Conceptualizing Informal Social Protection: A Framework to Compare Formal and Informal Social Protection

Abstract

AbstractThe chapter provides a conceptualization of “informal social protection” to measure its benefits and compare both formal and informal social protection. Various informal networks, such as extended and immediate family, religious organizations, and NGOs, assist a large segment of the neglected poor population globally by providing informal social protection. However, it is hard to locate a comprehensive definition of informal social protection that may help measure its aggregate benefits. Hence, this represents a considerable gap in the literature. To fill the gap, I have used existing literature to define and devise a new framework to conceptualize and categorize informal social protection into three components: informal assistance, informal insurance, and informal labor market measures. In doing so, this study makes critical contributions to the social policy literature as follows: firstly, the study synthesizes a sizeable body of research to provide a comprehensive definition and conceptualizes informal social protection into three components. The primary sources that provide the three components of informal social protection are also presented. Secondly, this conceptualization helps measure the concept of informal social protection and its attributes. Lastly, the proposed framework helps compare informal with formal social protection, which can further integrate the two forms of social protection. These contributions will respond to the repeated calls in the literature to advance the scholarship and develop frameworks in relation to the role of informal social protection provided by non-state welfare providers.