the definition of social protection - adb

8/8/2019 The Definition of Social Protection - ADB

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II. the definiionof Social Proecion

A. AdBs diiio o Social Procio

The definition of social protection has both conceptual and practical

implications for this study:

What is social protection and how should it be distinguished fromthe more all-embracing concepts of poverty reduction and social

development?

How can social protection be defined in such a way that the primary

objective of this studythe creation of a Social Protection Index

(SPI)can be achieved? In this regard, key considerations are

the need for quantification and ensuring a similar approach for all

participating countries.

The starting point for this study was the Asian Development Banks

(ADBs) definition of social protection. ADB has defined it as the set of policies

and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labor

markets, diminishing peoples exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to protect

themselves against hazards and the interruption/loss of income.17Furthermore, social

protection is defined as comprising five major kinds of activities: labor market

policies and programs, social insurance, social assistance, micro/area-based

schemes, and child protection.18 Table 2.1 lists the types of programs and

activities that are considered to fall into each of these components.

17 Ortiz, 2001, p.41.

18 ADB, Social Protection Strategy, p. 13, Manila, 2001

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The wide-ranging nature of this definition is immediately apparent when

one considers the different types of activity that are deemed to fall into eachof the components listed above. While the traditional components of social

protection are includede.g., social assistance and social insurance along

with labor market policiesso, too, are aspects of early child development

such as immunization and nutrition, which are more usually classified as

falling within health policies. Similarly, area-based projects such as social

funds involve activities as those found in many integrated rural, urban, and

community development projects, e.g., community-based infrastructure

development. The variety of activities that ADB includes as falling within

social protection is shown in Appendix 3 of the ADB Social Protection Strategy:Progress Report to the Board of Directors (Manila, 2002). This appendix includes

projects such as rural health (Viet Nam), coastal community development

and fisheries (Indonesia), fisheries resource management (the Philippines),

agriculture sector development (Mongolia), basic education (Lao Peoples

Democratic Republic [Lao PDR]), microfinance in several countries, and

health and nutrition sector development (Indonesia). These programs not

only involve a much wider range of activities but also appear to extend the

definition of social protection cited above.

On the other hand, the footnotes to the tables imply a morerestrictive approach. For instance, under Child Protection Programs (Table

5, Appendix 3), the footnote states that basic education projects are

normally excluded, yet the table includes the Lao PDR Basic Education

(girls) project. Furthermore, the reported social protection activities

undertaken by ADB reveal an emphasis on labor and vulnerability issues, as

well as the targeting of vulnerable groups. Social protection training provided

has also been targeted at topics such as labor standards/legislation and social

security and assistance. The implication is that ADBs actual social protection

activities cover a narrower and more traditional range than is implied by thedefinition it has adopted. Clearly, the definition of social protection is by no

means cut and dry, or noncontroversial.

Social protection programs identified in Table 2.1 fall into four general

types:

Programs that bring direct and tangible benefits to subgroups of

the poor and the vulnerable through cash or in-kind transferse.g.,

most social assistance payments, scholarships or other educational

assistance, health subsidies, food/disaster aid, and food for work

programs. Programs, especially insurance, that provide coverage to a group far

larger than actually direct benefit from the service.



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the defInItIOn Of SOCIAL PROteCtIOn

Table 2.1: ADBs Components and Subcomponents of Social Protection

Component/Subcomponent of Social Protection

Labor Market Programs

Directemploymentgeneration(microenterprisedevelopmentandpublicworks)

Laborexchangesandotheremploymentservices

Skillsdevelopmentandtraining

Laborlegislation(includingminimumage,wagelevels,health,andsafety,etc.)

Social Insurance Programs

Programstocovertherisksassociatedwithunemployment,sickness,maternity,

disability,industrialinjury,andoldage

Social Assistance and Welfare Programs

Welfareandsocialservicestargetedatthesick,theindigent,orphans,

andothervulnerablegroups

Cash/in-kindtransfers(e.g.,foodstamps)

Temporarysubsidiesforutilitiesandstaplefoods

Micro and Area-Based Schemes (community-based)

Microinsuranceschemes Agriculturalinsurance

Socialfunds(usuallyinvolvingtheconstruction,operation,andmaintenance

ofsmall-scalephysicalandsocialinfrastructure)

Disasterpreparednessandmanagement

Child Protection

Earlychilddevelopmentactivitiese.g.,basicnutrition,preventativehealth,

andeducationalprograms

Educationalassistance(e.g.,school-feeding,scholarships,feewaivers)

Healthassistance(e.g.,reducedfeesforvulnerablegroups)

Streetchildreninitiatives

Childrightsandadvocacy/awarenessprogramsagainstchildabuse,childlaboretc,

Youthprogramstoreducehealthrisks(especiallyHIV/AIDSanddrugs)and

anti-socialbehaviour.

Familyallowances(e.g.,in-kindorcashtransferstoassistfamilieswithyoung

childrentomeetpartoftheirbasicneeds).

Source:DerivedfromI.Ortiz(ed.),Defining an Agenda for Poverty ReductionProceedings of the First

Asia and Pacific Forum on Poverty,Volume2,p.57,ADB,Manila,2002;ADB,SocialProtectionStrategy,pp.1422,Manila,2001.



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Programs that benefit communities as a whole rather than individual

householdse.g., social funds, area-based schemes. Legal and legislative measures covering sections of the poor and the

vulnerable but which do not bring directly measurable benefits

e.g., labor codes, child protection laws.

The feasibility of quantifying expenditures and beneficiariesthe

critical variables as far as the formulation of an SPI is concernedwill vary

considerably between each category of social protection activities. Overall,

if all types of programs listed in Table 2.1 and the appendices to the above-

mentioned Progress Report on the Social Protection Study were included aspart of this study, then:

Few development projects not involving major infrastructure would

be excluded;

Expenditure and beneficiaries from traditional social protection

activities such as social welfare and social assistance would, in many

cases, only represent a small minority of total social protection

expenditure and beneficiaries. This would considerably weaken

the usefulness of the results especially given that ADB's current

emphasis as regards social protection is on topics such as socialand health insurance; job creation programs; and improving labor

legislation, standards, and safeguards;

The difficult issues relating to estimating beneficiaries from projects

not targeted at individual households and with impacts lasting

several years would have to be resolved; and

The data collection task would be monumental and would never be

easily replicable without considerable resources.

B. Cor diiios o Social Procio

Local consultants were asked, as part of their work, to investigate how social

protection was defined in their country and what types of programs fell within

this definition. The principal findings were:

The term social protection is rarely used in Asian countries. This

is not altogether surprising as the term social protection has only

been adopted by multilateral and bilateral development agencies

in recent years; it is also not commonly used in many developedcountries. The terms more commonly used were social security,

social welfare, and social safety nets.



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help disabled and vulnerable people to be more self-sufficient and

integrated into mainstream society; expand the coverage of social insurance policies, including

community-based schemes;

expand social protection and safety-net schemes for the poor,

the hungry, and those unable to work and with no other means of

support;

protect and educate vulnerable children and those with special

needs, such as orphans, child workers and street kids, disabled

children (including victims of HIV/AIDS and Agent Orange);

improve labor market access for the poor and the vulnerable; enhance labor legislation to protect rights of workers and increase

safety at work;

develop an effective system of emergency social relief solutions;

and

expand the participation and role of nongovernment organizations

(NGOs) in developing and implementing safety net policies.

The overall conclusion is that Asian countries, even if they do not use

the term social protection, implicitly see it as constituting a narrower rangeof programs than contained in ADBs definition, primarily consisting of: the

more traditional components of social protection, i.e., social welfare/assistance

to vulnerable groups (including targeted pro-poor schemes), social insurance,

and labor market programs; and targeted poverty reduction programs.

C. t Ss diiio o Social Procio

The above issues were raised during the local workshops held during theearlier study.20 The focus in these discussions was on the types of programs

that should and should not be included in this study. Workshop participants

generally felt that including some components implied by ADBs definition

e.g., health education, general immunization programs, local infrastructure

development, integrated rural/community development programswould

lead to a definition of social protection that would:

include types of programs generally associated with other sectors

such as health, education, and rural development;

20 See Halcrow, 2005, op. cit, Main Report, Volume 1, Chapter 2 and Viet Nam Country Report

in Weber, 2006, op. cit.



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create difficulties in terms of quantification, especially for projects

targeted at communities where, often, implementation andexpenditure are phased over a number of years. The population

will also continue to benefit from the resulting infrastructure and

technical assistance (e.g., agricultural extension services) for many

years despite the formal completion of the project. How could the

beneficiaries from these programs be related to the annual numbers

of recipients of direct social assistance, pensions, etc.?

divert attention away from the traditional social insurance and

welfare aspects of social protection; and

require a level of resources for data collection and analysis notavailable to the study.

The conclusion was that a narrower definition of social protection hadtobe adopted to achieve the prime objective of this study, i.e., the formulation

of an SPI. After considerable discussion, the definition of social protection

adopted was as follows:

The set of policies and programs that enable vulnerable groups to prevent, reduce,

and/or cope with risks, and that:

are targeted at the vulnerable groups; involve cash or in-kind transfers; and

are not activities that are usually associatedwith other sectors such as ruraldevelopment, basic infrastructure, health, and education.

Table 2.2 contains a schedule of the types of programs that are considered

to fall within the definition above. The table also indicates those programs

falling within ADBs categorization of social protection activities that will

not be considered in this study. The latter mainly includes programs that

either involve the construction of physical or social infrastructure, integratedcommunity development schemes and programs that traditionally fall within

the education and health sectors, such as primary and preschool education,

immunization, health and nutrition education, and pre- and postnatal care.



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Table 2.2: Inclusion/Exclusion of Social Protection Programs

Component/Subcomponent

of Social Protection

Included/

Excluded

Comments

Labor Market Programs

Directemploymentgeneration(microenterprisedevelopmentandpublicworks)

Included Includesloan-basedprogramstosupportsmallbusinesses,etc.

Laborexchangesandotheremploymentservices

Included Includingretrenchmentprograms

Skillsdevelopmentandtraining Excluded Unlesstargetedatparticular

groups,suchastheunemployedordisadvantagedchildren

Laborlegislation(includingminimumage,wagelevels,healthandsafety,etc.)

Included Notamenabletoquantification

Social Insurance Programs

Programstocovertherisksassociatedwithunemployment,sickness,maternity,disability,industrialinjury,andoldage

Included

Healthinsurance Included

Social Assistance and Welfare Programs

Welfareandsocialservicestargetedatthedisabled,theindigent,thoseaffectedbydisasters,andothervulnerablegroups.

Included

Cash/in-kindtransfers(e.g.,foodstamps,healthcostexemptions,orsubsidies)

Included

Temporarysubsidiesforutilities,housing,etc.

Included Onlyiftargetedatparticularvulnerablegroups.Generalsubsidiesareexcludedeveniftheirrationaleistoassistthepoor

Micro and Area-Based Schemes

Microinsurance/microfinanceschemes Included Microfinanceseenasanimportantaspectofsocialprotection.Mainstreamruralcreditprogramswillbeexcluded

Agriculturalinsurance Included Notverycommon

Socialfunds Excluded Exceptwheredirecttransferstohouseholdsoccur

Disasterpreparednessandmanagement Included Reconstructionofphysicalinfrastructureisexcluded;cash/in-

kindgrantsincluded;numberofbeneficiariesnotamenabletoquantification



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Component/Subcomponent

of Social Protection

Included/

Excluded

Comments

Child Protection

Childrightsandadvocacy/awareness

programsagainstchildabuse,child

labor,etc.

Included Notamenabletoquantification

Earlychilddevelopmentactivities Excluded Unlessdirectlytargetedto

particulargroups,e.g.,childrenof

singlemothers,orinvolvehandouts

suchaschild/maternitybenefits

Educationalassistance(e.g.,school-

feeding,scholarships,feewaivers)*

Included Assistanceforuppersecondaryand

tertiaryeducationisexcludedHealthassistance*(e.g.,healthcost

reducedfees/subsidizedmedicinesfor

vulnerablegroups)

Included Willgenerallybeincludedunder

socialassistance

Familyallowances Included Transfersthroughthetaxsystem

areexcluded

Street-children/childworker/orphan

initiatives

Included

* Basiceducationandhealthservicesareexcluded.

Source:AuthorsadaptedfromI.Ortized,Defining an Agenda for Poverty ReductionProceedingsof the First Asia and Pacific Forum on Poverty,Volume2,p.57,ADB,Manila,2002;ADB,Social

ProtectionStrategy,pp.1422,Manila,2001.

Regarding this table, the following should be noted:

Programs that are generally seen as falling within the health or

education sectors, such as health education (including HIV/AIDS

and reproductive health), immunization, preschool education, and

general vocational and technical education are excluded.

Programs that fall within the general category of rural/community

development are excluded along with those that concentrate on the

construction of physical assets or social infrastructure, e.g., schools

or clinics.

Job creation programs are included whether or not they are based on

the provision of loans or subsidies to employers.

Training and subsidy programs are only included if they are clearly

targeted at one or more of the identified target groups.

Programs to improve the quality of teaching or health care in poor

areas are excluded.



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Attention should also be drawn to the inclusion of microcredit programs.

ADBs definition excludes these unless they include microinsurance (whichis not generally the case) or promote community self help or other social protection

policies. We accept that not all rural credit programs should be included;

however, we believe that programs that directly target poor households, are

based around lending groups of households and do not involve collateral should

be included. They represent one of the most prevalent forms of assistance

to the poor in several countries and evidence suggests that in many cases,

these programs contribute positively and directly to the general welfare of

recipients. Additionally, there seems little logic in excluding these programs

while including job creation programs based on loans to small businesses. While this definition is open to debate, as are most social protection

definitions, we believe that it has several advantages:

facilitates the acceptability of the results by national governments

and international financing institutions by excluding programs and

activities that are normally seen as falling within the ambit of other

sectors;

enables social protection strategies and programming to concentrate

on a clearly defined set of activities and projects that fall outside the

scope of major sector development funding; does not prejudice the implementation or adoption of any policies

or programs that fall within wider definitions of social protection

or hamper ADBs ability to achieve its current social protection

priorities;

facilitates the development of a statistical database on social

protection and, hence, the derivation of national SPIs.

d. how o tra Basic hal Progras

However, one issue relating to health care needs to be mentioned. Based on

the definition of social protection adopted for this study (and by extension,

ADBs), health services directly funded by the government out of general

revenues are excluded from consideration. Other reasons for adopting this

approach were: the study was foremost about social protection and it was

felt essential to clearly distinguish social protection activities from those

most usually associated with other sectors such as health, education and

community-based infrastructure development; most current definitions aswell as national perceptions hold that social protection consists primarily

of activities related to labor markets, social insurance, social assistance, and



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the defInItIOn Of SOCIAL PROteCtIOn 7

child protection; it was feared that including all health care would overwhelm

the more traditional aspects of social protection, which were exactly thosewhich the study was designed to highlight. On the other hand, if health care

is primarily funded through health insurance schemes, it does fall within the

definition of social protection.

During the course of technical assistance (TA) 6120, it was realized

that this approach creates an anomaly whereby, depending on the funding

mechanism, expenditure on health may or may not be included in the

calculations for this study. This issue (which could also apply to expenditure

on basic education) was discussed during the concluding stages of the

previous study, but no conclusion was reached about how best to proceed.Accordingly, the current study has proceeded using the same methodology as

for TA 6120. This issue was raised again in this study by the consultants in

Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan. Given the concern relating to this issue, we have

re-examined this issue in Annex 5 which contains an analysis of the impact of

including all health care in the definition of social protection.

This analysis21 showed that incorporating general health services into

the calculations would lead to a domination of the social protection summary

indicators (SPSIs), and the SPI in many countries by this sector and would

make it harder to identify issues relating to the traditional components ofsocial protection. This is particularly the case for countries where provision

is very lowin these countries, over 75% of the SPI value would relate

to health expenditure and coverage. Furthermore, the social protection

distribution (SPDIST) indicator would be redundant as it would be the same

for all countries and would thus say nothing about the coverage of the poor by

non-health social protection programs. SPDIST and the health target group

coverage rate would also say nothing about the quality of coverage of the

health system, i.e., how well does it provide for the needs of the population,

and the poor in particular.Based on this analysis, incorporating health care into the current

formulation of the SPSIs and the SPI is not considered to be either feasible

or desirable. It is not feasible because the SPDIST indicator would become

redundant as it would have the same value for all countries and the health

target group coverage ratio would give little indication of the quality of the

health care provided as, again it would be the same for all countries; and not

desirable, because, in many cases, health services would dominate the SPSIs

21 Because this analysis replicates the methodology used to calculate the SPSIs and the SPIs

which will be described later in this report, it is not recommended that it be read until the

reader has been through the rest of the report.



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and the SPIs, making it much more difficult to identify the characteristics

of, and variations in, the provision of the traditional components of socialprotection, which were always the primary focus of this study. These

conclusions would still apply if a more sensitive approach could be devised

to assessing the coverage indicators for health care than has been possible in

this study.

In the future, a possible solution would be to exclude all health-related

programs from the current SPI formulation and create a parallel index

consisting of three or four component indicators relating only to health care

coverage and expenditure, i.e., a health protection index. This option is not,

however, achievable with the resources available to this study as it wouldrequire additional data collection and analysis. Consultations and discussions

are also needed to achieve a consensus as to how such this index should be

formulated.

The overall conclusion is that the methodology used in this and the

previous study should be retained. As will be demonstrated, the results

from this study can be used to provide an initial assessment of the current

provision of social protection and give pointers to possible priorities for new

interventions. This would become much harder if all health care services

were to be included into the study (and implicitly ADBs) definition of socialprotection.

the definition of social protection - adb

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