Is a Social Protection Floor Initiative affordable?
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Calculations by various UN agencies including ILO, UNAIDS, UNICEF and WHO show that a basic floor of social transfers is globally affordable, even if the funding is not yet available everywhere. Social transfers can be a cost-effective way of having a direct impact on hunger and poverty, and they have positive externalities on human capital development and growth.
Countries can grow with equity, i.e. providing some form of social protection from the early stages of their economic development. There is evidence that economic growth that does not include a concept for equity and equality is not sustainable in the long run.
When properly implemented, already existing cash transfers and basic health systems in many developing countries have positive impacts on poverty, child labour, health and nutrition, education, social status of recipients, economic activity.
It is vital not to forget that affordability is a function of society's willingness to finance social transfers through taxes and contributions. Therefore, no analysis can be separated from the adequacy (in terms of impacts) and the viability of the programme. Affordability is about fiscal space and international aid, but also about political choices.
Key-Questions:
Resources related to the affordability of social protection:
- ILO - publications:
Can low-income countries afford basic social security? (2008)
Costing of basic social protection benefits for selected Asian countries. First results of a modeling exercise.
- World Bank - publications: