Social Protection in Developing Countries

Katja Bender is Professor for Economic and Social Development at the International Centre for Sustainable Development, Bonn-Rhine-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

This is the first book to explore from an interdisciplinary and global perspective the reforms of social protection systems introduced in recent years by many governments of low- and middle-income countries. Through case studies of African, Asian, and Latin American countries, the book covers how this 'global phenomenon' differs across countries both in terms of scope and speed of institutional change. It addresses on the one hand the major elements impacting on the political feasibility of social protection reforms in order to analyse reform successes and reform failures, and on the other hand the successful strategies in building political and public support for these reforms.

Introduction Part 1: Social Protection Reforms: Objectives and Political Economy of Social Protection Reforms 1. Rescuing Social Protection from the Poverty Trap: New Programmes and Historical Lessons 2. Social Protection for Poverty Reduction: Approaches, Effectiveness and Challenges 3. The Political Economy of Social Protection Reforms - What to Explain and How? 4. Social Cohesion: Does it matter for Growth and Development? Part 2: The Legal Framework of Social Protection Reforms 5. The Human Rights-Based Approach to Social Protection 6. The Role of Law and Legal Institutions in the Reform of Social Protection Systems: Experiences from South Africa 7. The Role of the Law of Regional Organisations in Reforms of Social Protection Systems: Portability of Social Security Benefits in the East African Community 8. Reforms of Social Protection Systems in Latin America-The Legal Context Part 3: Political Feasibility of Basic Social Protection 9. Attitudes towards Hard Work and Redistributive Preferences in Developing Countries 10. Populous, Precarious - Protected? The Paradox of Social Security for South Asian Agricultural Workers 11. Whom to Target - An Obvious Choice? 12. How to target - Overview on current targeting methods in social protection Part 4: Social Protection Systems - Between Fragmentation and Integration 13. Building Social Protection and Labour Systems 14. The Political Economy of Social Protection Reforms in Indonesia 15. Social Protection Reforms in Vietnam: Experiences and Challenges 16. Social Protection: Political Reform and Policy Innovations in South Asia 17. Caring for the Urban Middle Class: The Political Economy of Social Protection in Arab Countries Part 5: Social Protection Reforms - International Contexts 18. Building National Social Protection Floors and Social Security Systems: The ILO's Two-Dimensional Social Security Strategy 19. Developing Countries' Social Protection Measures in Reaction to the Global Economic and Financial Crisis 20. Social Protection and the Four Horsemen of the Donor Apocalypse