Social Protection in the Developing World

Abhijit Banerjee; Rema Hanna; Benjamin A. Olken; Diana Sverdlin Lisker

doi:10.3386/w32382

Social Protection in the Developing World

Abhijit Banerjee, Rema Hanna, Benjamin A. Olken & Diana Sverdlin Lisker

Working Paper 32382

DOI 10.3386/w32382

Issue Date April 2024

Social protection programs have become increasingly widespread in low- and middle-income countries, with their own distinct characteristics to match the environments in which they are operating. This paper reviews the growing literature on the design and impact of these programs. We review how to identify potential beneficiaries given the large informal sector, the design and implementation of redistribution and income support programs, and the challenges and potential of social insurance. We use our frameworks as a guide for consolidating and organizing the existing literature, and also to highlight areas and questions for future research.

We thank Amy Finkelstein, Nathan Hendren, the JEL editors Steven Durlauf and David Romer, and four anonymous referees for helpful comments. We thank Cristine von Dessauer, Tilman Graff, Emily Romano, Beatriz Velho and especially Kim Lan Mallon for outstanding research assistance. Financial support from the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund is gratefully acknowledged. This research was generously supported by the National Institute on Aging, Grant Number T32-AG000186 and is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. 1745302. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the individuals or organizations acknowledged here or of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Rema Hanna
Disclosure Statement for Rema Hanna

• I am on a scientific director of J-PAL-SEA at MIT. J-PAL has no stake in the outcomes of any given evaluation results. However, J-PAL does have a position on what is considered a rigorous evaluation methodology.

• I co-direct the JPAL / CID Social Protection Initiative, which receives funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Livelihoods Impact Fund, the Norwegian Agency for Development Corporation, and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. I have received summer salary support as part of directing this Initiative.

• In the past 5 years, I have received research funding for social-protection related research from Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the JPAL Governance Initiative, the JPAL Innovations in Government Initiative, KOICA, and the United States Agency for International Development/ DIV.

Benjamin A. Olken
• I am a director of J-PAL at MIT. J-PAL has no stake in the outcomes of any given evaluation results. However, J-PAL does have a position on what is considered a rigorous evaluation methodology.

• I co-direct the JPAL / CID Social Protection Initiative, which receives funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Livelihoods Impact Fund, the Norwegian Agency for Development Corporation (Norad), and the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. I receive summer salary support as part of directing this Initiative.

• In the past 5 years, I have received research funding for social-protection related research from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the JPAL Governance Initiative, the JPAL Innovations in Government Initiative, KOICA, and the United States Agency for International Development/ DIV.
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Abhijit Banerjee, Rema Hanna, Benjamin A. Olken, and Diana Sverdlin Lisker, "Social Protection in the Developing World," NBER Working Paper 32382 (2024), https://doi.org/10.3386/w32382.

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