The paper contains a framework for linking social protection with growth and productivity, an  updated review of the literature, new original work filling in gaps in the available evidence, and a  discussion  of  operational  implications.  The  paper  demonstrates  that  there  was  a  shift  in  the  economists’ view on social protection, and now they are seen as a force that can make a positive  contribution towards economic growth AND reduce poverty. The paper looks at pathways in which  social  protection  programs  (social  insurance  and  social  assistance  programs,  as  well  as  labor  programs) can support better growth outcomes: (i) individual level (building and protecting  human  capital, and other productive assets, empowering poor individuals to invest or to adopt higher  return  strategies),  (ii)  local  economy  effects  (enhancing  community  assets  and  infrastructure,  positive spillovers from beneficiaries to non‐beneficiaries), (iii) overall economy level (acting as  stabilizers of aggregate demand, improving social cohesion and making growth‐enhancing reforms  more politically feasible).   Most social protection programs affect growth through all of these  pathways.  But the evidence is very uneven; and there are knowledge gaps. The paper discusses  operational implications for the design and implementation of SP programs and proposes a work  program for addressing knowledge gaps.  

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