Trends in Social Security in East Africa: Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda

As elsewhere in the world and in Africa in particular, social security in the member countries of the East African Community (Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda) has long been provided through voluntary assistance under the traditional extended family system. Later, and more specifically after independence in the early 1960s, when the region had a major increase in the number of employees in the formal sector — both public and private — who were mainly located in urban centres, formal social security schemes started to gain recognition among employed workers. Thus over the years, the urban population became increasingly detached from rural communities where the traditional extended family system was most effective. In addition, their general standards of living rose to such levels that if they ceased to earn employment income for one reason or another their livelihood could not be sustained through the extended family system. The above social security development trends have resulted even today in societies examining and determining ways to improve social protection beyond the formal sector so as to ensure arrangements are put in place for a large part of the working population to be provided with social security insurance during their working life and after retirement.     

Social security reforms in Kenya: Towards a workerist or a citizenship‐based system?

With social security provisions in Kenya remaining under‐reported in the more recent literature, this overview covers recent reforms in key areas of the country's social security system. In the health sector and in old‐age pension provision social security is still mainly workerist (biased toward those in formal employment), and attempts to expand coverage have had limited effect only – cash transfer programmes, for instance, have been expanded but in practice they do not universally cover the entitled categories. Thus, although the Kenyan social security system now has a considerable pro‐poor social assistance component it remains biased toward those in formal employment, to the benefit of the highest income quintile.     

Gender and Social Security Reform in Africa

As a result of pressures from structural adjustment policies, persistent poverty and slow economic growth in most African countries, there is widespread reform of formal social security systems in the region. The designs for reform have ignored gender concerns and non-formal social security systems, yet it is widely known that women and men have different experiences in the labour market and that non-formal systems are currently the main source of social security for most women and men, especially in rural communities. The paper points out the efficiency and equity costs of ignoring gender and non-formal social security systems and proposes action for policymakers.     

Informal Economic and Social Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Most people think that there is no social security in sub-Saharan Africa, whereas a theoretical statutory social security is foreseen in quite a few African States. Since the 1960s, the first formal social security provision in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa was established mainly in the field of health services. Nevertheless, the situation is different in reality. The coverage rate is less than 10 per cent of the workforce. The majority of the population are excluded because they work in the informal sector. Formal social security systems are usually based on a labour-centred view, which is founded on formal employment and thus employment contracts. Legal restrictions, such as the exclusion of several categories of employees, and administrative and financial problems are primarily responsible for the low coverage rate. This situation has induced informal sector workers to create their own "safety nets". The integration of these existing informal social security schemes in a broader, pluralist approach to sub-Saharan social security seems necessary.     

Public policies promoting the informal sector: Effects on incomes,employment and growth in Burkina Faso

Since the 1990s, Burkina Faso has intensified the implementation of supporting policies to enhance the access to capital and liquidity in the informal sector. This paper analyzes the effects of these public policies on incomes, employment and economic growth by taking into account the interactions between the informal sector, the formal sector and the agricultural sector. For that purpose, policy shocks are simulated through the Partnership for Economic Policy Network's static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model which is adapted to the structure of a 2008-based social accounting matrix developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute. Our results highlight mixed effects including a paradoxical contraction of the informal sector, the formal sector and economic growth as well as an improvement of the informal households and the farmers’ incomes.     

Reforming formal social security systems in India and Sri Lanka

This paper analyses the formal social security systems of India and Sri Lanka. While many of the social, demographic, and economic indicators differ markedly between the countries, the structure of the social security systems, challenges, and reform directions are quite similar. Thus, the provident fund organizations in both countries need to modernize and benchmark their governance, operations, and investment policies. The dualism in their systems, which has resulted in relatively generous non–contributory pensions being provided to civil servants, also needs to be addressed. This dualism and the fiscal unsustainability of current civil service pension arrangements lend urgency to reforms in this area in the two countries. The prospects for voluntary tax–advantaged private sector schemes are encouraging, particularly in India. The conditions for reforms are more favourable now owing to hopeful signs of an end to longstanding conflict in Sri Lanka, and decade–long experience with financial sector reforms in India.     

Understanding quality of service in a delayed gratification situation: The case of social security providers in Tanzania

Abstract   This article looks at five quality of service dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibility) in a delayed gratification situation in the public sector in a developing economy. Using four formal social security service providers (SSSPs) in Tanzania, it examines members' familiarity with, and expectations and perceptions about, social security services. Through focus group discussions and an adapted servqual instrument, it is found that familiarity is lowest among older members, that members expect more information about benefits, and perceive negative disconformities for cash benefits but positive disconformities for medical benefits. The findings suggest that SSSPs must continually enhance familiarity, offer proactive and repeated assurances to members, and realize improvements in the processing and adequacy of benefits.     

Disability benefits and workers with HIV/AIDS: Coverage issues and challenges in the United Republic of Tanzania

This paper explores the effective non‐availability of disability/invalidity benefits to formal sector employees with HIV/AIDS in the United Republic of Tanzania. The legal difficulty of establishing a direct connection between HIV/AIDS and employment injury and occupational diseases present a challenge to social security institutions and schemes which are simultaneously trying to come to grips with the mounting problems of the shrinkage of the formal sector and low coverage. Remedial policy responses are proposed. These identify the statutory and legal adjustments needed both to ensure convergence of eligibility criteria for invalidity benefit claims among the concerned institutions, and to ensure that qualifying conditions are both consistent and in line with contemporary approaches to disbility. The suggested adjustments would simplify and clarify eligibility criteria in cases of invalidity involving existing scheme members, potentially also allowing for a future expansion of benefit coverage better to reflect labour market realities.     

Extending pension coverage in Cambodia: The governance and investment challenges of the Social Security Investment Fund

Rapid economic growth, declining fertility and changes in family structures have encouraged the Kingdom of Cambodia to reform its old-age pension system. The Government of Cambodia reached an important milestone in 2019, when the Law on Social Security was promulgated. The Law includes provisions for a compulsory defined benefit pension scheme, establishing a sound framework for extending compulsory pension coverage beyond the public sector to formal private-sector workers. As a future step, the compulsory pension scheme should be extended to informal workers. To accompany the reform, the investment policy for the pension scheme’s reserve funds, including the supervisory regime and investment strategy, will be essential for the modernization of the Cambodian social security system. In this regard, Cambodia has successfully sought policy advice. However, the country should continue to seek further advice, and to act on this. Otherwise, the necessary and increasingly pressing policy ambitions of Cambodia to develop an adequate and sustainable social protection system may not be fully realized.     

Voluntary affiliation to Peru's individual accounts pension system

One important aspect in the design of social protection is coverage. In Peru, as in most Latin American countries, social security coverage is mandatory only for workers in the formal sector. This article investigates the determinants of voluntary affiliation to Peru's individual accounts pension system. It is found that married males with more than high-school level education living in high income households and with other family members already affiliated to the individual accounts pension system have a higher likelihood of voluntary affiliation. Although the results suggest that family-based safety nets might be substitutes for voluntary participation in the individual accounts pension system, nonetheless, extending pension coverage and addressing poverty remain as challenges for government involvement.     

Social Security for the Informal Sector: A New Challenge for the Developing Countries

Informal sector workers constitute a large and increasing part of the labour force in most developing countries. Many of them are not able or willing to contribute a significant percentage of their incomes to finance formal sector social insurance benefits that do not meet their priority needs. Therefore, informal sector workers themselves need to (and have) set up health and other social insurance schemes that better meet their needs and contributory capacity. In addition, special social assistance schemes are necessary to protect the most vulnerable groups outside the labour force. This article also assesses some key implications of these developments for formal social insurance schemes.     

Expanding social health protection in Cambodia: An assessment of the current coverage potential and gaps,and social equity considerations

The Royal Government of Cambodia recently launched its National Social Protection Policy framework to strengthen and expand social security and assistance. To inform social health protection policy, we examine socio-economic survey data and administrative coverage data to assess the coverage potential of existing coverage mechanisms and current gaps; and compare equitable contribution rates. Over 53 per cent of the population currently has no social health protection coverage mechanism, and about 16 per cent of the population who do have access to a mechanism are not yet enrolled. Current expansion efforts focus on the formal employee scheme, primarily benefiting individuals from higher income households. In addition, recent coverage expansion to some informal workers leaves significant gaps, particularly among the informal sector. We find out-of-pocket health care expenditure to be an excessive share of income among lower wealth quintile individuals and conclude they are financially vulnerable. Finally, we illustrate that an equitable approach to individual, monthly health care contributions among the lower three quintiles has a severely limited potential for revenue generation, and collection costs could exceed the amount collected. Therefore, we recommend that vulnerable groups should be exempted from contribution payments as social health protection is expanded.     

Health care as a social security benefit: Institutional approaches to extending coverage

Reaching universal health‐care coverage requires an appropriate mix of compulsory contributory social insurance schemes, with mechanisms to include the informal‐economy population, and tax‐based social assistance for those whose incomes preclude their own contributions. This article urges a reversal of the trend that favours the separate development of social health insurance by separate health authorities and makes the case for the extension of health‐care coverage using existing formal‐sector social security schemes, not least because they have the necessary political backing and institutional structures. The article reviews reasons for the slow pace of coverage extension to date, and stresses the added value of incorporating health care as a social security benefit while also acknowledging the importance of retaining linkages between statutory and well‐regulated community‐based or micro health‐insurance schemes.     

论亚行大湄公河次区域合作未来发展规划与中国的任务

亚洲地区在经济发展过程中面临着新的挑战。大湄公河地区是亚洲经济增长较为薄弱的次区域之一。该地区的经济繁荣与社会稳定不仅能够为亚洲经济的进一步发展打下基础,而且也有助于中国未来地缘经济和政治目标的实现。亚行将制定未来10年大湄公河次区域发展战略,中国应及时把握亚行战略方向,以亚行自身发展战略为基础,结合中国未来10年经济社会发展总体目标,推动大湄公河次区域合作向有利于各成员国的方向发展。     

The difficulties of extending social security in Tunisia's agricultural sector

The development of social security in the agricultural sector in Tunisia faces obstacles due to the particular social and economic conditions that apply. The desire of the public authorities to extend social protection to the rural population as a whole runs up against both technical and financial problems. The exact number of people employed in the agricultural sector is not known and it is difficult to define precisely the range of persons to be protected. The changes that have been made in the legal framework in order to adapt social security to the composition and the working conditions of the agricultural population have not achieved their objective. The lack of a coherent system is reflected in particular in the variety of legal provisions and schemes which may be applicable to employees engaged in the same work or working in the same firm. The precarious nature of agricultural employment, the low incomes and thus the low contributory capacity of the workers, the level of benefits offered — in the agricultural schemes sometimes very much below those in the general scheme — all these make social security appear impossible to achieve or not worth while. The resistance encountered by the social security institution may also be due in part to the failure of the Social Security Fund to make people sufficiently aware of the position in the face of some of the traditional structures of solidarity.     

Building Social Work Education and the Profession in a Transition Country: Case of Nepal

Drawing on interviews and personal accounts of the author working in Nepal for the last 7 years, this paper discusses the evolution of social work education and challenges for its growth in Nepal, a country that is going through a series of transitions and is emerging from a recent decade‐long armed conflict. Due to a lack of formal recognition and commitment from state and non‐state actors, the future of social work in Nepal is in the hands of university‐affiliated colleges and the few social work graduates and educators. Their commitment, strategies, and passion are crucial to the survival and growth of social work in conflict‐stricken, transition Nepal in South Asia.     

Financial access and household’s borrowing: Policy perspectives of an emerging economy

This paper analyzes access to finance based on the usage of financial services by Indian households. Based on two rounds of nationally representative All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) for 2002 and 2012, we examine how access to credit is associated with a household's socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using Heckman’s two-step approach procedure. Our results show that belonging to higher asset quintile groups has a statistically significant positive effect on the household's decision to take loans only from the formal sector in both rounds and significant negative effects on taking a loan only from the informal sector. Similarly, social and religious groups play a significant role in the decision of the household to take a loan. Households with more educated adults are more likely to take a loan. Households involved in regular wage-earning occupations in urban areas are more likely to take a loan from formal sources. Thus, the importance of policy placing greater emphasis on demand-side barriers rather than on improving the physical availability of formal financial services to promote financial inclusion in India.     

Rural African women and development

70-90% of Africans still live in rural areas, and 25-30% of rural households are headed by women. Standards of living in rural areas are lower than in urban areas. Rural African women's involvement in development is in its initial stages, and social development for women is likely to be slow. Increasing women's opportunities for education is a means of promoting social justice and fairness. Schools should offer courses of practical value for those not planning on higher education and special programs and career counseling for gifted girls. Women's organizations, African leaders, and other influential parties should aggressively create awareness about the oppressive aspects of traditional attitudes, beliefs, and views about women. Laws on ownership of property, inheritance, access to credit, and employment must be equitable and enforced. Consciousness-raising among rural women is an effective means of encouraging rural women to seek and assume new roles and for questioning unreasonable expectations and norms. Women's professional associations serve important functions and fulfill the need for role models. The quality of rural women's life is effectively improved through formulation of policies relevant to women's needs and problems and improve rural conditions. Women should have fair representation at local and national levels of government. Women's role in agriculture is likely to be enhanced through improved transportation systems, electricity supply, and introduction of intermediate technology. This assessment of rural African women's contributions to economic growth emphasizes women's involvement in farming and the informal sector and their lack of equal remuneration or low wages. Illiteracy places women in a disadvantaged position when competing for employment in the formal sector. Lack of access to credit and limits on credit are other obstacles in the informal sector. The reduced participation of rural women in the formal and informal sector is due to lack of economic power, limited educational opportunities, and policies that place industry in urban areas. Social development that reduces illiteracy and poverty should be encouraged.     

Trade in services: Impact on employment in India

India's services sector has been growing rapidly and so also the trade in services. This paper attempts to assess if trade is able to generate employment in the services sector. Based on the time series macro data the direct and indirect effects of exports and imports on employment after deciphering their effects included in the overall growth, are seen to be mostly negligible. This holds both in the case of formal and informal services. Also, as per the company-level data international trade is not found to be an important determinant of employment in the services sector. On the whole, trade in services sector may enhance growth but this pattern of growth is less likely to be inclusive. Finally, the paper brings out the policy implications.