POVERTY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Poverty impact assessment arrangements in the EU : an overview

Hugh Frazer

Coordinator, EU Network of Independent Experts on Social Inclusion

Adjunct Expert, National University of Ireland (Maynooth)

Definition

• Poverty Impact Assessments (PIAs)– a political commitment to undertake

systematic ex-ante assessment of the likely poverty impacts of policy measures in any area

• Overlap with Social Impact Assessments

PIAs in Joint Reports and NAPs/inclusion

• Highlighted by European Commission– Since 2002 Joint Report on Social Inclusion

• 2002: Ireland (poverty proofing), UK (Targeting Social Need)• 2004: Ireland, UK, Germany, Portugal

• 2008-2010 NAPs/inclusion – a few countries developing PIAs – Belgium: strengthens poverty aspect of sustainability development

impact assessment– Slovakia: testing an integrated impact assessment system with a social

impact component– Lithuania: announces ex ante assessment of the impact of all proposed

laws on social exclusion and poverty– Ireland: adopts revised PIA guidelines– Estonia: assesses social impacts of some policies– Austria: social affairs ministry to commission a study about possible

impacts, synergies and interactions of the Lisbon Strategy and the OMC in Austria

PIAs and “feeding in” and “feeding out”

• Overall countries very limited use of PIAs in the context of their 2008-2010 NRPs on growth and jobs

• A few more positive instances (though often ex post)– Belgium: social dimension to sustainability impact assessments– Romania: PIA at early stage of development but more political concern to improve

procedures. During 2007-2008 - a training of 120 specialists within ministries focused on impact analysis / evaluation techniques

– Slovakia: May 2008, the government approved the unified methodology for the assessment of the impacts of legislative measures on public finances, employment and the business environment, social situation of inhabitants (households’ income and expenditure, social exclusion, equality of opportunities, gender equality), environment and information society

– Spain: the assessment of the impact of employment and growth policies on social inclusion and vice versa is being developed (State Agency for Service Assessment and Quality’s policy assessment programme)

– Ireland: assessment of active inclusion provisions in the National Skills Strategy– Luxembourg: Observatory of Competitiveness includes social cohesion as one of 10

categories of indicators to be measured– Netherlands: study on the long run employment effects of active labour market measures

(Hämäläinen and Tuomola, 2006).– Portugal: external evaluation of users of the National Network of Continued Integrated Care

PIAs and child poverty• Very limited use of PIAs

• Italy: in 2006 government commitment to apply a coherent family impact assessment of sectoral policies (education, health, housing, transport and so on)

• Finnish National Committee on the Rights of the Child: a model for the assessment of child-related consequences of society’s actions:– Impact on:

• health• living conditions and movement• Impact on involvement and participation• equality• the family’s finances and on services• the community and the area

PIAs and the financial and economic crisis

• Very limited use• But some interesting examples

– Slovakia:uniform methodology for assessment of selected impacts approved in 2008

– Ireland: Office for Social Inclusion analysis of the likely impact of the McCarthy Report’s suggested reform of government expenditure programmes (as part of budgetary process)

– Latvia: some progress in involving stakeholders in decision making upon the implementation of measures for reducing the financial and economic crisis

– Romania: recent social impact assessment, the “Rapid Assessment”, has been prepared by international organisations (UNICEF and World Bank) with the collaboration of local institutions and experts

Why impact assessments?• assist policy-makers to assess the distributional consequences of

policy choices and impact on poverty• help to ensure the social cost of any policy decision is taken into

account before decisions are made• contribute to more effective and efficient social policy measures; • contribute to avoiding unintended consequences (negative social

impacts) of non social policies;• encourage evidence-based policy-making and the use of

quantitative and qualitative studies;• promote a comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach and

promote awareness-raising among a wider range of policy-makers• can increase the transparency of decision making and the greater

involvement of all stakeholders

Lessons for the Future• Avoid rubber stamping

– ensure happen early in process (not after decisions taken) – Include requirement to consider remedies to address negative consequences

• Ensure participation of stakeholders and policy analysts – need to be more than an internal administrative process

• Invest in capacity building– lack of expertise a major barrier in many Member States– lack of relevant and timely data – put in place training and support mechanisms for those responsible– regular monitoring of how PIAs are being undertaken

• More proactive role for the Commission– methodological support (perhaps a tool box on how to undertake PIAs)– disseminating examples of good practice (including the EC’s own assessment reports)– supporting research – fostering stakeholder involvement – Europe’s 2020 agenda

Lessons for the Future• Develop integrated impact assessments

– multiplicity or “inflation” of impact assessments can lead to superficial assessments– integrate PIAs into more comprehensive assessment procedure (e.g. covering economic, environmental,

employment, equality and social objectives) • e.g. sustainability impact assessments

• Take account of different groups– not just in general at impact on poverty – in-depth impacts on different groups– intergenerational and gender differences– Thus both qualitative and quantitative elements

• Ensure effective policy coordination– necessary if PIAs are to have much actual impact.

• Political commitment vital– political commitment to overcoming poverty and inequality and building a fair society a necessary context – political leadership: must insist that PIAs are much more than a bureaucratic “box ticking” or paper exercise– national parliaments can play a key role by insisting on PIAs for all legislative proposals