 2012. RESILIENCE, EQUITY, AND OPPORTUNITY. The World Bank’s Social Protection
and Labor Strategy 2012–2022 . Washington April 2012.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOCIALPROTECTION/Resources/2805581274453001167/7089867-1279223745454/7253917-1291314603217/SPL_Strategy_201222_FINAL.pdf