Social Protection

The first step in choosing an appropriate mix of SP policies is to analyze the main sources of risk and vulnerability of the population and identify the population groups most affected by these risks. Once the groups and their characteristics are identified, the role that SP can play, in conjunction with interventions in other sectors and at the macroeconomic level, can be investigated. Policies to ensure macroeconomic stability, rural development, and human capital formation are especially important and will complement SP programs.

The second step is to determine which of the identified groups are covered by existing SP programs and policies and assess the effectiveness of these instruments individually and in combination. Special attention should be paid to the compatibility of the policy context and the expenditure programs, and the specific objectives of each intervention, its effectiveness at achieving these objectives, and its cost-effectiveness in delivering the observed outcomes.

The aim is to reveal both gaps in coverage and the cost-effectiveness of existing interventions. If full cost-effectiveness analysis cannot be done, then consideration of partial indicators such as sustainability, targeting effectiveness, administrative costs and unintended effects, and constraints can be used.

This analysis of existing programs and policies, together with information on alternative interventions and the constraints faced (for example, budget constraints, administrative capacity, and political economy), provides the basis for determining the most effective mix of interventions. In all cases, the full SP strategy will be composed of a mix of policies and programs. The appropriate mix, of course, will vary by country.

The final step is to develop an action plan that specifies the actions, resource requirements, timetable, and parties responsible for each action. This will help ensure that the immediate and intermediate steps are taken to lead to the medium-term and long-run goals of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS).

To illustrate both how the line of analysis proposed here can be implemented, and how the mix of interventions selected will vary by country, the last section of this chapter considers the country cases of Argentina, Malawi, and Togo.

A wealth of experience is available about the different types of SP policies and programs. Not every type of program or policy will be appropriate, or even feasible, in every country, as the country cases illustrate. The fact sheets presented in technical note N.2 highlight key design features and lessons gained from the past implementation of SP policies and programs to help Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) teams judge the performance of existing interventions and assess what might be realistically expected of new ones.

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