World Bank2013-08-262013-08-262002-08https://hdl.handle.net/10986/15361The recent economic shock provided an incentive for carrying out the analysis of Colombia's safety net of national social assistance. Even though economic growth recovered modestly in 2000, poverty and unemployment remain high, and there has been a decline in some human development indicators. This is partly due to Colombia not having an effective safety net in place, capable to address the social consequences of the crisis. These deficiencies led to the introduction in 2000 of the Red de Apoyo Social (RAS), i.e., Social Support Network. This assessment identifies issues, and recommends options for reform of the social safety net. The country is undergoing an unprecedented economic contraction, and severe fiscal imbalance that will require major reforms, notably to the pension program, before achieving macroeconomic stabilization. Therefore, the report takes into account the complex, and changing socioeconomic conditions, exacerbated by the protracted internal conflict. Such situation calls for supporting institutional viability, building on Colombia's strengths in the social sectors. Social assistance was not included in the social sector reforms for the 1990s, and the lack of strategic safety net is underscored by the fragmentation of programs within institutions, and overlapping program objectives across institutions. Targeted technical reforms should address budgeting, monitoring and evaluation to orient social assistance programs; existing programs reformed to improve quality and coverage; and, longer-term strategic reforms should focus on improving the operation of social safety nets, based on national debate, consensus, and political will.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOSOCIAL SAFETY NETSPOVERTY INCIDENCEUNEMPLOYMENTHUMAN DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC CRISISSOCIAL ANALYSISREFORM IMPLEMENTATIONSOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONSECONOMIC STABILIZATIONECONOMIC CONTRACTIONFISCAL DEFICITSPENSION REFORMINSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORKSOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMSREFORM POLICYTARGETED ASSISTANCETECHNICAL ASSISTANCEBUDGET MONITORINGMONITORING & EVALUATIONSOCIAL DIALOGUESPOLICY DIALOGUESOPERATIONAL INDICATORSNATIONAL DEBATESCONSENSUS APPROACHPOLITICAL POWER ADAPTATIONADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCEADOLESCENTSAGEDASSESSING VULNERABILITYAUTHORITYAVAILABLE DATAAVERAGE INCOMEBENEFICIARY SELECTIONCASE STUDYCASH TRANSFERSCENTRAL GOVERNMENTCHILD LABORCIVIL SOCIETYCOMPETITIVE BIDDINGCONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKCONSTITUTIONCOPING MECHANISMSCRIMECURRENCY UNITDATA ANALYSISDATA SOURCESDAY CAREDECENTRALIZATIONDECENTRALIZATION REFORMSECONOMIC ACTIVITIESECONOMIC CONTRACTIONECONOMIC CRISESECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC GROWTH RATESECONOMIC RECESSIONECONOMIC SHOCKSEDUCATIONEDUCATION LEVELEFFECTIVE RISK MANAGEMENTEMPLOYMENTEVALUATION COMPONENTSEXPENDITUREEXTREME POVERTYFAMILIESFINANCIAL SUPPORTFISCALFISCAL CRISISGDPGEOGRAPHICAL AREAGEOGRAPHICAL AREASGOVERNMENT POLICIESGOVERNMENT SPENDINGHEALTHHEALTH CAREHEALTH INDICATORSHEALTH SURVEYHOUSEHOLD HEADHOUSEHOLD SURVEYHOUSEHOLD SURVEY DATAHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHOUSINGHUMAN CAPITALHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCOMEINCOME SHOCKINCOME SOURCESINEQUALITYINFORMAL SECTORINSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTSKEY RISKSLABOR FORCELABOR INCOMELABOR MARKETLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENTSMACROECONOMIC STABILITYMIGRATIONMINIMUM WAGEMINIMUM WAGESMONITORING & EVALUATIONNATIONAL PLANNINGNATIONAL PLANNING DEPARTMENTNET ASSESSMENTNUTRITIONPENSION SYSTEMPENSIONSPOOR AREASPOOR CHILDRENPOOR PEOPLEPOPULATION SIZEPOVERTY INDICATORSPOVERTY RATESPOVERTY REDUCTIONPOVERTY RISKSPOVERTY TARGETINGPOVERTY TRENDSPRIMARY SCHOOLPROGRAM EVALUATIONPUBLIC SECTORRESEARCH TEAMRISK MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTSRISK POOLINGRISK PREVENTIONRURAL AREASSAFETYSAFETY NETSAFETY NET ISSUESSAFETY NET PROGRAMSSAFETY NETSSCHOOL ENROLLMENTSCHOOL ENROLLMENT RATESSCHOOLSSECTOR POLICYSKILLED WORKERSSOCIAL ASSISTANCESOCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMSSOCIAL ASSISTANCE SPENDINGSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSOCIAL DIMENSIONSSOCIAL EXPENDITURESSOCIAL INDICATORSSOCIAL INSURANCESOCIAL INSURANCE PROGRAMSSOCIAL INVESTMENTSOCIAL POLICYSOCIAL PROGRAMSSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMSSOCIAL RESEARCHSOCIAL RISKSOCIAL RISK MANAGEMENTSOCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKSOCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIESSOCIAL RISKSSOCIAL SAFETYSOCIAL SAFETY NETSOCIAL SAFETY NETSSOCIAL SECTORSOCIAL SECTORSSOCIAL SECURITYSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL SOLIDARITYSOCIAL SUPPORTSOCIAL WELFARETEMPORARY EMPLOYMENTTRAINING PROGRAMSUNEMPLOYMENTURBAN AREASURBAN POVERTYVACCINATIONVIOLENCEVULNERABLE GROUPSWELL-BEINGWORKERSWORKFARE PROGRAMYOUNG ADULTSWorld Bank10.1596/15361