Contents

Foreword

xi

Acknowledgments

xiii

About the Authors

xv

Structure of the Book

xvii

Abbreviations

xix

Executive Summary

1

PART I ANALYTICS

4

Chapter 1 Explaining the Social Safety Net’s Data Landscape

5

Introduction

5

What Are Social Protection and Social Safety Net Interventions? What Is the ASPIRE Classification of Social Safety Net Programs?

5

What Is the ASPIRE Database? How Does the ASPIRE Team Collect and Ensure Quality of the Data? What Are the Limitations of the Data?

7

How Is the Performance of Social Safety Net Programs Measured?

13

Notes

14

References

15

Chapter 2 Spending on Social Safety Nets

16

How Much Do Regions and Countries Spend on Social Safety Nets?

16

Do Higher-Income Countries Spend More on Social Safety Nets?

18

How Has Spending Changed over Time?

25

Which Social Safety Net Instruments Do Countries Fund?

27

Notes

30

References

30

Chapter 3 Analyzing the Performance of Social Safety Net Programs

31

Who Is Covered by Social Protection and Labor Programs?

32

Which Types of Social Safety Net Programs Cover the Poor?

34

What Is the Beneficiary Incidence of Various Social Safety Net Instruments?

41

What Are the Benefit Levels of Social Safety Net Programs?

49

What Are the Poverty and Inequality Impacts of Social Safety Net Programs?

59

What Factors Affect the Impact of Social Safety Net Transfers on Poverty and Inequality?

61

Notes

64

References

65

Highlight 1: Productive Outcomes of Social Safety Net Programs: Evidence from Impact Evaluations in Sub-Saharan Africa

66

PART II SPECIAL TOPICS

70

Chapter 4 Social Assistance and Aging

71

What Are Old-Age Social Pensions, and Why Are They on the Rise?

71

Why Do Countries Introduce Old-Age Social Pensions?

73

What Have Old-Age Social Pensions Accomplished?

76

Notes

81

References

81

Highlight 2. Policy Considerations for Introducing Old-Age Social Pensions

82

Chapter 5 The Emergence of Adaptive Social Protection

84

Why Does the World Need Adaptive Social Protection?

84

Focus Area 1: Building Household Resilience Before Shocks Occur

86

Focus Area 2: Increasing the Capability of Safety Nets to Respond to Shocks after They Occur

89

References

92

Appendix A Methodological Framework, Definitions, and Data Sources

94

Appendix B Household Surveys Used in the Book

98

Appendix C Global Program Inventory

101

Appendix D Spending on Social Safety Net Programs

138

Appendix E Monthly Benefit Level Per Household

144

Appendix F Performance Indicators

145

Appendix G Old-Age Social Pensions

154

Appendix H Basic Characteristics of Countries Included in the Book

161

Glossary

165

Boxes

1.1

Leveraging Household Survey Data to Monitor and Measure Social Protection and Labor Program Performance

12

3.1

Universal Social Protection

34

3.2

Measuring the Impact of Social Protection and Labor Programs

59

5.1

Horizontal and Vertical Expansions through Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program

90

5.2

Responding Rapidly to Disasters through Vertical Expansions in Fiji and the Philippines

91

5.3

Investing in Risk and Vulnerability Information and Tying It to Safety Net Programming in the Dominican Republic, Kenya, and the Republic of Yemen

91

Figures

2.1

Average Global and Regional Spending on Social Safety Nets

17

2.2

Share of Donor-Funded Safety Nets in Sub-Saharan African Countries

18

2.3

Social Safety Net Spending Variations across Countries and Regions: East Asia and Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia

19

2.4

Social Safety Net Spending Variations across Countries and Regions: Africa, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia

20

2.5

Social Safety Net Spending across Country Income Groups versus the OECD

21

2.6

Total Social Safety Net Spending and Income Levels across Regions

22

2.7

Absolute Annual Spending on Social Safety Nets per Capita across Countries and Regions: East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean

23

2.8

Absolute Annual Spending on Social Safety Nets per Capita across Countries, Economies, and Regions: Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia

24

2.9

Regional Median Annual Social Safety Net Spending per Capita

25

2.10

Transfer Amount for Cash Transfer Programs, by Income Group

25

2.11

Trends in Social Safety Net Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean

26

2.12

Trends in Social Safety Net Spending in Europe and Central Asia, 2003–14

27

2.13

Expansion of Flagship Cash Transfer Programs in Tanzania, Senegal, the Philippines, and Indonesia

28

2.14

Social Safety Net Spending across Regions, by Instrument

30

3.1

Share of Total Population and the Poorest Quintile That Receives Any Social Protection and Labor Programs, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Region

33

3.2

Share of Total Population and the Poorest Quintile That Receives Any Social Protection and Labor Programs, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Country Income Group

33

3.3

Share of Poorest Quintile That Receives Any Social Protection and Labor Program, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Type of Social Protection and Labor Area and Country Income Group

35

3.4

Share of the Poorest Quintile That Receives Unconditional Cash Transfer Programs, as Captured in Household Surveys

36

3.5

Share of the Poorest Quintile That Receives Conditional Cash Transfer Programs, as Captured in Household Surveys

37

3.6

Share of the Poorest Quintile That Receives Social Pensions, as Captured in Household Surveys

39

3.7

Share of the Poorest Quintile That Receives Public Works, as Captured in Household Surveys

40

3.8

Share of the Poorest Quintile That Receives Fee Waivers and Targeted Subsidies, as Captured in Household Surveys

41

3.9

Share of the Poorest Quintile That Receives School Feeding Programs, as Captured in Household Surveys

42

3.10

Share of the Poorest Quintile That Receives In-Kind Transfers, as Captured in Household Surveys

43

3.11

Global Distribution of Beneficiaries by Type of Social Safety Net Instrument, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

44

3.12

Distribution of Unconditional Cash Transfer Beneficiaries, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

45

3.13

Distribution of Conditional Cash Transfer Beneficiaries, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

47

3.14

Distribution of Social Pensions Beneficiaries, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

48

3.15

Distribution of Public Works Beneficiaries, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

49

3.16

Distribution of Fee Waivers and Targeted Subsidies Beneficiaries, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

50

3.17

Distribution of School Feeding Beneficiaries, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

51

3.18

Distribution of In-Kind Transfer Beneficiaries, as Captured in Household Surveys, by Quintile of Pretransfer Welfare

52

3.19

Social Protection and Labor Transfer Value Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Posttransfer Welfare among the Total Population

53

3.20

Social Protection and Labor Transfer Value Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Posttransfer Welfare among the Poorest Quintile

54

3.21

Unconditional Cash Transfer Value Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Posttransfer Welfare among the Poorest Quintile

55

3.22

Conditional Cash Transfer Value Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Posttransfer Welfare among the Poorest Quintile

56

3.23

Social Pensions’ Value Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Posttransfer Welfare among the Poorest Quintile

57

3.24

Public Works’ Value Captured in Household Surveys as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Posttransfer Welfare among the Poorest Quintile

58

3.25

Fee Waivers and Targeted Subsidies Value Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Posttransfer Welfare among the Poorest Quintile

58

3.26

World Reductions in Poverty from Social Safety Net Transfers, as Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Pretransfer Indicator Levels, by Relative and Absolute Poverty Lines

60

3.27

Reductions in Poverty and Inequality from Social Safety Net Transfers, as Captured in Household Surveys, as a Share of Pretransfer Indicator Levels, by Country Income Group Using Relative Poverty Line

61

3.28

Poverty Headcount Reduction from Coverage and Level of Social Assistance Benefits for the Poorest Quintile, as Captured in Household Surveys

62

3.29

Poverty Gap Reduction from Coverage and Level of Social Assistance Benefits for the Poorest Quintile, as Captured in Household Surveys

63

4.1

Population, Age 64 Years and Older, as a Percentage of Total Population, by Region

72

4.2

Number of Countries with Old-Age Social Pensions, 1898–2012

73

4.3

Introduction of Old-Age Social Pensions, 2001–13

73

4.4

Distribution of Old-Age Pension Programs

75

4.5

Age of Eligibility for Pension Programs

76

4.6

Old-Age Pension Coverage of Population Age 60 Years and Older, by Region

77

4.7

Distribution of Old-Age Social Pension Beneficiaries, by Income Quintile

78

4.8

Old-Age Social Pensions as a Share of Beneficiaries’ Welfare, Poorest and Second-Poorest Quintiles

79

4.9

Impact of Old-Age Social Pensions on Poverty Headcount, Poverty Gap, and Gini Inequality Index Reduction, as a Share of Pretransfer Indicator Levels, Using Relative Poverty Line (Poorest 20 Percent)

80

4.10

Benefit–Cost Ratio of Old-Age Social Pensions

80

H2.1

Elderly and Labor Force Coverage

82

5.1

Total Number of Disasters and Affected People, 1980–2012

85

5.2

Total Number of Displaced People, 1951–2015

85

5.3

Ranking of Natural Disasters and Safety Net Coverage

87

5.4

Social Safety Net Coverage of the Poor and Humanitarian Spending, 2010–15

88

5.5

Program Scalability to Enable Responsiveness to Shocks

90

Map

4.1

Countries with Old-Age Social Pensions and Their Main Purpose

74

Tables

1.1

Social Protection and Labor Market Intervention Areas

6

1.2

ASPIRE Classification of Social Safety Net Programs

7

1.3

Countries with the Household and Administrative Data Used in This Book, by Country Income Group

9

1.4

Matching of Administrative and Household Survey Data for Social Safety Net Programs for Selected Countries/Economies

11

2.1

Social Safety Net Spending across and within Regions

21

2.2

Variations in Social Safety Net Spending across Country Income Groups

22

A.1

ASPIRE Social Protection and Labor Program Classification

95

B.1

Household Surveys Used in the Book

98

C.1

Conditional Cash Transfers and Unconditional Cash Transfers

102

C.2

Food and In Kind and School Feeding

118

C.3

Public Works and Fee Waivers

128

D.1

Spending on Social Safety Net Programs

138

E.1

Monthly Benefit Level Per Household for Selected Programs

144

F.1

Key Performance Indicators of Social Protection and Labor Programs

145

F.2

Key Performance Indicators of Social Safety Nets Programs

147

F.3

Poverty and Inequality Reduction as a Result of Social Safety Nets Programs

150

G.1

Old-Age Social Pensions around the World

154

G.2

Old-Age Social Pensions Captured in ASPIRE Household Surveys

160

H.1

Basic Characteristics of Countries Included in the Book

161