Publication: Financing Social Protection in Tanzania
Loading...
Published
2018-10-01
ISSN
Date
2018-10-05
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This note assesses whether social protection programs are adequately financed in mainland Tanzania. We find that social protection programs are an important component of Government expenditures, and complements other Government social spending, including education and health spending. In recent years, the Government has strengthened social protection by: (i) increasing social protection expenditures; (ii) shifting social assistance from generally inefficient food and in-kind programs to more efficient cash-based programs; (iii) shifting social assistance from relatively untargeted programs to those which are targeted to poor people; and (iv) easing demand side constraints faced by households investing in human capital. Despite these positive developments, challenges to social protection remain: (i) social assistance and employment programs remain underfunded relative to the needs of the population; (ii) development partner financing remains crucial even though they are prone to external risks; (iii) little isknown about which social welfare services and employment programs work well; (iv) many pensionparameters are not in line with best-practice and therefore, sustainability can be improved; (v) generalized subsidies, which are notoriously bad instruments to target poor people, are absorbing Government resources in a tight fiscal environment.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Abels, Miglena; Novikova, Marina; Mohammed, Muderis Abdulahi; Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan. 2018. Financing Social Protection in Tanzania. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30513 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Social Protection and Jobs Responses to COVID-19(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-07)As of January 2022, a total of 3,856 social protection and labor measures were planned or implemented by 223 economies. This constitutes a net increase of 523 measures, or 15.6 percent since the last update in May 2021. While noteworthy, such increase is the lowest among net additions observed over previous semesters. In fact, the global pace of measures’ introduction over January 2020-January 2022 has been slowing down. This report focuses on the real-time review of country measures in terms of social protection and job responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19).Publication World Bank Support for Social Safety Nets 2007-2013 : A Review of Financing, Knowledge Services, and Results(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-06)This review examines World Bank support to social safety nets between FY2007-13, including both financing and knowledge services. During this time period World Bank financing for safety nets totaled just over United States (U.S.) 12 billion dollars, 273 financing activities in 93 countries, the World Bank spent approximately U.S. 118 million dollars on 281 safety net studies and supported approximately 129 credible safety net impact evaluations covering in 24 countries. Among the 93 countries represented in the portfolio, 42 received little or no safety net support from the World Bank prior to FY2007. The growth in Bank support is especially notable during the period of the food, fuel, and financial crises. The analysis delves into these trends by region, type of intervention, and instruments involved. Finally, it delineates implications and outlook for the future based on lessons learned, results measured, and evaluative evidence.Publication Social Protection in Pakistan : Managing Household Risks and Vulnerability(Washington, DC, 2007-10-18)The report is the result of an inter-institutional collaborative effort between the Government of Pakistan, civil society, and international donors. This report finds that while Pakistan implements a wide array of social protection programs, the effectiveness of these programs could be significantly improved. The report finds that social protection programs in Pakistan face important constraints in terms of coverage, targeting, and implementation, and inability to respond to vulnerability, which will need to be overcome in order that they can more effectively protect the poor. The report suggests a two-pronged approach for social protection reform: (i) improving the ability of safety net programs to reach the poor, promote exit from poverty, and respond to natural disasters; coupled with (ii) a longer term approach for strengthening social security. Considering social protection as a system rather than a collection of different programs would allow the government to curtail fragmentation, improve the quality of social protection spending, and have higher impact. Given fiscal constraints, the report suggests that coverage expansion first exploits the opportunity for efficiency improvements in current programs, through better targeting and reduction in duplication and overlap. However, the decline in real spending on the two main safety net programs is worrisome. It is therefore welcome that the government is considering how best to ensure adequate yet fiscally affordable spending on safety nets as part of its draft social protection strategy.Publication Social Protection for a Changing India : Executive Summary(World Bank, 2011-01-01)India's surge in growth and rapid expansion in public spending in the past decade has created new possibilities for its social protection system. The growing importance of social protection (SP) is reflected in the Government of India (GoI) common minimum program and eleventh five year plan which commit to institutionalization of programs as legal rights (as in the case of public works, through the national rural employment guarantee act), continued up-scaling of interventions (e.g., social pensions and midday meals), and proposals to expand new types of SP interventions to the large unorganized sector (e.g., social security). The report draws on existing and new data sources,. including analysis of: (i) administrative data; (ii) several rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSS) data; (iii) a social protection survey (SPS) undertaken for this report in 2006 in rural areas of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka; (iv) dedicated surveys on social pensions in Karnataka (KSPS) and Rajasthan (RSPS) in 2005 and 2006 respectively; and (v) a living standards survey conducted in Jharkhand in 2005 (JLSS). In addition, the report incorporates a rich body of secondary sources on SP program performance and impact by national researchers and government agencies.Publication Social Protection for a Changing India : Main Report(World Bank, 2011-01-01)India's surge in growth and rapid expansion in public spending in the past decade has created new possibilities for its social protection system. The growing importance of social protection (SP) is reflected in the Government of India (GoI) common minimum program and eleventh five year plan which commit to institutionalization of programs as legal rights (as in the case of public works, through the national rural employment guarantee act), continued up-scaling of interventions (e.g., social pensions and midday meals), and proposals to expand new types of SP interventions to the large unorganized sector (e.g., social security). The report draws on existing and new data sources,. including analysis of: (i) administrative data; (ii) several rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSS) data; (iii) a social protection survey (SPS) undertaken for this report in 2006 in rural areas of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka; (iv) dedicated surveys on social pensions in Karnataka (KSPS) and Rajasthan (RSPS) in 2005 and 2006 respectively; and (v) a living standards survey conducted in Jharkhand in 2005 (JLSS). In addition, the report incorporates a rich body of secondary sources on SP program performance and impact by national researchers and government agencies.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Zambia Economic Brief, June 2015, Issue 5(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06-01)After several years of strong economic performance, Zambia now confronts several important challenges that must be managed carefully to ensure sustained and inclusive growth in the future. On the one hand, the economy grew by an estimated 5.5–6.0 percent in 2014, somewhat above the average for African economies. Monthly copper production increased by an average of 8 percent during the second half of 2014, reversing the sharp slide in early 2014. Inflation fell to 7.2 percent in March and April, helped both by falling world oil prices and by the Bank of Zambia’s monetary tightening. In the first half of 2015, the authorities adjusted several key economic policies to respond to serious problems: revising rules on VAT refunds in February, announcing a new mining fiscal regime in April, and raising fuel prices in May so that the government could recover import costs. On the other hand, the kwacha has come under renewed pressure. It lost 17 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar from December 2014 through the end of March 2015. Since then it has recovered somewhat, but foreign exchange markets remain volatile. Interest rates have been rising since September 2014, due in part to increased government borrowing and in part to steps taken by the Bank of Zambia to tighten credit. Over the medium term, growth should hold steady in 2015 and then accelerate to around 6–7 percent per year in 2016–2018. Although inflation is expected to rise towards the end of 2015, it should resume falling in 2016. Low commodity prices, a more stable exchange rate, and adequate local harvests would help contain inflationary pressures and boost real disposable incomes. The resulting pick-up in private consumption, coupled with increasing copper exports, should help strengthen growth prospects.Publication Entrepreneurship Education and Training Programs around the World : Dimensions for Success(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2014-04-23)Entrepreneurship has attracted global interest for its potential to catalyze economic and social development. Research suggesting that certain entrepreneurial mindsets and skills can be learned has given rise to the field of entrepreneurship education and training (EET). Despite the growth of EET, global knowledge about these programs and their impact remains thin. In response, this study surveys the available literature and program evaluations to propose a Conceptual Framework for understanding the EET program landscape. The study finds that EET today consists of a heterogeneous mix of programs that can be broken into two groups: entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship training. These programs target a range of participants: secondary and post-secondary education students, as well as potential and practicing entrepreneurs. The outcomes measured by program evaluations are equally diverse but generally fall under the domains of entrepreneurial mindsets and capabilities, entrepreneurial status, and entrepreneurial performance. The dimensions of EET programs vary according the particular target group. Programs targeting secondary education students focus on the development of foundational skills linked to entrepreneurship, while post-secondary education programs emphasize skills related to strategic business planning. Programs targeting potential entrepreneurs generally are embedded within broader support programs and tend to target vulnerable populations for whom employment alternatives may be limited. While programs serving practicing entrepreneurs focus on strengthening entrepreneurs’ knowledge, skills and business practices, which while unlikely to transform an enterprise in the near term, may accrue benefits to entrepreneurs over time. The study also offers implications for policy and program implementation, emphasizing the importance of clarity about target groups and desired outcomes when making program choices, and sound understanding of extent to which publicly-supported programs offer a broader public good, and compare favorably to policy alternatives for supporting the targeted individuals as well as the overall economic and social objectives.Publication Democratic Republic of Congo Urbanization Review(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2018)The Democratic Republic of Congo has the third largest urban population in sub-Saharan Africa (estimated at 43% in 2016) after South Africa and Nigeria. It is expected to grow at a rate of 4.1% per year, which corresponds to an additional 1 million residents moving to cities every year. If this trend continues, the urban population could double in just 15 years. Thus, with a population of 12 million and a growth rate of 5.1% per year, Kinshasa is poised to become the most populous city in Africa by 2030. Such strong urban growth comes with two main challenges – the need to make cities livable and inclusive by meeting the high demand for social services, infrastructure, education, health, and other basic services; and the need to make cities more productive by addressing the lack of concentrated economic activity. The Urbanization Review of the Democratic Republic of Congo argues that the country is urbanizing at different rates and identifies five regions (East, South, Central, West and Congo Basin) that present specific challenges and opportunities. The Urbanization Review proposes policy options based on three sets of instruments, known as the three 'I's – Institutions, Infrastructures and Interventions – to help each region respond to its specific needs while reaping the benefits of economic agglomeration The Democratic Republic of the Congo is at a crossroads. The recent decline in commodity prices could constitute an opportunity for the country to diversify its economy and invest in the manufacturing sector. Now is an opportune time for Congolese decision-makers to invest in cities that can lead the country's structural transformation and facilitate greater integration with African and global markets. Such action would position the country well on the path to emergence.Publication Timor-Leste Economic Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-02-12)Timor-Leste faces a defining moment in its economic journey. As the country seeks to transition from petroleum dependency to a more diverse and resilient economy, the stakes cannot be higher. The Petroleum Fund, a lifeline that has sustained much of the national budget, risks depletion by 2035, based on recent Ministry of Finance estimates, unless there are urgent reforms. Ambitious national goals - such as upcoming ASEAN membership - reflect the country’s aspirations to integrate globally and broaden its growth horizons. Yet, these opportunities are weighed down by significant fiscal challenges. More specifically, an expanding national budget that raises concerns about fiscal sustainability and the efficiency of public spending. The question is clear: how can Timor-Leste spend better to fuel sustainable growth while preserving fiscal stabilityPublication Namibia: Country Brief(World Bank, 2009)Namibia is a large country in Southern Africa that borders the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola to the north and South Africa to the south. With a surface area of 824,290 square kilometers, it is similar in size to Mozambique and about half the size of the U.S. state of Alaska. Namibia has a small population of approximately 2.1 million people. It is also one of the least densely populated countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an average density of approximately 2.5 people per square kilometer, compared to 34 people per square kilometer for the region as a whole. Namibia was the last colonized country in Sub-Saharan Africa to become independent. After nearly 70 years of South African rule, Namibia gained its independence on March 21, 1990. Until 1990, Namibia's official languages were German, Afrikaans, and English. Following independence, English became the official language, although it is the first language of only a very small percentage of Namibians. Oshiwambo dialects are the mother tongue of approximately half of the population. Namibia, a lower-middle-income country, has one of the highest levels of per capita income in Sub-Saharan Africa. Namibia is one of very few countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that maintains a social safety net for the elderly, the disabled, orphans and vulnerable children, and war veterans. It also has a social security act that provides for maternity leave, sick leave, and medical benefits. Namibia has one of the most productive fishing grounds in the world. The fishing industry is an important source of foreign exchange and a significant employer. The tourism industry in Namibia is similar in size to that in Botswana and is the country's third-largest foreign exchange earner. Namibia is one of the largest producers of gem quality diamonds in the world. It is estimated that 98 percent of its mined diamonds are gem quality. In 2006, almost half of total production was recovered from offshore sources. Namibia is the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, with deserts occupying much of the country. It has no perennial rivers or any other permanent water bodies. Due to the low and erratic rainfall and scarce ground and surface water, less than five percent of the country is arable, including through irrigation. Namibia was the first country in the world to incorporate environmental protection into its constitution. Nearly six percent of its land is nationally protected, including large portions of coastal areas within the Namib Desert.