IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v98y2017icp555-572.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Recent Social Security Initiatives in India

Author

Listed:
  • Drèze, Jean
  • Khera, Reetika

Abstract

There has been a major expansion of social security programs in India during the last 15years or so, along with wider recognition of economic and social rights. This paper discusses five programs that can be seen as partial foundations of a possible social security system for India: school meals, child care services, employment guarantee, food subsidies, and social security pensions. The record of these programs varies a great deal between Indian states, but there is growing evidence that they make an important contribution to human well-being, and also that the achievements of the leading states are gradually spreading to other states as well. Much scope remains for extending these efforts: despite the recent expansion, India’s social security system is still very limited in international perspective. The paper also discusses some general issues of social policy in India, such as the arguments for universalization versus targeting and the value of a rights approach to social security.

Suggested Citation

  • Drèze, Jean & Khera, Reetika, 2017. "Recent Social Security Initiatives in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 555-572.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:98:y:2017:i:c:p:555-572
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.05.035
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X17302097
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.05.035?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kochar, Anjini, 2005. "Can Targeted Food Programs Improve Nutrition? An Empirical Analysis of India's Public Distribution System," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 203-235, October.
    2. Hazarika, Gautam & Viren, Vejoya, 2013. "The effect of early childhood developmental program attendance on future school enrollment in rural North India," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 146-161.
    3. Jean Drèze & Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, 2001. "School Participation in Rural India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 1-24, February.
    4. Florinskaya Yulia & Mkrtchian N., 2016. "Migration in russia: old trends and new problems," Russian Economic Development, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, issue 12, pages 36-40, December.
    5. Kalanidhi Subbarao & Carlo del Ninno & Colin Andrews & Claudia Rodríguez-Alas, 2013. "Public Works as a Safety Net : Design, Evidence, and Implementation," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 11882, December.
    6. Deininger, Klaus & Liu, Yanyan, 2013. "Welfare and poverty impacts of India's national rural employment guarantee scheme : evidence from Andhra Pradesh," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6543, The World Bank.
    7. Jain, Monica, 2015. "India’s Struggle Against Malnutrition—Is the ICDS Program the Answer?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 72-89.
    8. Neeraj Kaushal & Felix Muchomba, 2013. "How Consumer Price Subsidies affect Nutrition," NBER Working Papers 19404, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Farzana Afridi, 2011. "The Impact of School Meals on School Participation: Evidence from Rural India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(11), pages 1636-1656.
    10. Clément Imbert & John Papp, 2015. "Labor Market Effects of Social Programs: Evidence from India's Employment Guarantee," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 233-263, April.
    11. Chakraborty, Tanika & Jayaraman, Rajshri, 2019. "School feeding and learning achievement: Evidence from India's midday meal program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 249-265.
    12. Jean Drèze & Reetika Khera, 2013. "Rural Poverty And The Public Distribution System," Working papers 235, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    13. Rajshri Jayaraman & Tanika Chakraborty, 2016. "School Feeding and Learning Achievement: Evidence from India’s Midday Meal Program," Working Papers id:11269, eSocialSciences.
    14. Puja Dutta & Rinku Murgai & Martin Ravallion & Dominique van de Walle, 2014. "Right to Work? Assessing India's Employment Guarantee Scheme in Bihar," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 17195, December.
    15. Kaushal, Neeraj, 2014. "How Public Pension affects Elderly Labor Supply and Well-being: Evidence from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 214-225.
    16. Khera, Reetika, 2014. "Cash vs. in-kind transfers: Indian data meets theory," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 116-128.
    17. Sudha Narayanan & Nicolas Gerber, 2015. "Social safety nets for food and nutritional security in India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2015-031, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    18. Erlend Berg & Sambit Bhattacharyya & Rajasekhar Durgam & Manjula Ramachandra, 2012. "Can Rural Public Works Affect Agricultural Wages? Evidence from India," CSAE Working Paper Series 2012-05, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    19. Rajshri Jayaraman & Dora Simroth, 2015. "The Impact of School Lunches on Primary School Enrollment: Evidence from India's Midday Meal Scheme," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(4), pages 1176-1203, October.
    20. Indrajit Roy, 2015. "Class politics and social protection: the implementation of India’s MGNREGA," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-046-15, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    21. Dutta, Puja & Murgai, Rinku & Ravallion., Martin & van de Walle, Dominique, 2012. "Does India's employment guarantee scheme guarantee employment ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6003, The World Bank.
    22. Florinskaya Yulia & Mkrtchian N., 2016. "Resources Of Migration Growth Have Run Dry," Russian Economic Development, Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, issue 5, pages 38-42, May.
    23. Joshi, Anuradha, 2010. "Do Rights Work? Law, Activism, and the Employment Guarantee Scheme," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 620-630, April.
    24. Ministry of Finance, Government of India,, 2017. "Economic Survey 2016-17," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780199477661, Decembrie.
    25. Puja Dutta & Stephen Howes & Rinku Murgai, 2010. "Small but effective: India's targeted unconditional cash transfers," ASARC Working Papers 2010-18, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    26. Klonner, Stefan & Oldiges , Christian, 2014. "Safety Net for India's Poor or Waste of Public Funds? Poverty and Welfare in the Wake of the World's Largest Job Guarantee Program," Working Papers 0564, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    27. Afridi, Farzana, 2010. "Child welfare programs and child nutrition: Evidence from a mandated school meal program in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 152-165, July.
    28. Abhijeet Singh & Albert Park & Stefan Dercon, 2014. "School Meals as a Safety Net: An Evaluation of the Midday Meal Scheme in India," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(2), pages 275-306.
    29. Ravi, Shamika & Engler, Monika, 2015. "Workfare as an Effective Way to Fight Poverty: The Case of India’s NREGS," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 57-71.
    30. Afridi, Farzana & Mukhopadhyay, Abhiroop & Sahoo, Soham, 2012. "Female Labour Force Participation and Child Education in India: The Effect of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme," IZA Discussion Papers 6593, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    31. Dreze, Jean & Goyal, Aparajita, 2003. "Future of Mid-Day Meals," MPRA Paper 17386, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    32. Songqing Jin & Yanyan Liu, 2013. "Welfare and Poverty Impacts of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh," Working Papers id:5530, eSocialSciences.
    33. Tarozzi, Alessandro, 2005. "The Indian Public Distribution System as provider of food security: Evidence from child nutrition in Andhra Pradesh," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(5), pages 1305-1330, July.
    34. Kandpal, Eeshani, 2011. "Beyond Average Treatment Effects: Distribution of Child Nutrition Outcomes and Program Placement in India's ICDS," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(8), pages 1410-1421, August.
    35. Sonalde Desai & Prem Vashishtha & Omkar Joshi, 2015. "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: A Catalyst for Rural Transformation," Working Papers id:7259, eSocialSciences.
    36. Desai, Sonalde & Dubey, Amaresh & Joshi, Brij Lal & Sen, Mitali & Sharif, Abusaleh & Vanneman, Reeve, 2010. "Human Development in India: Challenges for a Society in Transition," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198065128, Decembrie.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sudha Narayanan & Nicolas Gerber, 2015. "Social safety nets for food and nutritional security in India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2015-031, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    2. Deininger, Klaus & Liu, Yanyan, 2019. "Heterogeneous welfare impacts of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 98-111.
    3. Mushtaq Ahmad Malla, 2020. "MGNREGA in Kashmir: An Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes and Livelihood Security," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 14(3), pages 424-446, December.
    4. Chari, A.V. & Glick, Peter & Okeke, Edward & Srinivasan, Sinduja V., 2019. "Workfare and infant health: Evidence from India's public works program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 116-134.
    5. Sudha Narayanan Narayanan & Nicolas Gerber, 2016. "Safety Nets for Food and Nutritional Security in India," FOODSECURE Working papers 37, LEI Wageningen UR.
    6. Parmar, Divya & Banerjee, Aneesh, 2019. "Impact of an employment guarantee scheme on utilisation of maternal healthcare services: Results from a natural experiment in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 285-293.
    7. World Bank Group, 2015. "India Development Update, April 2015," World Bank Publications - Reports 21872, The World Bank Group.
    8. Bose, Nayana, 2017. "Raising Consumption Through India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 245-263.
    9. Kartik Misra, 2019. "No Employment without Participation : An Evaluation of India's Employment Program in Eastern Uttar Pradesh," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2019-13, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    10. Rachel Godfrey†Wood & Benjamin C. R. Flower, 2018. "Does Guaranteed employment promote resilience to climate change? The case of India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(S1), pages 586-604, March.
    11. Misra, Kartik, 2019. "Does historical land inequality attenuate the positive impact of India’s employment guarantee program?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Klonner, Stefan & Oldiges , Christian, 2014. "Safety Net for India's Poor or Waste of Public Funds? Poverty and Welfare in the Wake of the World's Largest Job Guarantee Program," Working Papers 0564, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    13. Ravallion, Martin, 2019. "Guaranteed employment or guaranteed income?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 209-221.
    14. Suman Chakrabarti & Samuel P. Scott & Harold Alderman & Purnima Menon & Daniel O. Gilligan, 2021. "Intergenerational nutrition benefits of India’s national school feeding program," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    15. Deininger, Klaus & Nagarajan, Hari K & Singh, Sudhir K, 2020. "Women's political leadership and economic empowerment: Evidence from public works in India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 277-291.
    16. Deininger,Klaus W. & Nagarajan,Hari Krishnan & Singh,Sudhir K. & Deininger,Klaus W. & Nagarajan,Hari Krishnan & Singh,Sudhir K., 2016. "Short-term effects of India's employment guarantee program on labor markets and agricultural productivity," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7665, The World Bank.
    17. Manisha Shah & Bryce Millett Steinberg, 2021. "Workfare and Human Capital Investment: Evidence from India," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 56(2), pages 380-405.
    18. World Trade Organisation, 2015. "India Development Update : Towards a Higher Growth Path," Working Papers id:6821, eSocialSciences.
    19. Kaur, Randeep, 2021. "Estimating the impact of school feeding programs: Evidence from mid day meal scheme of India," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    20. Chakraborty, Tanika & Jayaraman, Rajshri, 2019. "School feeding and learning achievement: Evidence from India's midday meal program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 249-265.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    social policy; India; Asia;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:98:y:2017:i:c:p:555-572. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.