The question of how social transfers should be indexed over time is a hot topic for social protection practitioners. A recent case from Bolivia reveals some of the issues at stake.

Source: http://www.pension-watch.net

Brasilia, May 16, 2013 –

Last week, on 1st May, Bolivia’s president Evo Morales marked Labour Day by announcing that the country’s universal non-contributory pension would be increased by 50 bolivanos per month. Since 2008, all Bolivians over the age of 60 have been eligible for the Renta Dignidad  (or “Dignity Pension”) which pays 200 bolivianos (US$30) per month to people with no other pension, and a reduced level of 150 bolivianos for those with other pension income. The pension evolved from an earlier scheme called the Bonosol, introduced in 1997, which had a higher age of eligibility (65) and was paid on an annual basis. These schemes have had significant impacts on the lives of older people and their families, particularly in terms of supporting rural livelihoods and reducing extreme poverty.

What does the increase mean?

On the face of it, the additional 50 bolivianos per month looks generous: an increase of 25 per cent. But deeper analysis suggests that the story is not so simple. Figure 1 shows how the benefit level has changed since social pension payments first began in 1997, with comparison to alternative scenarios. The blue line shows the actual monthly benefit for individuals who receive no other pension income. From the initial transfer of just over 100 bolivianos (and following a decrease in the late 90s) ad hoc changes have seen the benefit gradually rise to the 250 bolivianos announced last week. The pink line presents a scenario where the initial benefit in 1997 is indexed to changes in consumer prices, showing what payments would have looked like over the past 15 years if this approach had been taken. The orange line also takes the same starting point but indexes the benefit to average income (GDP per capita).

The picture is relatively clear. The similar paths of the blue and pink lines show that, since 1997, ad hoc increases every few years mean that the actual benefit level has more or less kept track with rising prices. The fact that the benefit has retained its real value means it could theoretically buy the same basket of goods as it did in 1997. However, the divergence between the paths of the orange and blue lines shows that the benefit has not kept pace with average incomes. From a high in 2002 (when the increase in the benefit to 150 bolivianos outstripped growth in average income), the newly proposed benefit is just two thirds of what it could have been had it been indexed to average income.

Bolivia can be commended for sustaining the real value of the benefit over the last decade or so, something that many other countries have not been able to do. Yet it has not been able to maintain the value relative to average incomes, particularly in recent years when growth has been strong. The new announcement of a 50 bolivianos increase in the Renta Dignidad is effectively catching up with inflation in previous years. In a country with one of the highest levels of inequality in the world, this can be seen as a lost opportunity to use the universal pension as a mechanism to redistribute gains from economic growth. This is also a distinct approach from other countries such as Brazil where social pensions are indexed to wages and have been an avenue for substantial reductions in income inequality.

Could Bolivia do better?

While a higher level of benefit would be preferable, the obvious retort is that there are major constraints in terms of affordability. This is particularly concerning for Bolivia as the Renta Dignidad is principally funded by a tax on natural gas, where price fluctuations in the international market can create significant uncertainty. But is rising cost a real concern? Figure 2 shows that from 2009 to 2011 the cost of the programme actually fell, from 1.4 to 1.1 per cent of GDP, and this is despite increasing numbers of beneficiaries over the same period. This saving of nearly 25 per cent was driven by the decrease in the real value of the benefit described above. In fact, our own estimates suggest that, even with the new benefit level, economic growth in the last two years means the newly increased benefit will still cost around 1.1 per cent of GDP in 2013. This suggests that there would be significant space to increase benefits further and still remain within the budget that was available to the scheme in 2009.

Recommendations

Figure 2

So what can policy makers and civil society take from this? The key conclusion is that the new benefit level is not a particularly generous gesture to Bolivian citizens. Instead, it represents a rather a modest effort to keep benefits in line with price inflation, while still saving money compared to 2009 spending. Two potential recommendations from this could be:

1. If Bolivia is able to save money while retaining real value of benefits, why doesn’t it put in place automatic indexing to prices on a regular basis? This would create far greater predictability for recipients of the pension. It would also create greater transparency about when an increase is a real generous gesture or, as with the current proposal, just keeping up with inflation.

2. Could Bolivia not invest more in the Renta Dignidad? By tagging spending on the pension to 2009 spending (as a per cent of GDP), the benefit would act as a way to redistribute the increased growth of the country, thus having an impact on reducing the high levels of inequality in Bolivia.

Sources

Vice-ministry of Pensions, Ministry of Economy and Finance (Bolivia), Monthly bulletins (January 2009, January 2010, January 2011)

Economic data from IMF, World Economic Outlook Database (April 2013),

Notes

Beneficiary numbers in Figure 2 are for the month of January. Total numbers are likely to be higher as not all beneficiaries receive the pension on a monthly basis. The general trend is nevertheless representative.

Cost is estimated using beneficiary numbers from January 2011.They do not include administrative costs.

For any more information on assumptions please contact info@pension-watch.net.

For further information see the following IPC-IG publications:

Three Models of Social Protection (reference to Bolivia’s cash transfer programmes)

Impacts of the Continuous Cash Benefit Programme on Family Welfare

A Methodology for Local Economy-Wide Impact Evaluation (LEWIE) of Cash Transfers

Analytical Framework for Evaluating the Productive Impact of Cash Transfer Programmes on Household Behaviour – Methodological Guidelines for the From Protection to Production Project

A Methodology for Local Economy-wide Impact Evaluation (LEWIE) of Cash Transfers

Can Social Protection Help Promote Inclusive Growth

This article is made available by the researchers of INCT-CITECS and published by the British magazine The Lancet

Foto: Bruno Spada/MDS

Newly published research assesses the relationship between the Bolsa Família Program (BFP) and the reduction in mortality among children below five years. The research, which focused on the study period between 2004 to 2009, aimed to evaluate the effect of BFP on the mortality rates of children under five years of age in select municipalities. The study focused on poverty-related causes such as malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory infections, as well as some of the potential intermediate mechanisms, such as immunization, antenatal care and hospital admissions. Data from almost 3000 municipalities and advanced analytical methods were used.

According to the results of research published in The Lancet, Bolsa Familia has reduced the overall mortality of children in counties where coverage was high by 19,4% . This reduction was even greater when specific mortality causes as malnutrition (65%) and diarrhea (53%) were taken into consideration. The Family Health Program (FHP) also contributed to the reduction of mortality in children under five years of age through a synergistic effect with the BFP. The explanation for the effect of BFP is that the rising incomes made possible by the transfer of benefits allows enhanced access to food and other goods related to health. These factors help in reducing household poverty, improving living conditions, and eliminating difficulties in access to health. Combined, these factors all contribute to reducing deaths among children.

The world has witnessed the proliferation of conditional cash transfer programmes similar to BFP in various developing countries. Thus there exists a significant international interest in better understanding the various impacts of this policy on issues such as public health. The results of the Brazilian study demonstrate that a small improvement in income may have a significant positive impact on infant mortality. The discoveries made through this study contribute to the understanding of social determinants on health and will certainly stimulate the adoption of similar policies in countries with significant rates of infant mortality and other social problems associated with poverty.

The research was conducted by Davide Rasella, Master in Community Health and Doctor of Public Health (ISC-UFBa) as part of his doctoral program at ISC and with the collaboration of Rosana Aquino, MD, MPH in Community Health and a PhD in Health Public (ISC-UFBa) and researcher at the ISC-UFBa; Antonio Carlos Santos de Souza Teles, Doctor of Public Health (ISC-UFBa), assistant professor at the State University of Feira de Santana and researcher ISC-UFBa; Romulo Paes-Sousa , PhD in Environmental Epidemiology (University of London), Center Coordinator Rio + for Sustainable Development, a partnership between UNDP and the Brazilian government, and research associate at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. The team was led by Mauricio Lima Barreto, MD, MPH Community Health (UFBa), PhD in Epidemiology (University of London), Professor of Epidemiology Public Health Institute of the Federal University of Bahia, AI researcher of CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technology), and coordinator of inct-CITECS (multidisciplinary network of scientific research based in Bahia of international scope, focused on innovation, development and evaluation of health technologies) and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of Bahia.

To access the full article please click here.

The Lancet
First launched in 1823, the Lancet is one of the most important scientific publications in the world of healthcare. Headquartered in the UK, the Lancet was responsible for the disclosure of some of the most important medical advances in the past two centuries, such as those related to the principles of antiseptics by Joseph Lister (1867) with shock therapy Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (1918), the importance of penicillin (1940), the relationship between thalidomide and birth defects (1961), among others.

About IPC-IG
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) is the global forum of the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) in partnership with the Brazilian government to facilitate dialogue and South-South learning about innovative policies for inclusive growth. From its headquarters in Brasilia, the UNDP IPC-IG is dedicated to the promotion of knowledge between developing countries with the aim of formulating, implementing, and evaluating policies and programs that lead to a process of growth with social inclusion.

Brasilia – May 15, 2013

Source: Development Pathways UK

We are delighted to share the tenth in the series of ‘Pathways’ Perspectives’, papers that provide people with the opportunity to debate key issues in international development.

In the latest Pathways’ Perspective Senior Social Policy Specialist Nicholas Freeland writes about the myths of social protection.  The paper aims to dispel some of the more common myths about social security systems in developing countries. By clarifying two distinct ideologies, the neo-liberal ‘tea party’ approach to social protection and the universalist approach the paper takes each deadly sin and myth in turn.

The paper can be found on our website here.

You’ll also notice that Development Pathways has ‘revamped’ its website! Feel free to check it out at www.developmentpathways.co.uk. We welcome you to read and comment on the Perspective Blog, “Just KIDDing”, as well as peruse our social protection resource centre. 

Alternatively if you’d prefer a PDF copy, please email admin@developmentpathways.co.uk.

About the Author

Nicholas Freeland graduated from the esoterically-named ‘School of Arts and Humanities’ at Cambridge many years ago. This is the first time he has been able to combine the two disciplines in a single article.

About Development Pathways

We are a group of international development practitioners who specialise in the fields of social protection and social development, working with a range of development organisations and country governments across the developing world. Our aim is to provide creative and context-specific solutions to the social and economic policy challenges facing developing countries. We believe that policy and programming should be evidence-based and aligned to the political realities of countries, which may mean challenging prevailing orthodoxy to deliver the best policy and programme solutions.

IPC-IG will be supporting the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger (MDS) in the organization of the Seminar “Urban Productive Inclusion” to be held on May 8-9 in Campinas, Brazil. The Seminar aims at presenting and discussing the main results of Brazil Without Extreme Poverty Plan, with focus on the productive inclusion of low-income population groups. The event is a partnership between MDS, University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the World Bank.

For more information (Portuguese only) please click here.

Agenda -  Seminar “Urban Productive Inclusion”, May 8-9 – Campinas, São Paulo:

Programme DAY 1 – Wednesday

9h00 – 10h20 – Opening session

• UNICAMP / World Bank / Ministry of Social Development / NEPPConferência:

• The Plan Brazil Without Extreme Poverty  - Tereza Campello, Minister of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger

10h30-11h20 Session 1

Claudio Dedecca – UNICAMP: “The poverty multidimensional approach in Brazil Without Extreme Poverty  Plan (25′)

Aldaíza Sposati – PUC / SP: “Cross-cutting multi-sector oriented policies and access to basic services as requirements for productive inclusion” (25 ‘)

11h20 – 11h50 Panel discussion moderated by Tiago Falcão (SESEP / MDS) (30 ‘)

12h-14h00 Lunch

14h00 – 14h50 – Session 2

Sergei Soares – IPEA: “What is known about the effects of cash transfers on labor supply” (25 ‘)

Alexandre Leichsenring – USP: “Precarious employment and the Bolsa Familia” (25′)

14h50 – 15h20 Panel discussion moderated by Luis Henrique Paiva – SENARC /MDS (30′)

15h20-15h40 Coffee Break

15h40 – 17h10 – Session 3

Marta T. Arretche: “Public Policy and Federalism” (20′)

Valdiosmar Vieira – CONGEMAS: “Mobilization by municipalities and states for productive inclusion” (20′)

Luiz Claudio Romanelli – FONSET: “The role of federated entities in job and income generation policies management” (20′)

Heider Aurelio Pinto – Ministry of Health: “Programmes for Health in the Brazil Without Extreme Poverty Plan” (20′)

17h10 – 17h45 Panel discussion moderated by Vincent P. Trevas (25′)
Programme DAY 2 Thursday

9:00 – 10:15 Session 4

Marco Antonio – SETEC / Ministry of Education: “Innovations in professional  qualifications with PRONATEC (25′)

Felipe Morgado – National Service for Industrial Apprenticeship /SENAI: “Brief on Brazil Without Extreme Poverty Plan” (25 ‘)

Denise Colin – SNAS /MDS: Programmes for labour market access (25′)

10h15-10h45 Panel discussion moderated by Clemente Ganz Lúcio – DIEESE (30′)

11h00 – 11h50 – Session 5

Márcio Pochmann – UNICAMP: “ Labour and Social Security, the role job and income generation policy in poverty reduction” (25 ‘)

Nadya Araujo Guimarães – USP: “Occupational inequalities and access to job opportunities information“ (25 ‘)

11h50 – 12h20 Panel discussing moderated by José Celso Pereira Cardoso Junior – Ministry of Planning (30′)

12h-14h00 Lunch

14h00 – 15h00 – Session 6

Rafael Marques de Sá – MDIC: “Brasil Maior and Brazil Without Extreme Poverty: possible articulations” (20 ‘)

José Carlos Martins – CBIC: “Inclusion of BSM beneficiaries in the construction market” (20′)

Paul Januzzi – SAGI / MDS: “Opportunities mapping and other instruments for improving productive inclusion” (20′)

15:00 – 15:30 Panel discussion moderated by Anselmo Luis dos Santos (CESIT)

15h20-15h40 Coffee Break

14h00 – 15h00 – Session 7

Franco Matos – USP: “The role of microcredit and microfinance in the productive inclusion of extremely poor” (20′)

Roberto Marinho – SENAES / Ministry of Labour: “Solidarity Economy and Entrepreneurship: possibilities and limits” (20′)

Helena Rego – SEBRAE: “Experience with individual micro-entrepreneurs – MEI” (20′)

Gabriel Kraychete – UCSalvador: “Economy of the popular sectors and incubator of cooperative technology” (20 ‘)

17h00-17h30 Panel discussion moderated by Helena Carvalho de Lorenzo – UNESP / Araraquara (30′)

17:30 – 18:00 – Closing session

Conclusions, achievements and forging a common agenda

Ana Fonseca – NEPP / UNICAMP

Tiago Falcão - SESEP / MDS

Photo: ESCAP 2013

ESCAP flagship Survey calls for a paradigm shift in macroeconomic policies to make growth inclusive and sustainable

Brasilia, 18 April 2013 – Asia-Pacific economies will see subdued growth in 2013 after last year’s sharp slowdown caused by external factors, the United Nations said in its annual regional social and economic report released today in Brasilia. The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013: Forward-looking macroeconomic policies for inclusive and sustainable development adds that efforts to stimulate demand must go hand in hand with macroeconomic course correction to promote broad-based and sustainable development. The Survey 2013 was presented in the Seminar entitled “Asia and Brazil: Perspectives for Inclusive Growth”, organised by UNDP’sInternational Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) and the Brazilian Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea).

While  the  Asia-Pacific  region  has  weathered  the  financial  crisis  better  than  many other parts of the world, there is an urgent need to adapt macroeconomic policies to address the challenges of sustainable development and assist the poorest and most vulnerable” said Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The recommendations in this issue of the Survey seek to assist these countries to advance economically, socially and environmentally, citing that such measures will lead the region towards a more inclusive and sustainable growth path. “These efforts can assist the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Greater progress will fuel confidence in, and mobilize support for an ambitious post-2015 development agenda”, says Jorge Chediek, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Brazil.

Inclusive and environment-friendly growth is key to creating new sources of economic dynamism amidst the persisting global uncertainty, says the flagship publication of the Bangkok, Thailand-based United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) which estimates that economic policy uncertainty in the eurozone and the United States since the onset of the global crisis has shaved 3 per cent off regional GDP – a loss of $870 billion in output.

“The 2013 Survey suggests the need for new macroeconomic policies in Asia. The Brazilian example shows us that social policies can play a vital role in achieving inclusive and sustainable development”, says Claudio Hamilton dos Santos, Director of Macroeconomic Studies and Policies, Ipea.

“The Latin American experience has shown that public social investment, such as conditional cash transfer programmes, non-contributory social pensions, access to health care and education, can contribute to both GDP growth and domestic consumption demand by empowering millions of economically and socially marginalized people” added Fabio Veras, research coordinator IPC-IG/UNDP.

Limited pick up in growth

The expected improvement in global demand arising from steady growth in the United States and the limited rebound in major emerging economies is projected to help raise developing Asia-Pacific growth to 6.0 per cent in 2013 from 5.6 per cent last year.

China is estimated to record a moderate increase in growth from 7.8 per cent in 2012 to 8 per cent while India is projected to recover somewhat from last year’s low of 5 per cent to 6.4 per cent in 2013.

Oil and gas exporting North and Central Asia will continue to benefit from high global energy prices, maintaining steady growth. In South and South-West Asia, the economies of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are projected to grow 6 per cent or more in 2013.

The export-led economies in East and North-East Asia as well as South-East Asia are expected to gain from “improved, although still tepid, global trade”. However, domestic demand will be the main economy driver in Indonesia, giving it a robust growth of 6.6 per cent in 2013. Strong private consumption will support growth in the Philippines (6.2 per cent in 2013) and Thailand (5.3 per cent in 2013) while Viet Nam’s economy is expected to pick up in the second half of 2013 to 5.5 per cent.

Growth is expected to decelerate in Pacific island developing economies in 2013 due to a sharp, energy sector-led slowdown in Papua New Guinea, the largest Pacific island economy.

“New normal” of lower growth underlines need to make development inclusive and sustainable

The Survey cautions that “much lower growth compared to recent years could become a new normal for many regional economies if present economic trends were to continue” and this could cause an estimated economic output loss of about $1.3 trillion by end-2017.

Long-term structural issues, such as rising inequality, energy and infrastructure shortages are compounding the regional slowdown and the Survey says the “structural solution to invigorating the domestic drivers of growth will lie in making the development process more inclusive and sustainable”.

With the region home to nearly two-third of the world’s poor and having more than a billion people with insecure livelihoods, the Survey highlights the economic benefits of social protection. It makes a first-time estimation of the public investment requirement of a package of social protection and sustainable development policies comprising a job guarantee programme, a universal pension scheme, disability benefits, increased public health spending, universal school enrolment and universal access to modern sources of efficient energy.

Requiring between 5 and 8 per cent of GDP in many Asia-Pacific countries surveyed, this can be self-financed by most countries, although least developed countries, some geographically disadvantaged nations and small island developing states would also require external support.

Moreover, these investments do not carry any risk of macroeconomic destabilization.

Thailand and China show the way

Among measures to support inclusive development, the Survey makes a case for a minimum wage policy which can also benefit employers and the economy. It estimates that the recent minimum wage hikes in Thailand could increase job growth by up to 0.6 per cent and real GDP growth by 0.7 per cent by 2015.

Another model of a pro-inclusive growth policy is the ongoing rebalancing of China’s economy which aims to reduce reliance on exports and boost domestic consumption-driven demand by promoting inclusive and sustainable growth. ESCAP estimates this will also benefit intraregional trade, triggering an additional $13 billion worth of exports by other Asia-Pacific countries to China during 2013-2015 and cause regional export growth to pick up by up to 0.5 percentage points above the level it would otherwise have been.

Download full report:  http://www.ipc-undp.org/pressroom/files/ipc827.pdf

For more information, please go to: http://www.ipc-undp.org/ or follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ipc.undp, on our Twitter https://twitter.com/UNDP_IPC or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/ipcundp.

For more information, please contact:

Brasilia:
Ms Mariana Hoffmann
Communications Officer, IPC-IG
T: (55) 61 2105 5036/ M (55) 61 8125 6469 E: mariana.hoffmann@ipc-undp.org

Bangkok:
Ms. Francyne Harrigan
Chief, Strategic Communications and Advocacy Section, ESCAP
M: (66) 81 835 8677, E: harriganf@un.org

Launch event in Brazil:

Seminar “Asia and Brazil: Perspectives for Inclusive Growth”

Launch of the Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013 in Brazil

Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013 Time: 9 a.m.

here: Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) / SBS, Quadra 1, Edifício BNDES, Auditorium 16º floor – Brasília – DF, Brazil
Agenda

9h –  Breakfast to welcome guests

10h – Opening event

Mr. Claudio Hamilton dos Santos, Director of Macroeconomic Studies and Policies, the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) 

10h20 – Release of the report entitled “Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2013: Innovative Macroeconomic Policies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development”

Mr. Jorge Chediek, United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Brazil

10h40 – The conjunction of macroeconomic policy and inclusive and sustainable development

Mr. Claudio Hamilton dos Santos, Director of Macroeconomic Studies and Policies, the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) 

11h – Emerging counrtries: Prospects for inclusive growth policies

Mr. Fabio Veras, Coordinator of Research, the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG)/United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Brasília

11h20 – Parallels between Latin America and Asia in the current global context

Mr. Carlos Mussi, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, United Nations), Brasília

11h40 – Opportunities for dialogue between Brazil and Asia

Mr. Renato Baumann, Director of Studies and Economic Relations and International Policy, the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA)

12h – Q & A session with the speakers

12h20 – Closing of the Meeting

‘Ghana Child Ambassadors on youth radio show in Washington DC.’ Photo: Ubantu Village Inc./IPC-IG

Brasília, April 04, 2013 –  Friday April 5th marks 1000 days until the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are anticipated to be achieved. Momentum 1000 is a worldwide rally organized by the UNDP that aims to enhance cooperation and advocacy throughout the final leg towards achieving the MDGs.

The International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published a number of publications related to better understanding how to achieve each of the eight MDGs. In line with this, the following IPC-IG publications apply a critical lens to the development framework presented by the MDGs:

Global Development Goal Setting as a Policy Tool for Global Governance: Intended and Unintended Consequences

MDGs: Misunderstood Targets?

Measuring MDG Achievements: Rate of Progress Matters Most

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: A Measure of Progress

Towards an MDG-Consistent Debt Sustainability Concept

How Should MDG Implementation Be Measured: Faster Progress or Meeting Targets?

The MDGs and Beyond: Pro-Poor Policy in a Changing World

The aforecited IPC-IG publications serve to inform policymakers in advancing human development and to leverage policy research on inclusive growth in the pursuit of achieving the MDGs. The featured research attempts to address the key challenges presented by each MDG, ranging from development innovations to gender equality. The IPC-IG invites you to visit the following links provided below each MDG that may help critically inform efforts to improve lives around the world. In addition to relevant news and publications, each MDG is accompanied by illustrative photographs from the IPC-IG’s Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign.

MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger 

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Bolsa Família after Brasil Carinhoso: an Analysis of the Potential for Reducing Extreme Poverty

Analysing and Achieving Pro-Poor Growth

MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Covariates of efficiency in education production among developing pacific-basin and Latin American countries

Social Innovation: Tackling Poverty through Home Grown School Meal Programmes

MDG 3: Promoting gender equality and empowering women

Photo: ‘Girls in the hairdressing class at Pro-Link Danfa School in Ghana’/Alice Wong of Canadian Crossroads International

Greening the Economy and Increasing Economic Equity for Women Farmers in Madagascar

The Implications of Water and Electricity Supply for the Time Allocation of Women in Rural Ghana

The Role of Gender Inequalities in Explaining Income Growth, Poverty and Inequality: Evidence from Latin American Countries

MDG 4: Reducing child mortality rates

Photo: Inter-American Social Protection Network (IASPN)

Monetary Transfers for Children and Adolescents in Argentina: Characteristics and Coverage of a “System” with Three Components

No Child Left Without: A Universal Benefit for Children in Brazil

MDG 5: Improving maternal health

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Regression Discontinuity Impacts with an Implicit Index: Evaluating El Salvador’s Comunidades Solidarias Rurales Transfer Programme

IPC-IG Joins UNFPA on the 7 billion Actions Global Campaign

MDG 6: Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other disease

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Scaling-up HIV/AIDS Financing and the Role of Macroeconomic Policies in Kenya

Gearing macroeconomic polices to manage large inflows of ODA: The implications for HIV/AIDS programmes

The Macro-Micro Nexus in Scaling-Up Aid: The Case of HIV and AIDS Control in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia

MDG 7: Ensuring environmental sustainability

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

Raindrops for Education: How To Improve Water Access in Schools? 

Managing Resource-Dependence Amidst Opportunities and Challenges: Defining a New Sustainability Narrative for Caribbean Coastal Economies 

Low-Cost Technologies Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: The Case of Rainwater Harvesting

MDG 8: Developing a global partnership for development 

Photo: ‘Humanizing Development Global Photography Campaign’/IPC-IG

South-South Cooperation for Inclusive Green Growth

South-South Cooperation in Times of Global Economic Crisis

China and The World: South-South Cooperation for Inclusive Green Growth

Domestic Housework Work

UN Women, the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) launch a study on the impacts of the adoption of the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) for Domestic Houseworkers.

Brasília, April 02, 2013 – The Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) for Domestic Houseworkers intends to equalize the rights of employees to those of other domestic workers in Brazil. Although the PEC passed into the second round by the Brazilian senate in the past week and has been enacted today, the PEC still produces abundant controversy. In particular, one of the recurring issues of concern related to the formalization of domestic work is the increase in the cost of hiring domestic services. This cost increase may be problematic as it could lead to a reduction in demand, possibly resulting in massive layoffs and more informal work. On the other hand, the study supports the assertion that the PEC and the formalization of domestic work may correct a historical debt to millions of Brazilian women and generate economic growth for the country.

Entitled Impact of Welfare Changes in the Brazilian Market Home Services, the study anticipates this very debate and in so doing seeks to evaluate the direct effects of formalization of domestic work as well as the impacts triggered elsewhere in the economy. The research stimulates results from the consumption of households that rely on domestic work: an increase of approximately R 19 billion (USD 9.5 billion) in 2011 prices in the Brazilian GDP. Moreover, the generation of approximately 630,000 indirect jobs may be attributed to the increased income of domestic workers, mainly in the production of household appliances and related to health services.

The study was developed by Professor Edson Paulo Domingues and researcher Kenya Barreiro de Souza of the Center for Regional Planning and Development of Minas Gerais (Cedeplar) Federal University of Minas Gerais. The study is funded by UN Women under the Interagency Program for the Promotion of Gender Equality, Race, and Ethnicity with additional funding from the Fund for the Achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDG-F) of the Spanish government and developed in partnership with the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Completed in 2012, the study is being published on April 1, 2013 by UN Women and the IPC-IG/UNDP.

Between 2005-2011 the demand for domestic labor remained stable in Brazil, according to the official employment statistics monthly, while the average salary for the category during this period increased by approximately 10% per year. The study shows that the gains in income at the bottom of the social pyramid generate benefits for the welfare of society as a whole and that the demand for domestic services remains stable even when there are increased costs of this type of work.

Click here to read the summary of the survey.

Click here to download the complete survey.

History and Methodology

Since late 2010, UN Women has harbored interest in conducting a study on the costs and benefits of formalization of domestic work in Brazil, mainly because one of the most cited arguments against the formalization of domestic work is that this could lead to more unemployment and increase economic stress.

The partnership with the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) was instrumental in the research of concern. The IPC-IG in Brazil is a global forum for the UNDP South-South cooperation, whose objective is to produce and disseminate studies and policy recommendations for inclusive growth from innovative experiences in developing countries.

During the preparatory discussions for the research, the idea of using a dynamic general equilibrium model was suggested as a useful economic tool. This suggestion may be due to the fact that this model may allow for the construction of simulations and may also help conduct an analysis of the macroeconomic multiplier effects changes in the costs of domestic labor.

Thus, in an innovative manner, the research uses a general equilibrium model that is adapted to social and economic computational simulations. Several countries currently use this model; however its use is concentrated mainly in studies of international trade and transportation. The model was only recently introduced into studies related to social analysis.

“The survey also provides an economic justification for the ratification of the Convention on Decent Work for domestic workers and workers of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 189. This adds to the efforts of UN Women to promote the importance of decent work agenda based on values of social justice. UN Women has been working closely with the ILO, especially by supporting organizations of domestic workers in their demands for labor rights,” says Rebecca Tavares, representative of UN Women in Brazil.

UN Women walks with civil society and governments to build societies that seek to establish gender equality and women’s empowerment in all of its spheres. We hope that this research is relevant to the discussion on the formalization of domestic work in the country and that it will also help to foster ideas and solutions that promote the social inclusion of all members of Brazilian society.

‘Vegetables.’ Source: Emmanuelle Graciet

Brasília, March 28, 2013 – The International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth has published a working paper (number 106) that aims to analyse Brazil’s Food Acquisition Programme (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos – PAA) in terms of the implications for improving food security for the Brazilian population and promoting fair markets for rural smallholder producers. The paper focuses on a particularly impoverished sector of society in Brazil: small-scale farmers that often lack adequate market access and fair prices. Compounded with a varying agro-climatic landscape due to climate change and landholding inequalities, the situation for smallholder food security presents a formidable challenge. The idea is that a public food procurement scheme such as the PAA may help address these challenges on the production side through government purchases from small-scale farmers in Brazil and distributing food to social protection networks like food banks, community kitchens and schools.

The working paper, entitled “Scaling Up Local Development Initiatives: Brazil’s Food Acquisition Programme,” was authored by Ryan Nehring and Ben McKay of the IPC-IG/UNDP. The research was informed by fieldwork in Piaui and Ceara in the northeast of Brazil, a region with the highest concentrations of extreme poverty and hunger in the country. The study explores the efficacy of the PAA at the scale of the family farm unit as an underutilized, productive class in Brazil’s agricultural sector when considering crop diversity of production. Smallholder resiliency is revealed by the fact that “despite inequities of the land distribution, family farmers already produce 70 percent of all food products consumed by Brazilians daily” (IBGE, 2009). Study participants hailed from a range of backgrounds, such as rural workers’ unions, cooperatives, associations, and non-affiliated producers. The data collection was primarily comprised of semi-structured interviews that enabled the researchers to have a consistent understanding of the local stakeholders’ views as well as the challenges and opportunities of the programme on the ground.

For a brief backdrop, the PAA was incepted in 2003 as a:

“government-sponsored food procurement programme that utilizes the productive capacity of family farms to contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of people living in food insecurity, by supplying food to local public school feeding programmes, food banks, community kitchens, charitable assocations and community centers for the needy” (CAISAN, 2011).

The analysis aimed to assess whether the PAA has been able to “guarantee access to food in the proper quantity, quality and regularity according to the needs of populations living in food and nutritional insecurity, as well as to promote social inclusion in rural areas by strengthening family agriculture.” In line with this, the main objectives of the working paper are outlined as follows:

Objective 1: Provide first hand documentation of the design and operations of the programme – which includes the observed physical actors – involved in the design and implementation;

Objective 2: Identify the potential for scaling up the programme in country and the possibilities for south-south knowledge building.

‘Mais de 330 produtos da agricultura familiar são vendidos no PAA’ Source: Government of Brazil/MDA

Following an overview of the ‘design, operations, and trajectories of the PAA’ in Brazil, the working paper demonstrates that acute disparities exist with respect to both income and landholdings in Brazil’s agricultural spaces. The publication also indicates that the following dimensions of the PAA are matters of particular importance: targeting and coverage; timely payment delivery; organization of farmer capacities; and transportation. For example, in terms of transportation, that paper poses the following question: “who can and should take on the responsibility of transporting the produce, especially in communities where both the producers and the consumers are challenged in this regard?”

In line with this, the paper highlights that heightening social initiatives for smallholder farms may not only help alleviate poverty but may also stimulate economic and social equality – while supporting rural livelihoods. Compellingly, the working paper suggests that the PAA is in fact able to improve the income of local farmers by empowering local capacities, communities, and economies. Of particular interest is the ability of the PAA to enhance the productive capacity of smallholders and boost the local economy through the revitalization of locally integrated production and consumption, increased family incomes and more competition in the food supply-chain. However, challenges still remain with respect to “lack of knowledge about the programme, lack of institutional participation and weak institutional capacity.”

Although there is progress to be made in terms of improving measures for food security, the study concludes that the decentralised system of food acquisition presented by the PAA is a promising model for a participatory and inclusive approach to food security. The working paper states that the PAA “design creates a new market for the commercialisation of family farm products with the aim of expanding additional market opportunities and improving linkages and new supply chains beyond the programme’s designed parameters.”

The efficacy of the PAA in Brazil depends on catering the social protection programme to the local context, including components such as agro-climatic conditions, cuisine preference, and economic landscape. The dual needs of enhancing market access and improving food security may be achieved through an inclusive social policy aimed at tackling food acquisition. Overall, the Brazilian PAA experience illustrates that it is possible to improve local agrarian economies while also establishing a progressive and effective national food security strategy.

Source: IPC Working Paper 106

Check out this video to better understand what the PAA’s smallholder farmers have to say about supplying food to the programme:

Refer to the following publications released by the IPC-IG to learn more about food security, social policy, and agriculture:

Market Alternatives for Smallholder Farmers in Food Security Initiatives: Lessons from the Brazilian Food Acquisition Programme [IPC-IG Working Paper]

Public Support to Food Security in India, Brazil and South Africa: Elements for a Policy Dialogue [IPC-IG Working Paper]

The Food Security Policy Context in Brazil [IPC-IG Country Study]

The Food Security Policy Context in South Africa [IPC-IG Country Study]

South Africa’s ‘Food for All’ Campaign: A Promising New Plan to Tackle Hunger and Malnutrition? [IPC-IG Article]

East Africa Food Crisis: Understanding the Importance of Smallholder Agriculture [IPC-IG Article]

Supporting Food Production and Food Access through Local Public Procurement Schemes: Lessons from Brazil