Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa

Poverty has been declining in Sub-Saharan Africa, but millions are still poor or vulnerable. To address this ongoing and complex problem, all countries in the region have now deployed social safety net programs as part of their core development plans. The number of programs has skyrocketed since the...

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Main Authors:	Beegle, Kathleen, Coudouel, Aline, Monsalve, Emma
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	Washington, DC: World Bank 2018
Subjects:	SAFETY NETS HUMANITARIAN AID POVERTY SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS SOCIAL POLICY PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FINANCING CONSTRAINTS FISCAL TRENDS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29789

id	okr-10986-29789
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-297892021-04-23T14:04:54Z Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa Beegle, Kathleen Coudouel, Aline Monsalve, Emma Beegle, Kathleen Coudouel, Aline Monsalve, Emma SAFETY NETS HUMANITARIAN AID POVERTY SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS SOCIAL POLICY PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FINANCING CONSTRAINTS FISCAL TRENDS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY Poverty has been declining in Sub-Saharan Africa, but millions are still poor or vulnerable. To address this ongoing and complex problem, all countries in the region have now deployed social safety net programs as part of their core development plans. The number of programs has skyrocketed since the mid-2000s, although many interventions are still modest in size. This notable shift in social policy reflects an embrace of the role that social safety nets can play in the fight against poverty and vulnerability, and more generally in building human capital and spurring economic growth. Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa provides evidence that positive impacts on equity, resilience, and opportunity are growing, and it is clear that these programs can be good investments. For the potential of social safety nets to be realized, however, they need to expand with smart technical and design choices. Beyond technical considerations, and at least as important, this book argues that a series of decisive shifts needs to occur in three critical spheres: political, institutional, and financial: First, to recognize the role of politics in offering opportunities for expansion and in guiding design and program choice; Second, to anchor safety net programs in strong institutional arrangements that facilitate their expansion and sustainability; And third, to build sustainable financing through greater efficiency, more varied and predictable resources, and shock-responsive resources. Ignoring these spheres may lead to technically sound, but practically impossible, choices and designs. A deliberate focus on these areas is essential if social safety nets are to be brought to scale and sustained at scale. Only then will their full potential and their contribution to the fight against poverty and vulnerability be realized. 2018-05-07T20:11:55Z 2018-05-07T20:11:55Z 2018-07-17 Book 978-1-4648-1164-7 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29789 English Africa Development Forum; CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank Washington, DC: World Bank Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Publication Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	SAFETY NETS HUMANITARIAN AID POVERTY SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS SOCIAL POLICY PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FINANCING CONSTRAINTS FISCAL TRENDS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY
spellingShingle	SAFETY NETS HUMANITARIAN AID POVERTY SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL SAFETY NETS SOCIAL POLICY PROGRAM MANAGEMENT FINANCING CONSTRAINTS FISCAL TRENDS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY Beegle, Kathleen Coudouel, Aline Monsalve, Emma Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa
geographic_facet	Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
relation	Africa Development Forum;
description	Poverty has been declining in Sub-Saharan Africa, but millions are still poor or vulnerable. To address this ongoing and complex problem, all countries in the region have now deployed social safety net programs as part of their core development plans. The number of programs has skyrocketed since the mid-2000s, although many interventions are still modest in size. This notable shift in social policy reflects an embrace of the role that social safety nets can play in the fight against poverty and vulnerability, and more generally in building human capital and spurring economic growth. Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa provides evidence that positive impacts on equity, resilience, and opportunity are growing, and it is clear that these programs can be good investments. For the potential of social safety nets to be realized, however, they need to expand with smart technical and design choices. Beyond technical considerations, and at least as important, this book argues that a series of decisive shifts needs to occur in three critical spheres: political, institutional, and financial: First, to recognize the role of politics in offering opportunities for expansion and in guiding design and program choice; Second, to anchor safety net programs in strong institutional arrangements that facilitate their expansion and sustainability; And third, to build sustainable financing through greater efficiency, more varied and predictable resources, and shock-responsive resources. Ignoring these spheres may lead to technically sound, but practically impossible, choices and designs. A deliberate focus on these areas is essential if social safety nets are to be brought to scale and sustained at scale. Only then will their full potential and their contribution to the fight against poverty and vulnerability be realized.
author2	Beegle, Kathleen
author_facet	Beegle, Kathleen Beegle, Kathleen Coudouel, Aline Monsalve, Emma
format	Book
author	Beegle, Kathleen Coudouel, Aline Monsalve, Emma
author_sort	Beegle, Kathleen
title	Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa
title_short	Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa
title_full	Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa
title_fullStr	Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa
title_sort	realizing the full potential of social safety nets in africa
publisher	Washington, DC: World Bank
publishDate	2018
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29789
_version_	1764470249329000448

Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa

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