SOCIAL PROTECTION AND THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH at the WORLD BANK

1. SOCIAL PROTECTION AND THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN AND YOUTHat the WORLD BANK Emmanuel Jimenez Director, Human Development East Asia and Pacific Region The World Bank ejimenez2@worldbank.org March 10, 2008

2. Outline • What is the World Bank’s definition of Social Protection (SP) and what is its role in the Bank’s mission? • What are the main SP instruments? • What are the implications of SP for the welfare of children and youth?

3. THE WORLD BANK FIGHTS POVERTY… • The World Bank’s mission is to promote policies that reduce poverty. • Poverty is multi-dimensional: • Income poverty • Human Development Outcomes (including MDGs that measure education and well-being of children) • Two Strategic Pillars: • Improving investment climate and increasing growth • Investing in human development and social capital.

4. Expanding Opportunities: Helping the creation of good jobs through better labor market regulations, active and passive labor market policies, and wage setting processes; Providing Security: Assisting in better managing risks to reduce vulnerability, securing an asset-base and being able to engage in higher risk/higher return activities; Enhancing Equity: Providing minimum levels of subsistence and helping to correct market-based distributive outcomes THE ROLE OF SOCIAL PROTECTION

5. SP is one of 19 sectors of WB—located in the Human Development Network which has 3 sectors, all of which touch on child protection, and some x-sector themes: HD Sectors: Education; Health, Nutrition Population; SP Cross sector HD themes: Children and Youth (ECD; Youth empowerment), HIV/AIDS (prevention thru promo.), Disability Other sector groups also deal with child protection: Gender Poverty reduction Social Development (community empowerment) THE SOCIAL PROTECTION SECTOR

6. SOCIAL PROTECTION IS ABOUT UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING RISKS • All individuals are vulnerable to multiple risks – the poor in particular. • The poor have higher exposure to risks and fewer instruments to deal with it. • Provision of appropriate risk management is crucial for lasting poverty reduction.

7. Sources Micro –Idiosyncratic Meso Macro – Co-variant Natural Rainfall Landslide Volcanic Eruption Earthquake Floods/Winds Drought Health Illness Injury Disability Epidemic Life-cycle Birth Old-age Death Social Crime Domestic violence Terrorism Gangs Civil strife War Economic Unemployment Harvest failure Business failure Resettlement Output collapse Financial crisis Technology shock Political Ethnic discrimination Riots Political default on social programs Environmental Pollution Deforestation Nuclear disaster SOURCES AND FORMS OF RISK

8. INADEQUATE RISK MANAGEMENT • Reduces the level of human capital (for both health and education) • Renders individuals vulnerable and unable and unwilling to take risk and to engage in higher return/higher risk activity • Limits ‘solidarity’ and thus, equity, through risk pooling (incl. of good and bad risks).

9. SP INSTRUMENTS: RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES • Risk prevention – to reduce probability of bad events occurring (move from low-lying areas) • Risk mitigation – to decrease impact of living with risk (insurance against flooding) • Risk coping – to lessen adverse impact once the event has occurred (providing housing after flood event)

10. RISK MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS • Informal: marriage, real assets, mutual community support. • Market-based: cash, bank deposits, bonds and shares, insurance contracts. • Public programs: • Social insurance (health, old age security, unemployment) • Transfers in cash and kind • Public Works • Social Welfare Programs

11. MANY AGENCIES DO SOCIAL PROTECTION • Ministry of Labor and Social Protection; also Social Welfare • Independent Agencies Like Pension Boards • Civil Society: Labor Unions, Churches • Local Communities (CDD)

12. SP and Children’s Well-being • Families that manage risk prudently will invest in children’s human development (HIV/AIDS and families) • Targeted subsidies will allow them to afford the investment • Unconditioned • Conditioned

13. Supply side: Education Health and nutrition services Early Child Development Social services Demand side: Health promotion, education information Cash transfers, both unconditional and conditional In-kind transfers (food programs, scholarships) WB SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN’S WELL BEING

14. Example: OPORTUNIDADES is an Incentive-Based Welfare PROGRAM in Mexico to families • Cash is used as incentive to invest in Human capital • Education • Health • Nutrition • Family does not get the cash unless it invests in children’s human capital Next few slides attributable to Paul Gertler

15. Health Benefits Include… • Cash Transfer • About 1/4 of mean “poor” income • Given to female head of household • Expected to be used to purchase food • 70% spent on more/better food (H&S, 2000) • To obtain cash, all family members have to get preventive health care • Ensure clinics able to provide preventive care

16. OPORTUNIDADESis a Big Program • Rural Program 1997-2000 • 2.6 million families enrolled from 50,000 villages • $1.2 Billion budget or 0.25% of GDP • Urban Expansion • Added 750,000 semi-urban families in 2001 • Added another 1 million urban families in 2002

17. OPORTUNDADES Wanted a Strong Evaluation: Why? • Make sure program has intended impacts • Fine tune benefit structure • Make benefits get to right families • Congressional requirement • Politics: • Big Budget is a target • Better used elsewhere if program does not work • Harder to reallocate if program really works

18. Using the Random Assignment We Find That OPORTUNIDADES • Improved child health • Reduced hospital inpatient stays • Reduced morbidity • Taller & Less Anemia • Improved adult health • Reduced hospital inpatient stays • Reduced illness days • Improved stamina

19. Impact on Child Height & Anemia • After 15 months, Children on OPORTUNDADES were • 1 cm taller, implying a 7.7% faster growth rate • 25.5% lower prevalence of anemia • Compared to children in control households

20. OTHER PROGRAMS • Bangladesh Female Secondary Stipend Program • ECD Programs

21. Outline • What is the World Bank’s definition of Social Protection (SP) and what is its role in the Bank’s mission? • What are the main SP instruments? • What are the implications of SP for the welfare of children and youth?