Moving Forward on Social Protection in the 2030 Agenda

7/26/2019 Moving Forward on Social Protection in the 2030 Agenda

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C H A P T E R 1 0

Social protection is a strategic tool

that can be used to achieve severalSDGs simultaneously and generatespillover effects that go far beyondthe initially stated goals.

A fisherman casting a net from a fishing boat off the coast of Joal, Senegal.

UN Photo/J MohrMcIlwaine


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Moving Forward on Social Protectionin the 2030 Agenda1

1 This paper was written by Laura Jungman, Layla Saad and Romulo Paes-Sousa, UNDP World Centre for Sustainable Development

(RIO+ Centre).

Social protection schemes have provided an

effective means of reducing extreme poverty and

securing a floor of social rights for the poorest,

while forging new paths to greater socio-economic

inclusion. Even though social protection systems

around the world vary significantly, their role in the

construction of more inclusive and fair societies

where vulnerabilities to social, environmental and

economic shocks are minimized is fundamental.

Recognized as a key part of the sustainable

development agenda adopted by the UnitedNations General Assembly in 2015, social

protection policy and practice must be conceived

within a broader strategy that goes beyond strictly

addressing income poverty and inequality.

This report provides important insight into the

social protection experiences of Brazil and Africa.

It sheds light on the main opportunities and

challenges to be considered when conceptualizing

and institutionalizing social protection into

national policy and practice, particularly within

the sustainable development framework. Theseexperiences and the lessons they bring provide

valuable input for the design and improvement

of comprehensive social protection systems

that address the multiple dimensions of human

vulnerability, including those arising from climate

change and environmental degradation. In

developing countries, a significant portion of the

population lives without any social safety net,

which only exacerbates their exclusion. Under

the newly adopted Agenda 2030 for Sustainable

Development, which advocates for excluding no

one from human development and dignity, social

protection provides an important tool for enabling

citizens to exercise their rights to basic services

related to health, social security and income,

among others. Even in advanced economies,

strong social protection programmes help growing

economies reduce the proportion of people who

are left behind.

Sustainable development requires taking

action on the social, environmental, economic

and political fronts and must be implemented

through integrated and coherent policies

that spur long-term change. Fragmented and

piecemeal efforts have not proven effective

in addressing vulnerabilities since they are

multiple and inextricably linked. Therefore,

policymakers need to look at how social

protection can serve as an enabler and driver

for the achievement of other sustainabledevelopment goals and targets and expand

policy impact in the long term.

This chapter draws on the main ins ights

raised in previous chapters to identify the

various elements that need to be taken into

consideration for the design, implementation

and sustainability of social protection systems.

E C O N O M I C S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y : E N S U R I N G T H E V I A B I L I T Y O F

S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N

Social protection can have significant spin-off

effects on economic development by contributing

to both economic growth and income distribution.

The development of social protection policy must

be tailored to the economic conditions of each

country. Issues such as tax systems, economic

returns and funding are intrinsically interrelated

and have to be given equal consideration to create

the necessary conditions for integrating social

protection into a broader economic strategy.

As discussed in chapters 2, 4 and 9 of this report,

one of the main challenges for social protection

is to establish a stable source of funding that

sustains social protection programmes in the long

term. Such programmes are still commonly seen

as unaffordable or unsustainable, despite growing

evidence of their affordability, even in low-income

countries. The ability to guarantee funding is also

closely related to issues of governance and legal

structure, which will be addressed below.

Chapter 2 suggests that funding for social

protection can be secured through tax reforms

or enforcement; by reallocating resources away

from underperforming programmes or ineffi cient


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subsidies; or by channelling funds from debt

payment towards social protection using debt

relief initiatives, among others. Also, chapter 7

stresses the importance of sustaining funding

over time. Governments may have to continue

making investments over a considerable amount

of time, since the gains from social protection can

be reduced or even lost if funding is only madeavailable on a short-term basis.

The report also makes the case for the affordability

of social protection and the economic sustainability

of social spending by highlighting the economic

returns obtained from investments in this area.

Data presented in chapter 7 demonstrate the

multiplier effect of investment in social policy on

GDP: 56 percent of the resources invested in social

policies return to public coffers through taxes or

social contributions. In addition to the economic

gains it can generate, social protection maypromote a much greater good to the economy as a

whole by increasing the purchasing power of a part

of the population that would not be as integrated

into the economy had the programmes not

existed. As shown in the Annex of the report, one

of the recommendations of the Seminar on Social

Protection in Africa is to recognize the multiplier

effect of social protection, as it promotes inclusive

economic growth, job creation, the development

of local markets and economic inclusion.

Chapter 7 also identifies actions that governments

should take to avoid annulling the positive effects

of social protection. First, the economic activity

generated by the increase in social expenditure

has to be accompanied by the expansion of the

countrys production structure in order to meet

the new demand it creates. The country has to

scale up its production capacity for both durable

and non-durable goods and services; otherwise,

the increase in demand will produce inflationarypressures, which will partially undermine positive

income distribution effects. Second, a regressive tax

system, such as that of Brazil, creates a greater tax

burden for the poorest population, which partially

cancels out the positive effects of social spending

on distribution and affects the sustainability of the

model. Therefore, the discussion on funding and

effectiveness of social protection is necessarily a

discussion on the tax system in place. Countries

with an ineffi cient tax system should implement

reforms to avoid the pitfalls of regressive taxation.

Adopting a progressive tax system is key forensuring the coherence of both economic policies

and social protection systems, as it is economically

fairer and more sustainable in the long term.

Another necessary step in this area is to strengthen

coordination on the use of existing funds. As shown

in chapter 3, this was an important measure taken

by the Ethiopian government in 2005: after 30 years

of emergency food programmes with little or no

coordination between them, the Productive Safety

Net Programme (PSNP) consolidated funds from

donors, which were then used for the management

and implementation of the programme.


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E N V I R O N M E N T A L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y : M A I N S T R E A M I N GE N V I R O N M E N T A L C O N C E R N S I N T O S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O NP R A C T I C E S

At the present stage, the links between social

protection and the social and economic aspects of

development are now much clearer and stronger.Nonetheless, there are areas in which there is still

considerable space and opportunities for creating

synergies with environmental policies, which are

essential to efforts to build a broader strategy for

sustainable development.

For instance, according to the estimates presented

in chapter 3, 60 percent of the labour force in Africa

is concentrated in the agricultural sector, which

means social protection must be adapted to the

specific conditions of this field of activity. In many

places, there is a need to put adequate institutionaland distribution structures that are capable of

reaching people in rural and more isolated areas

into place. In general, economic shocks, volatility

in food prices, natural hazards and climate impacts

are other major challenges that have to be

addressed by social protection in situations where

environmental factors play a central role.

Moreover, as argued in chapter 9, the use of

natural resources is central in alleviating poverty

and supporting livelihoods. Therefore, in light

of the unregulated use of resources, especiallyby extractive industries and in poorer countries,

strengthening governance and regulations on

resource use and management is fundamental.

Mainstreaming environmental concerns in social

protection also requires taking into account the

impact that potential shocks in agriculture can

cause on social protection and how to mitigate

such impacts. Climate change and natural disasters

may have long-lasting effects on poverty, food

security and vulnerability, which could undermine

development efforts. As such, social protection

schemes must consider the constraints imposed

by these environmental components and integrate

environmental aspects in its policies, whenever

possible, to ensure the effectiveness of socialprotection policies in the long run.

The current debates and practices on disaster risk

reduction and adaptation efforts aim to address

the root causes of vulnerabilities and increase

resilience in the long term. As such, there is clearly

space for building synergies between these fields

and social protection. As put forward in chapter 2,

emergency employment schemes, cash-for-work

programmes, education and training, insurance

schemes and cash transfers are areas that offer

prime opportunities for converging efforts towardscommon goals and agendas.

S U S T A I N A B L E G O V E R N A N C E : G U A R A N T E E I N G A D E Q U AT EI N S T I T U T I O N A L C O N D I T I O N S F O R S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N

When designing and implementing social

protection schemes, actors must consider the

institutional and legal aspects of a governance

structure to ensure it is stable and consistent with

a countrys context and needs. Social protectioncannot be a temporary or ad hoc policy; it has to

last as long as chronic deprivation and extreme

poverty persist. As such, social protection must

be guaranteed and protected by legislation and a

governance structure capable of ensuring that it is

maintained as a policy of the state, and not of one

government.

One way to achieve this is to adopt a rights-

based approach to social protection. As stated in

chapter 2, legal recognition of the right to social

protection would help strengthen equity andthe access of the most vulnerable to services and

programmes, who will be able to reclaim them as

rights-holders. These safeguards would also help

maintain social protection as a right guaranteed

by the state, despite changes in groups or political

parties in power. As mentioned in chapter 5, the

Brazilian Constitution recognizes social protectionas a public responsibility, which has ensured that

social protection programmes continue to occupy

an important place on the public agenda at the

national level in recent decades.

Moreover, the broader the social protection policy

is, the more complex the governance structure

required to coordinate it is. The effectiveness of

a programme depends highly on the capacity

to deliver services and guarantee their quality,

which requires the functions of the different

government bodies to be well-established andwell-coordinated. The Plano Brasil Sem Misria

(PBSM, Brazil Without Misery Plan) programme


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discussed in chapters 5 and 6, for example,

is a federal government programme whose

multilevel governance structure includes state and

municipal governments. As the PBSMs budget

and governance are shared across ministries and

programmes, three governing bodies had to be

created to coordinate the implementation of the

plan. Comprehensive and multidimensional, PBSMcoordinates more than 120 activities and connects

social protection to employment and other

income-generating policies.

Due to the complexity of social protection, greater

coordination is called for among not only national

and local governments, but also government actors

and initiatives undertaken by NGOs, international

organizations and even the private sector. This

is fundamental for avoiding redundancy and

ensuring complementarities among programmes

and a more effi cient use of resources.

As argued in chapters 1, 3 and 8, adaptation to

the local context is also crucial for the successful

implementation of social protection. While

the overall institutional design is key to the

effectiveness and delivery of a social protection

programme, the particularities of the programme

and its design may vary greatly according to the

local context. Therefore, as the experience of Brazil

and African countries analyzed in this report show,

while similarities may exist and there are clearly

lessons to be learned from the experience of other

countries, each place and programme has its own

unique conditions that must be taken into account

during the design and implementation phases.

Still, regardless of the differences in context,

some challenges are common throughout Africa.

Described in more detail in chapter 3, theseinclude shortcomings related to institutional

capacity, financial sustainability, targeting and the

challenge of adapting programmes to issues that

go beyond poverty reduction.

Finally, effective participatory mechanisms must

be created and incorporated into governance

structures. The effectiveness of social protection

depends greatly on its capacity to connect with

local issues and engage with the beneficiaries

of the given policy. Legitimacy can only be built

from engaging with the affected population,which requires mechanisms of communication

and participation that permit stakeholders to

partake in the process. As pointed out in chapter

3, lack of participation is one of the main issues

currently affecting social protection schemes in

Africa, which must be urgently tackled. Chapter

6 also stresses that, in order to implement

policies and communicate clearly with the

population, countries must develop and convey

a clear concept of what the social protection

programmes involve.

S Y S T E M I C S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y: M A K I N G T H E M O S T O F T H EI N T E G R AT I O N O F S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N A N D O T H E RD E V E L O P M E N T N E E D S

If social protection is to provide the most

vulnerable with minimum conditions for

development, factors other than income that

contribute to vulnerability must be taken intoaccount. While designing a social protection

model, policymakers need to be mindful of

multiple vulnerabilities such as those linked

to gender, age, ethnicity, race and HIV status,

among others. The failure to do so could

reinforce inequalities rather than reduce them.

Chapter 3 explores the importance of integrating

youth and women in social protection schemes

in Africa due to the high unemployment and

underemployment rates among young Africans

and the weaker integration of women in the

labour market. Limitations in terms of coverage,management and targeting can cause greater

exclusion among vulnerable groups.

This report advocates for a broad and

comprehensive social protection strategy. Social

protection comprises - but is not restricted to

- income transfers. Such programmes producemore effective outcomes when coordinated

with other policies. Chapter 5 argues that the

case of social protection in Brazil provides

an example of how greater impacts can be

made by strengthening ties between social

protection and other social policies focusing on

multiple vulnerabilities, such as social, labour

and environmental policies. Along the same

lines, chapter 8 discusses the growing trend

to shift from emergency food aid to initiatives

that help countries structure national policies

and programmes on the underlying causesof hunger, malnutrition and food scarcity.

The need to coordinate among policy areas

to tackle the structural causes of poverty and


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inequality is a key lesson for countries to keep

in mind while planning their efforts to achieve

the 2030 Agendas Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs).

Social protection can also create opportunities

for bolder South-South cooperation initiatives.

Some of the most successful cases of socialprotection schemes are being implemented

in countries of the South. Exchanges between

these countries on these experiences offer

the added advantage of being rooted in a

developing country perspective. Besides

providing a new kind of cooperation, which

is less attached to practices, conditions and

even funding from developed countries, such

initiatives also afford developing countries

opportunities to leapfrog past common

challenges through mutual, solidarity-based

cooperation. Chapter 8 makes the case forexpanding South-South cooperation activities

on food security between Brazil and Africa.

These activities have helped var ious African

countries break new ground in public policy in

this area thanks to constant dialogue and the

sharing of Brazils successful experiences in

implementing food security policies over the

past decade.

C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S

This report calls for the horizontal and vertical

expansion of social protection as a key strategy

for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.Social protection is a strategic tool that can be

used to attain several SDGs simultaneously and

generate spillover effects that go far beyond

the initially stated goals. Inherently linked to a

range of sectors, it can help further the debate on

responsible governance and to promote South-

South cooperation. Therefore, it has great potential

to strengthen developing countries efforts around

the 2030 Agenda.

The debates present in this report give policymakers

a solid background on social protection. The

lessons from Brazil and Africa make a strong case

for the viability of social protection as a central

policy for developing countries and help identify

the main challenges and opportunities that come

with it, thus providing us the tools to shape the

way to a more sustainable future.

Moving Forward on Social Protection in the 2030 Agenda

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