Universal Social Protection Floors: Costing Estimates and Affordability in 57 Lower Income Countries

This paper presents the results of costing universal social protection floors in 34 lower middle-income, and 23 low-income countries, consisting of: (i) allowances for all children and all orphans; (ii) maternity benefits for all women with newborns; (iii) benefits for all persons with severe disabilities, and (iv) universal old-age pensions. The levels of this comparable set of benefits are based on nationally-defined poverty lines, and presented as a percentage of GDP. The paper additionally reviews potential areas of fiscal space for the necessary extension of social protection systems, and concludes that universal social protection floors are feasible in the majority of developing countries.