Introducing Basic Social Protection in Low Income Countries: Lessons from Existing Programs

This paper reviews the main lessons from existing social protection programs in low income countries for the development of social protection in these countries. It is taken for granted that introducing social protection in low income countries is that much harder due to constraints arising from underdevelopment, fragmented political and policy processes, reduced tax base, and weak administrative capacity. This paper examines existing social protection programs in order to illuminte on the strength of these constraints and the nature of potential remedies. It concludes that the experience of low-income countries shows that there are many policy options available to them. It also shows that while deficits in finance and operational capacity are much less tractable, global partnerships can work effectively to lift these constraints.

Author: Armando Barrientos, Armandobarrientos(at)manchester.ac.uk
Publisher: Brooks World Poverty Institute, WP 6