Publication: Productive Role of Safety Nets
Date
2012-03
ISSN
Published
2012-03
Author(s)
Abstract
The paper contains a framework for
linking social protection with growth and productivity, an
updated review of the literature, new original work filling
in gaps in the available evidence, and a discussion of
operational implications. The paper demonstrates that there
was a shift in the economists' view on social
protection, and now they are seen as a force that can make a
positive contribution towards economic growth and reduce
poverty. The paper looks at pathways in which social
protection programs (social insurance and social assistance
programs, as well as labor programs) can support better
growth outcomes: (i) individual level (building and
protecting human capital, and other productive assets,
empowering poor individuals to invest or to adopt higher
return strategies), (ii) local economy effects (enhancing
community assets and infrastructure, positive spillovers
from beneficiaries to non-beneficiaries), (iii) overall
economy level (acting as stabilizers of aggregate demand,
improving social cohesion and making growth?enhancing
reforms more politically feasible). Most social protection
programs affect growth through all of these pathways. But
the evidence is very uneven; and there are knowledge gaps.
The paper discusses operational implications for the design
and implementation of Social Protection (SP) programs and
proposes a work program for addressing knowledge gaps.
Citation
“Alderman, Harold; Yemtsov, Ruslan. 2012. Productive Role of Safety Nets. Social Protection and Labor Discussion Paper;No. 1203. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/13551 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”