Preliminary Discussion Paper Version: 10/31/2015 Preliminary Discussion Paper on the Future of Identification and Development [DRAFT] Version: 10/31/2015 Alan Gelb and Anna Diofasi Center for Global Development This preliminary discussion paper serves as a background document to an upcoming CGD book on identification, biometric technology, and development and as an input to ongoing CGD work in this area. CGD is grateful for contributions from the Omidyar Network in support of this work. 1 Preliminary Discussion Paper Version: 10/31/2015 Contents 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3 Motivation. .............................................................................................................................. 3 Outline and Scope.................................................................................................................... 7 2 Identity and “Official Identity” ............................................................................................. 10 2.1 Three Phases of Identity. ................................................................................................. 11 2.2 How do ID Systems Evolve? ............................................................................................. 14 2.3 Legal Identity or “Official” Identity? ................................................................................ 16 3 Who Has “Official Identity”? .................................................................................................. 19 3.1 Birth and Death Registration ........................................................................................... 19 3.2 Civil Identification: Coverage of National ID and Similar Programs ............................... 22 3.3 Elections and Other Forms of Official Identification ....................................................... 23 3.4 Strategies towards providing official identity for all ....................................................... 25 4 Architecture and Quality of Official ID Systems ..................................................................... 25 4.1 Institutional Arrangements for Civil Registration and Identification .............................. 25 4.2 Architecture: Three Dimensions ..................................................................................... 29 5. Towards the Future: Four Frontier Cases. ........................................................................... 34 5.1 India: The UID Program .................................................................................................. 34 5.2 Estonia: e-ID and digital identity pioneer ........................................................................ 37 5.3 “Federated” ID: GOV.UK Verify. ..................................................................................... 39 5.4 Social and Professional Networks and Crowd-Sourced Digital Identities ....................... 42 6. Issues for implementation: costs, biometrics, and the enrolment of children .................... 45 6.1 Benchmarking ID Costs against Savings .......................................................................... 45 6.2 Biometrics and their Limitations ..................................................................................... 47 6.3 Beyond the Birth Certificate? Lifetime ID and Young Children. .................................... 53 7. Functional applications of biometrics ................................................................................... 56 7.1. Finance ............................................................................................................................ 56 7.2 Transfers .......................................................................................................................... 59 7.3. Health ............................................................................................................................. 62 8. Risks of ID Programs and Unintended Consequences ......................................................... 65 8.1 Exclusion and Discrimination ........................................................................................... 66 8.3 Wasteful Deployment ...................................................................................................... 72 9 Towards the Future ................................................................................................................ 75 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 82 2 Preliminary Discussion Paper Version: 10/31/2015 1 Introduction Motivation. The objective of this paper is to provide a high-level overview of the current state of identification (ID) systems and technology in developing countries from the perspective of economic and social development. There is now great interest in this area, as evidenced by the inclusion of “legal identity for all by 2030, including through birth registration” as one of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is the first time that such an aspiration has been recognized in the context of global development. The complex framing of the target reflects an equally complex reality. There is universal agreement on the importance of birth registration and the civil registration of other vital events including death, marriage and divorce. But there is less consensus on the concept and measurement of identity and on the most desirable arrangements to identify citizens and others living on a national territory and to enable them to authenticate their own identities. Social and political views on this question differ across countries and sometimes also between groups. This is a changing picture. Attitudes to identification are still evolving, as are views on the technology innovations over the last two decades that have revolutionized this area. Traditional paper-based systems of identification are shifting rapidly towards digital identity systems or eID.1 Technology is now considerably in advance of regulation and promises to remain so as the pace of innovation continues to be high. Today’s frontier innovation may be tomorrow’s industry standard. Many developing countries have been implementing national-level ID programs and upgrading existing ones to enhance their capabilities to provide a broad “foundational” eID. There has also been a proliferation of “functional” identification and eID programs that serve particular development applications. Rigorous studies on the impact of these technologies are few and more are urgently needed, but it is clear from the partial evidence available that stronger ID has great potential to support inclusive development. The potential gains are in many areas: • Asserting Rights. Regarding inclusive development, official recognition is essential if individuals are to claim their rights and access the programs and services to which they are entitled. It is no accident that those lacking legal identity or official identity (a term explained below) are among the poorest and most isolated groups in poor countries. Lack of identity is not a major problem for elites. 1 Digital identity or eID refers to identity systems that involve the use of digital technology, potentially in several ways: digital biometrics to identify and authenticate individuals; electronic databases to store and manage records, and electronic credentials to serve a variety of mobile, online and offline applications. ID as used in this paper should be generally taken to include eID. 3 Preliminary Discussion Paper Version: 10/31/2015 • Strengthening State Capacity. Regarding efficiency and effectiveness, effective ID (or eID) systems offer a mechanism to strengthen administrative capacity. They can help to rationalize subsidies, services and programs, and to deliver them in a client- centric way with increased speed and convenience. Coupled with modern payment and reporting systems they can also increase the accountability of providers and strengthen the relationship between the state and its citizens through more effective revenue collection. • Creating Opportunities. At the nexus of inclusive development and efficiency, (e)ID can spur entrepreneurship and income growth by reducing transactions costs, making it easier to set up and run small businesses more securely and profitably. ID-enabled solutions such as mobile payments offer both increased security and cost savings to people and business. However, it is still not clear how much of their potential the new and more rigorous ID systems will realize. They pose several risks, including to the poorest and most vulnerable: • Exclusion. Strong identification can exclude individuals as well as include them. Depending on how programs are implemented, registration and authentication can pose additional obstacles for the poor. People may also be excluded through the tightening of scrutiny on citizenship or other requirements for services. • Misuse of Personal Data. They raise the risk that personal data will be misused against the interests of the subject, whether through security breaches or inappropriate commercial use, including through linking records across multiple databases or by facilitating surveillance. At the same time, strong ID is essential to limit identity theft – another misuse of personal data. • Ineffective Rollout. ID programs may not be implemented in a way that makes them