Institutional factors and people's preferences in the implementation of social protection: the case of Ethiopia
Vincenzo Vinci & Keetie Roelen
#2018-017
Effective implementation of social protection interventions is key for
achieving positive impact, but factors underpinning quality of
implementation have not been widely explored. Recent literature on
determinants of social protection expenditures indicates that quality of
institutions and people's preferences play an important role. This paper
builds on this literature to explore the linkages between quality of
institutions and people's preferences in relation to the quality of
implementation of social protection interventions. It does so by using
Ethiopia and one of the largest social protection programmes in
Sub-Saharan Africa - the Productive Safety Net Programme - as a case
study, thereby contributing to debates of how social protection can be
implemented more effectively, particularly in settings with widespread
poverty, relatively low levels of institutional capacity and rapid
scale-up of programmes. Based on primary qualitative data, the paper
finds that greater institutional quality is associated with more
effective implementation of social protection interventions. The ability
to voice preferences can lead to adaptations in implementation, although
the extent to which this occurs is highly gendered.
JEL Classification: H11, H53, I38
Keywords: Social protection, Institutions, Public policies, Ethiopia