Social Protection Expenditure and Performance Reviews (SPERs)

The aim of the Social Protection Expenditure and Performance Reviews (SPERs) is to provide detailed information on the performance of national social protection schemes in a given number of countries as well as on the extent of coverage and exclusion from social protection. In the first place, the SPERs provide information about the structure and level of total social expenditure, and establish indicators of system performance with respect to its effectiveness, efficiency, population coverage and the adequacy of benefit levels. Secondly, the SPERs are used to make available internationally comparable statistics on social protection.

The SPERs document the extent of coverage and of exclusion from social protection in various parts of the world, based on existing statistics and new statistical methods in selected countries. Coverage is measured in terms of persons (men and women), range of contingencies covered and level of protection. Statistics on other aspects of social protection coverage, such as access to health care, are also taken into account. It also attempts to determine the distributional impact of public social expenditure.

Further information: SPER Methodology

Key resources