Concepts and rationale for social protection Gabriele Koehler Development economist Visiting Fellow, Vulnerability and Poverty Reduction Team, IDS Sussex.

Concepts and rationale for social protection

Gabriele KoehlerDevelopment 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 2 Day 1

Overview: Concepts and rationale for

social protection

I. Social protection as a necessityII. Economic growth, inequality and the potential role of

social protectionIII. Social protection as a rightIV. Definitions of social protection and classification systemsV. Direct and indirect effects of SP interventionsVI. Reflection: the “quiet revolution” and what's emerging

I.) Social protection as a necessity

Income poverty

• Absolute number and share of extremely poor people has declined since 1990 globally

• But: number of extremely poor in Africa and South Asia increased– using $1.25 per personday income poverty measure

• Number of poor and vulnerable people:– 2.5 billion persons– using $2 per personday income poverty

measure

Food inequalities

Employment inequalities

Employment inequalities

Child labour

Disasters and conflict

11

12

Armed conflicts

• Income/economic class• Ethnicity• Religion• Language• Caste/clan• Health condition/communicable/visible diseases• Ability/disability• Geographic location/”distance”/urban vs rural• Citizenship and migration status• Condition of menstruation • Sexual orientation• Recurrent emergency situations• Conflict situation • Age

Social exclusions –manifest in every society

GEN

DER

II. Economic growth, inequalityand the potential role of

social protection

The Great Recession

Income inequality and poverty (OECD)

III. Social protection as a right

QUICK QUIZ: What is this text?

When was it written?Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to the realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Right to Social ProtectionUniversal Declaration of Human Rights (1948):Article 22: • Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966):

Article 9:

The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989): Article 26:States Parties shall recognize for every child the right to benefit from social

security, including social insurance, and shall take the necessary measures to achieve the full realization of this right in accordance with their national law.

Normative frameworks: recent UN trendsRight to food, FAO 2004, Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive

Realization of the Right to Adequate Food, and Committee on World Food Security, May 2012 adopted Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security

World Health Assembly 2008 - return to Alma Ata vision of primary health care for all

Global Social Floor Initiative since 2009 –striving for an ILO Recommendation on Social Protection for all (ILC June 2012)

MDGs 2010: more emphasis on equity, inclusion, human rights

OHCHR Special rapporteurs on human rights – including right to food and right to highest attainable standards of health

Rio + 20: …

OHCHR Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts on human rights

right to education; human rights and extreme poverty; right to food; right to adequate housing; access to safe drinking water and sanitation; against violence against women; physical and mental health; economic policies and debt; TNCs; and other substantive normative areas.

Rights – 3 Principles

1. Inclusion, equality - universality• Every human being is equally entitled to social protection• Advocates universal not targeted programmes

2. Citizenship and participation• Involves negotiating specific entitlements that all citizens can claim such

as free education• ‘Social contract’ between the states and its citizens

3. Obligation and accountability • Ability and willingness of the state to deliver SP under its human rights

obligations• Requires transparency and accountability – good governance and

administrative capacity

IV. Definitions of social protection and

classification systems

Social protection: EU

• Europea of the European Social Model

Long history: Treaty of Rome (1958): • social protection as one of the social objectives• universal and equal access to social protection for the big social risks

Update: Treaty of Lisabon (2009): • combat social exclusion and discrimination• promote social justice and protection, gender

equality,solidarity between generations, child rights Europe 2020: smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (2010):• five 'ambitious targets' – employment, innovation,

education,social inclusion and climate/energy

Social protection: EU 2012 • a human right• social justice and equity, rather than growth• target the poor - obligation of authorities towards their citizens• investment in present citizenry and future generations• reduce the vulnerability and poverty of those excluded or

marginalised from economic activity; serve as an important instrument of investment in human capital

• a multidimensional concept that should be integrated with political, economic and social goals

Social protection: ILO “…a set of public initiatives that

– provide income or consumption transfers to the poor,

– protect the vulnerable against livelihood risks,

– enhance the social status and – promote the rights of the marginalised,

with the overall objective of reducing their economic and social vulnerability.” (ILO)

Social Protection Floor(s)

Social protection: ADB• a basic human right and a social necessity to combat poverty and

inequality. • promotes human well-being, inclusive growth, political stability, and

social cohesion• can reduce inequality, including that between the sexes. • is critical for achieving the MDGs. • is a key pillar of inclusive growth• is affordable. • is an investment to lift and keep people out of poverty. • contributes to gender equity

Social protection: UNICEF • the set of public and private policies and programmes

aimed at preventing, reducing and eliminating economic and social vulnerabilities to poverty and deprivation.

Principles of child-sensitive social protection • Avoid adverse impacts on children, and reduce or mitigate social and economic

risks that directly affect children's lives. • Intervene as early as possible where children are at risk• Consider the age- and gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities of children

throughout the life- cycle. • Mitigate the effects of shocks, exclusion and poverty on families• Make special provision to reach children who are particularly vulnerable and

excluded• Consider the mechanisms and intra-household dynamics• Include the voices and opinions of children, their caregivers and youth

UNICEF: social protection

Social protection: DFID • Cash transfers as direct, regular and

predictable non-contributory payments that raise and smooth incomes with the objective of reducing poverty and vulnerability.

Social protection: World Bank • Social protection and labor systems, policies, and

programs help individuals and societies manage risk and volatility and protect them from poverty and destitution—through instruments that improve resilience, equity, and opportunity.

• Social protection and labor practice will help countries move from fragmented approaches toward more coherent systems for social protection and labor, and help to make these more responsive, productive and inclusive.

DistinctionsDistinctions

A typology of social protection

Another typology of social protection

ProtectiveProtectiveSocial Social assistanceassistance

PreventivePreventiveInsuranceInsurance mechanisms mechanisms

PromotivePromotiveEconomicEconomic

opportunitiesopportunities

TransformativTransformativee

SocialSocial transformation transformation

A Framework for Social Protection

Rachel Sabates-Wheeler/Stephen Devereux

V. Direct and indirect effects of social protection

interventions

VI. Reflections: the “quiet revolution”

Paradigm shifted:• Surge in social protection over past 15 years,

acknowledging inequities• Rights-based agenda advancing

Emerging shifts:• Combining employment and decent work with social

protection • Connecting social services with income guarantees – the

social protection floors initiative

Reading list: rationale and concepts social protectionMichelle Bachelet, 2011, Social Protection Floor for a Fair and Inclusive Globalization, report of the Advisory Group chaired by Michelle

Bachelet convened by the ILO with the collaboration of the WHO. ILO. www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-media- centre/news/WCMS_166292/lang--en/index.htm

Stephen Devereux and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler 2004. Transformative Social Protection, IDS Working Paper 232. Brighton: IDS. www.ids.ac.uk

Stephen Devereux and Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, 2007. Debating Social Protection. Editorial Introduction. IDS Bulletin Vol 38 No 3. Pp. 1-7. www.ids.ac.uk

DFID, 2011, Cash Transfers. Evidence Paper. DFID Policy Division. Londonhttp://www.dfid.gov.uk/r4d/PDF/Articles/cash-transfers-evidence-paper.pdf

EU, 2012. Social protection in EU development cooperation. Report prepared for the EU by Simon Commander, Mark Davies, and Constantine Zaman. Brussels 2012. page 5. http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/public-consultations/documents/stk_final_consultation_report_en.pdf

Margaret Grosh et al. 2008, For protection and promotion: the design and implementation of effective safety nets. World Bank, Washington DC

Joseph Hanlon, Armando Barrientos, David Hulme, 2010, Just give money to the poor. The development revolution from the global South. Kumarian Press

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 .

Naila Kabeer, 2010, Can the MDGs provide a pathway to social justice. The challenge of intersecting inequalities. IDS and UN MDG Achievement Fund. www.ids.ac.uk

ILO, 2011, World Social Security Report. Providing Coverage in times of crisis and beyond. 2010-2011. www.ilo.org

ILO, 2011, Social protection floors for social justice and a fair globalization. International Labour Conference, 101st Session, 2012. Report IV (1) . ILC.101/IV/1http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_160210.pdf

Gabriele Koehler, 2009, Policies towards social inclusion. Global Social Policy: 9. pp. 24-29, http://gsp.sagepub.com/content/9/1/24.full.pdf

Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel and Stephen Devereux, 2007, Social Protection for Transformation. IDS Bulletin Vol 38 No 3. Pp. 23-27. www.ids.ac.uk

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2010. Rethinking Poverty. Report on the World Social Situation 2010. United Nations, New York. http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/rwss/2010.html

UN, Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/ (1948)

UNDP 2010. Human Development Report 2010. www.undp.org

UNRISD, 2010. Combating Poverty and Inequality: Structural Change, Social Policy and Politics. http://www.unrisd.org/80256B3C005BCCF9/(httpPublications)/BBA20D83E347DBAFC125778200440AA7?OpenDocument

UN General Assembly, Outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the 65 th session of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals. September 2010. A/64/L-72. www.un.org/MDGs

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/280558-1274453001167/7089867-1279223745454/7253917-1291314603217/SPL_Strategy_2012-22_FINAL.pdf