The Social Protection Index

Investments in social protection help to reduce poverty and vulnerability, and promote inclusive growth. This report analyzes comprehensive data on government social protection programs in 35 countries in Asia and the Pacific. The Social Protection Index---developed by the Asian Development Bank---helps to assess the nature and the effectiveness of these programs and to facilitate cross-country comparisons. It provides governments with policy-relevant data and analysis to inform decisions concerning the reform and expansion of social protection programs.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to develop and update a comprehensive set of comparable and accessible data to help measure performance of social protection programs in Asia. The Social Protection Indicator (SPI) report presents data on government social protection programs collected from 25 countries in Asia---while a companion publication covers the 13 countries in the Pacific. This report is an update of The Social Protection Index: Assessing Results for Asia and the Pacific published by ADB in 2013. It helps monitor and assess the nature of governments' social insurance, social assistance, and labor market programs in Asia.

This publication provides updates on Social Protection Indicators of 24 countries in Asia, with an analysis of 2015 data on social protection programs. It shows progress in expenditure, primarily driven by social insurance and coverage between 2009 and 2015. Spending on women has improved in several countries, yet others continued to favor the nonpoor over the poor, and men over women. The Social Protection Index---now the Social Protection Indicator---was developed by the Asian Development Bank and its partners as the first comprehensive and quantitative measure of social protection systems in Asia and the Pacific.

This publication provides updates on Social Protection Indicators of 13 Pacific developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank. It presents an analysis of 2015 data on social protection programs in the countries, particularly the substantial progress in terms of expenditure and benefit size between 2009 and 2015. Spending favored the nonpoor over the poor. Yet, spending on women remained behind that on men, with the gap even widening. The Social Protection Index---now the Social Protection Indicator---was developed by the Asian Development Bank and its partners as the first comprehensive and quantitative measure of social protection systems in Asia and the Pacific.

"ADB Regional Technical Assistance to construct an internationally comparable Social Protection Index based on a study of social protection activities of six Asian countries [Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, and Vietnam]."--Verso t.p.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) developed the Social Protection Index (SPI) in 2005–2008 to address the growing recognition that economic growth is insufficient in addressing the needs of the poor and vulnerable. In 2010, it revised the SPI to highlight the impact of expenditures on all beneficiaries. This revised SPI handbook contains the rationale for the revision, comparing the total social protection expenditure across all potential beneficiaries with the poverty line expenditures in each country, and offers guidelines for preparing social protection country assessments. It provides a useful analytical and assessment tool for social protection programs in countries rather than a relative ranking of countries in Asia and the Pacific.