ABSTRACT
The twin animating philosophies of convention–restoring power to people over their own lives and creating pathways for social inclusion–means that the task of designing effective social protection systems is not business as usual. This chapter explores three specific topics. First, it briefs recount the well-known phenomenon of poverty traps within existing social protection systems. This will be brief because the traps are well known. Second, it examines the philosophical and political premises of innovative asset-building mechanisms and programmes in the United States, Canada and Australia and their operation. These are countries where the poverty traps have been, if anything, even more pronounced. The third part draws on some of the lessons learned from comparative analysis and the case for considering wealth accumulation strategies in favour of persons with disabilities in Europe. Social protection, narrowly defined as the transfer of cash through social insurance and social assistance, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people’s well-being.
