1. A Role for Social Policy in Resilience Building in SIDS
Presented by Cletus I. Springer
Chief Caribbean Division
OAS Department for Sustainable Development
at Conference on Economic Resilience
Malta, April 23-25, 2007

2. The plea for a new paradigm
“…the GDP includes air pollution, cigarette advertising, the ambulances cleaning our streets of accidents, the special locks in our doors and the prisons for those who break them. It includes the destruction of pinewoods and the death of Lake Superior. It rises with the production of missiles and nuclear heads…and if the GDP includes all this, there is more that is not comprised (such as) the heath of our families, the quality of our education or the enjoyment of games. It is indifferent to the indecency of our factories and the safety of our streets…it does not measure our ingenuity or our courage, our wisdom or our understanding . To sum up it measures everything except what makes life worth living…”
Robert Kennedy
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

3. Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development
Abstract
This presentation proposes an integrated policy framework that could support the attainment of sustained Human/Social Development in small states. It is set upon a foundation of evolving theories on economic vulnerability, economic resilience and social vulnerability in small states. It accepts that small states are inherently vulnerable, economically, socially and environmentally; it contends that the interplay between these various types of vulnerability demands an integrated policy and strategic response, that seeks to build resilience in all three spheres, simultaneously. The presentation will explore some of the main challenges to creating resilient economies, societies and environments through effective social policy. It concludes with an examination of key imperatives for the attainment of the objectives of any Integrated Social or Human Development Policy in small states. In this regard, it will focus on the requirements for the establishment of an Integrated Development Planning (IDP) framework in small states.
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

4. Objectives of presentation
Build consensus on theoretical underpinnings of vulnerability and resilience building
Examine linkages between economic, social and environmental vulnerability
outline elements of an integrated social/human development policy
Examine challenges to an integrated policy landscape
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

5. Theoretical underpinnings
Vulnerability – propensity of a social, economic and environmental system to suffer harm from exposure to internal and external stresses and shocks;
Economic vulnerability refers to risks faced from exogenous shocks to systems of production, distribution and consumption;
Environmental Vulnerability refers to risk of damage to natural eco-systems
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

6. Theoretical Constructs
Social vulnerability reflects “…the degree to which societies or socio-economic groups are affected by stresses and hazards, whether brought about by external forces or intrinsic factors – internal and external – that negatively impact the social cohesion of a country” (UNDP 2000).
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

7. Theoretical Constructs
Links between social, economic and environmental system render SIDS more vulnerable
Inherent economic vulnerability has impeded economic growth and development
Failure to anticipate shocks and their knock-on effects can lead to only partial solutions and a deepening of vulnerability.
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

8. Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development
Linkages
Society
Economy
Environment
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

9. Features of Economic Vulnerability in SIDS
Small domestic markets
High dependence on exports
Limited resource endowments
Limited diversification opportunities
Dependence on a narrow range of products
Inability to influence international prices
High per unit transport costs
Peripherality
Trade vulnerability
High dependence on preferential trading preferences
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

10. Features of Social Vulnerability in SIDS
ECONOMY–RELATED IMPACTS:
Impacts of globalisation
High rates of unemployment/under-employment
High dependency ratios
High poverty rates
Poor labour market flexibility;
Susceptibility to “brain drain”
Cultural penetration.
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

11. Features of social vulnerability cont’d
SERVICE PROVISION ISSUES:
dispersed rural settlements with implications for cost of service provision
Small populations but high population densities in urban/peri-urban/ coastal/valley areas with implications for health and sanitation
Marginalisation of women, children and the elderly
Undeveloped social sectors
High rates of internal (rural to urban migration) and international migration
High levels of crime/drug addiction
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

12. Features of social vulnerability cont’d
HEALTH-RELATED ISSUES:
Susceptibility to infectious diseases
High unit costs of health, administrative education, judicial services
Thinness of insurance market
High transportation costs (inter and intra island)
Aging populations with implications for viability of social safety nets
Low levels of educational achievement/high dropout rates and illiteracy.
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

13. Features of Social vulnerability cont’d
FOOD SECURITY ISSUES:
Increased consumption rates due to growing populations;
Insecure food situation/high food import bill with negative dietary/health implications
Poor access to land/ water links to food security and sanitation
Systems and transmission of values
Vulnerability to man-made and natural disasters
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

14. Features of social vulnerability
POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
Underdeveloped public and private sectors
Low institutional capacity due limited HR capacity;
Weak development planning capacity
Lack of integration between economic, social and environmental aspects of planning
Lack of integration between the national and regional aspects of planning
Lack of participation in the planning and decision-making process
Lack of effective decision-support systems
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

15. Features of Environmental Vulnerability
Increasing Water stress
Fragile ecosystems
Susceptibility to pollution effects
Extreme vulnerability to natural disasters including:
Climate change and climate vulnerability
Increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes, storms
Floods and droughts
Sea level rise
Landslides
Land and soil degradation
Coastal erosion
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

16. Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development
Notion of Resilience
Originally: used in narrow context to mean the ability/capacity of a country to recover from external shocks and disturbance;
Now: goes beyond mere survival and envisages the capacity of a country to (a) return at least to the status quo;
(b) go beyond status quo to address ability to “thrive”.
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

17. The Role of Social Policy
Social policy is state intervention that:
directly affects social welfare, social institutions and social relations
Involves overarching concerns with redistribution, production, reproduction and protection
Works in tandem with economic (and environmental policy)
Establishes and enforces standards and regulations that shape the role of non-state actors and markets in social provisioning
UN Research Institute for Social development - Policy Brief #5
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

18. The Tasks of Social Policy
Social policy concerned with:
Redistributive effects of economic policy
Protecting the vulnerable from the vagaries of the market
Enhancing the productive potential of the members of the society
Reconciling the burden of reproduction
Sharing the burden of reproduction
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

19. The Case for an Integrated Approach
Social policy goals are naturally synergistic and complementary
The pursuit of one social policy goal to the exclusion of others can impede the attainment of the chosen goal
Distributive functions cannot be pursued without a focus on productive functions and vice versa
A focus on productivist approach alone will breed disunity.
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

20. Social Policy Functions
Investment in human capital (education, health, housing etc)- prerequisite for economic growth and resilience
Social compensation ( stable, predictable, social protection networks)
Influences the levels and structures of demand as well as supply
Social cohesion (“…creation of an integrated society in which the population behaves according to socially accepted norms and patterns and an adjustment is created between cultural goals, the structure to attain them and the acquisition of the necessary skills to take advantage of these opportunities.”
ECLAC, 1997:III.73
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

21. Social Policy Imperatives
Effective social policies are those that are:
Arrived at with full participation of major actors
Are fully ventilated
Reinforced in Constitutions, Social Charters, laws and other written policy statements
Kept under constant review
In consonance with local value systems, cultures structures and institutions
Aligned with institutional capacity
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

22. Integrated Development Policy Imperatives
Strengthening development policy analysis, formulation and implementation arrangements across and within sectors
Develop institutional and technical capacity to formulate and implement integrated development policy
Strengthening channels for continuous participation in policy and planning processes
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

23. Imperatives for policy Implementation
Establish IDP arrangements that:
Reflect a common set of guiding principles ;
Allow for incorporation of physical and/or social impacts of economic activities or for environmental protection measures;
Routinely incorporate environmental, social, physical and spatial consequences of planning
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

24. Imperatives for Policy Implementation
Develop the capacity of key national and regional institutions;
Increase the supply, use and retention of trained human resources;
Institutionalize dynamic planning and decision-making frameworks based on participatory processes;
More participation by CSOs in dev. process
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

25. Imperatives for Policy Implementation
Generate sustained and comprehensive labour market information to better guide interventions in the labour market;
Reform education systems to ensure better fit between trained HR and national/regional development goals
Enhance labour market flexibility to meet productivity/competitiveness targets
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

26. Social Policy Imperatives
Develop national and sub-regional policy frameworks for poverty eradication using the sustainable livelihood approach;
Provide social safety nets for the poor;
Undertake macro-economic and social analyses of social development programmes;
Enhance human and physical infrastructure
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

27. Social Policy Imperatives
Promote conflict resolution at h/hold, and community and national level
Empower marginalised groups
Ensure the livelihoods and income security of older persons
Build leadership capacity at community level
Better management of the expectations of the population
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

28. The Monitoring Challenge
“…it is important to monitor changes along time in a number of life qualities, both at the level of the population as a whole and for significant sub-groups, since such information when combined with other data may generate new knowledge about how to increase the quality of life through more effective social policies…”
Andrews, F.M 1989 – The Evolution of a Movement
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

29. The Monitoring Challenge
Key challenge:
Developing a social indicators system
Still no global consensus on a conceptual model or statistical image of the society
Absence of a common, precise measurement unit for social phenomena such as education, households, health or crime
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

30. The Monitoring Challenge
Some progress since the mid-1990s
Declaration on Statistics for Social Progress:
Monitoring the attainment of outcomes of social policies and programmes (e.g changes in unemployment levels, income distribution and population’s health;
Identifying those factors that seem to be linked to specific outcomes (desirable or undesirable) and that are a target for intervention via social programmes or policies.
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

31. The Monitoring Challenge
Statistics Commission of UNECOSOC
Five major policy themes
Population and development (health, material welfare, education);
Poverty eradication (income and expenditures, economic resources);
Expansion of productive employment and un-employment reduction (labour, labour environment, education and training);
Social Integration (Housing, work, crime and criminal justice
Condition of men and women (health care, work, income).
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

32. The Monitoring Challenge
The Minimum National Social data Set (MNSDS) – 15 indicators
Population estimates by age, sex and ethnic group
Life expectancy at birth by sex
Infant mortality by sex
Child mortality by sex
Maternal mortality
Percentage of infants weighing less that 2500 grams at birth
Average number of years of schooling completed by sex and income category
GDP per capita
Household income per capita (level and distribution)
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

33. The Monitoring Challenge
MNSDS Cont’d
Monetary value of the food basket required for minimum nutritional requirements;
Unemployment rate by sex
Employment – population ratio by sex and where appropriate by formal and informal sector
Access to safe water
Access to sanitation
Number of people per room, excluding kitchen and bathroom
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

34. The Monitoring Challenge
The Millennium Development Goals – 48 indicators relating to 8 goals:
Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other Diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
Develop a global partnership for development
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

35. The Monitoring Challenge
The Human Development Index
Threshold 21
Common Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CWIQ)
Survey of Living Conditions (SLC)
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

36. The Monitoring Challenge
Social indicators must be:
simple in their construction
Relevant to the national/regional context
permit accurate measurement of progress
towards the attainment of social (development) policy
Enable the knock-on effects of economic, social and environmental policy to be properly assessed
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development

37. Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development
THE END
THANK YOU!
MERCI BEAUCOUP!
MUCHAS GRACIAS!
Cletus I. Springer OAS - Department of Sustainable Development