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The debate on social security in developing countries has emerged largely since the 1980s, prompted by several factors. One was the acknowledgement of the glaring dichotomy in the availability of social security between the industrial and developing countries; and, not unrelated to this, the dichotomy between the access to social security in the developing countries themselves for labour in the organized sectors of public and industrial employment vis-a-vis the vast majority in the unorganized rural and urban sectors. The second was the realization that even the portfolio of direct -poverty alleviation measures cannot be depended upon to provide adequate, timely or guaranteed protection to insure: the poor against identifiable forms of deprivation. The third, and more proximate, factor has been the recognition of the role of social safety nets in cushioning the poor during the structural adjustment which many developing countries initiated in the 1980s in response to the debt crisis or as part of domestic economic reform processes. Parallel with these trends, the literature on poverty in the 1980s has paid much greater attention to its relationship with risk and vulnerability. The decade has also seen an extensive appraisal of country experiences in poverty alleviation. These trends appear to strike chords with one another at different pitches. Policy and need call for the location of specific social security entitlements within the anti-poverty framework, while theorizing relates anti-poverty measures to an over-arching notion of social security.
Drawing from conceptual insights and from empirical lessons provided by country experiences, it is necessary to formulate working definitions for social security in developing countries and to translate them into an agenda for practical action. This is necessary for informing national policies, for providing the basis for normative recommendations from international agencies, and for guiding international cooperation in the relief of deprivation.
This article is an exploration 0f the possible contents of such an agenda. Organized in five sections, it first discusses the limitations of the formal security model to developing countries and then the elements of what could constitute appropriate social security for poor countries. Thirdly, the cost effectiveness of the principal approaches is reviewed. The fourth section is devoted to three generic issues: targeting, resources and administration. Finally, an agenda based on the earlier discussion is set...