Comments and Reviews
Empowering or Reinforcing Traditional Roles: Can CCTs Address Gender Vulnerabilities?
Empowering or Reinforcing
Traditional Roles: Can CCTs Address Gender
Vulnerabilities?
by Fabio Veras Soares, International Policy Centre for
Inclusive Growth and
Elydia Silva, National Bank for Social and Economic
Development (BNDES), Brazil
programmes in Latin America select a woman as the
primary recipient of the transfer. In most cases she is the mother of children
in the household or the woman responsible for those children.
The rationale
behind this is that the money spent by women tends to be concentrated more on
goods and services that are more likely to have a positive effect on the
children’s well-being.
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager115.pdf
Posted at 03:33PM Aug 31, 2010 by IPC in Social Inclusion | Comments[0]
Employment Policies in Brazil: History, Scope and Limitations
Employment Policies in
Brazil: History, Scope and Limitations
by
Roberto
Henrique Sieczkowski Gonzalez, Institute of Applied Economic Research
(IPEA)
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager114.pdf
Posted at 05:09PM Aug 23, 2010 by IPC in Employment Policies | Comments[0]
Retrofitting the Brazilian Biodiesel Programme: Implications for Policy Design
By
In the context of oil price volatility and the need to
reduce carbon emissions, biofuels are an emerging area of interest for many
developing nations as alternative energy sources that, in some instances, can
also enhance livelihoods in deprived agricultural areas. There are, however, a
number of questions on this front: is it economically and environmentally
feasible to incorporate small-scale family farmers into biofuel value chains?
Can the production of biofuel feedstocks complement rather than compete with
food crops? The experience of
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/port/IPCPolicyResearchBrief15.pdf
Posted at 11:56AM Aug 06, 2010 by IPC in Rural and Sustainable Development | Comments[0]
What Are the Implications of the Global Crisis and Its Aftermath for Poverty Reduction, 2010–2020?
·
OP No. 114 - What Are the Implications of the Global
Crisis and Its Aftermath for Poverty Reduction, 2010–2020?
By Andy Sumner, Institute of Development Studies; Joe
Ballantyne and Andrew Curry, The Futures Company
Some major “game changers” beyond the recent economic crisis
and food/fuel crisis will have an impact on the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) to 2015 and beyond, such as climate change, technological change and
urbanization. Scenarios—multiple coherent and plausible futures—serve as a
vehicle to act on possible future(s) and to interpret their implications (such
as those developed in the box) for the prospects of reducing poverty in
developing countries.
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager114.pdf
Posted at 11:48AM Aug 06, 2010 by IPC in Global Economic Trends | Comments[1]
Sustaining Development and Resilience in SIDS: Beyond Crisis Management
Sustaining
Development and Resilience in SIDS: Beyond Crisis
Management
by Leisa Perch and
Rathin Roy, International Policy Centre for Inclusive
Growth
Human development
in small island development states (SIDS) has been steady and measured as high.
The Caribbean, on average, ranks higher than the Pacific on the Human
Development Index (HDI): Barbados is ranked at 37, and St. Kitts and Nevis at
50, compared to Samoa at 94 and Fiji at 108 (UNDP, 2009). In general, the SIDS
invest more than other countries in education and health; on average, government
spending accounts for more than 60 per cent of all spending in the health sector
(Perch and Roy, 2010).
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager113.pdf
Posted at 10:59AM Jul 22, 2010 by IPC in Inclusive Growth | Comments[0]
How Much Do Non-Cash Components and Externalities Affect the Impact of Cash Transfers?
How Much Do Non-Cash Components and Externalities Affect the Impact of Cash
Transfers?
by Rafael Perez Ribas, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign; Fábio Veras Soares and Clarissa Teixeira, International Policy
Centre for Inclusive Growth; Elydia Silva, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES);
and Guilherme Hirata, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de
Janeiro
Much of the debate
about conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes revolves around the issues of
targeting and conditionalities. Despite the many impact evaluations of CCT
programmes, mostly in Latin America, there is little evidence on either the
effect of the cash alone or the value added by the
conditionality.
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager111.pdf
Posted at 11:37AM Jul 14, 2010 by IPC in Social Protection and CCTs | Comments[0]
Can Public Works and Employment Programmes Be More than Safety Nets?
Can Public Works and Employment
Programmes Be More than Safety Nets?
By Radhika
Lal
in the context of counter-cyclical programme interventions and
responses to shocks. In some cases they have also focused on reducing poverty or
addressing structural unemployment challenges over the longer term, but they
have seldom been implemented on a scale that would make a dent in structural
poverty. Recent advances in conceptualising and implementing scalable PEPs
suggest that these programmes also have a broader development role to play.
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager112.pdf
Posted at 11:36AM Jul 14, 2010 by IPC in Social Protection and CCTs | Comments[0]
Supporting Food Production and Food Access through Local Public Procurement Schemes: Lessons from Brazil
by Darana Souza and Danuta
Chmielewska, International Policy Centre for Inclusive
Growth
Approaches that
combine giving vulnerable segments of the population access to food
with support to smallholder farmers for food production can offer significant
benefits in tackling poverty and hunger. Public procurement can play an
important role in these approaches, ensuring supplies for food aid schemes and
market opportunities for farmers who otherwise would face great difficulties in
establishing advantageous commercial relations. The benefits of such approaches
can be very substantial when procurement strategies are implemented in line with
local food production and consumption patterns.
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager110.pdf
Posted at 12:00AM Jun 01, 2010 by IPC in Rural and Sustainable Development | Comments[0]
Unintended Effects of Microfinance: An Increase in Child Labour in Some Contexts?
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager108.pdf
OP 108: Unintended
Effects of Microfinance: An Increase in
Child Labour in Some Contexts?
by Christian Lehmann, Paris School of Economics and
Guilherme Hirata, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de
Janeiro
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager108.pdf
Posted at 11:39AM May 11, 2010 by IPC in Macroeconomic Policies | Comments[1]
How Should MDG Implementation Be Measured: Faster Progress or Meeting Targets?
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager109.pdf
OP 109: How Should MDG
Implementation Be Measured: Faster
Progress or Meeting Targets?
by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and Joshua Greenstein, the New
School
Posted at 11:39AM May 11, 2010 by IPC in Social Inclusion | Comments[0]
The Programa Subsidio de Alimentos in Mozambique: Baseline Evaluation
The Programa Subsidio de Alimentos in
Mozambique: Baseline Evaluation
By Fabio Veras Soares, Guilherme Issamu Hirata and Rafael
Perez Ribas
I. Introduction
The Food Subsidy Programme (Programa Subsidio de Alimentos, PSA) is the main basic social protection programme
of the government of Mozambique in terms of coverage. It was established in 1990
to help the destitute elderly (women above 55 and men above 60), people living
with a disability, the chronically sick and their dependants by providing a
monthly cash transfer. The programme falls under the mandate of the Ministry for
Women and Social Action (MMAS), while implementation is the responsibility of
the National Institute for Social Action (INAS), the Ministry’s executing
agency.
By the end of 2008, the PSA
covered 143,455 households with a total of 287,454 beneficiaries. The main
direct beneficiaries were the elderly (93 per cent), followed by people living
with disabilities (6 per cent) and the chronically ill (1 per cent). The general
eligibility criteria are: age, residency for more than six months in the
selected area, per capita earnings less than the minimum benefit on the PSA
scale, and/or recognised by medical declaration to be chronically ill or living
with a disability. Potential beneficiaries are selected by a local intermediary
(known as a Permanente) chosen by the community and appointed by INAS,
after which the application undergoes an approval process within the INAS
delegation.
Although the PSA is a national
programme, it does not reach the entire eligible population and its coverage is
unequally distributed across districts. This is the result of the absence of an
expansion strategy based on poverty incidence and population density. Expansion
of the PSA was initially restricted to urban areas in order to mitigate the
effects of the post-war structural adjustment programme on the urban population
(Low et al., 1999). Currently, expansion to remote rural areas is a programme
priority. The programme’s administrative cost is considered high relative to the
amount transferred to the beneficiaries (Ellis, 2007). Though the programme is
the largest in terms of the number of beneficiaries, its coverage is low
relative to the potential universe of beneficiaries. Expansion of the programme
tends to diminish the administrative costs in relative
terms.
In 2008, the PSA underwent two
important reforms. First, the subsidy scale increased. The subsidy amount for
the first (direct) beneficiaries rose from 70 to 100 meticais (US$2.5 to
US$3.6), and the additional benefit for dependants increased from 10 to 50
meticais (US$0.36 to US$1.80) per dependant up to four. The second reform was
the greater focus on the inclusion of eligible dependants as indirect
beneficiaries in the payment scheme, and the monitoring and evaluation system.
http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/port/IPCPolicyResearchBrief14.pdf
Posted at 11:39AM May 11, 2010 by IPC in Social Protection and CCTs | Comments[0]
Benefiting Without Receiving Money? Externalities of Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes on Schooling, Health and the Village Economy
I.
Introduction
Although cash transfer programmes
have been implemented and evaluated for more almost a decade, very little is
known about how they affect households that are located in communities where the
programme is implemented but that are not officially registered for the
programme
(either because they are ineligible or are unwilling to
participate). The vast majority of evaluations focus on households that are
officially registered. Cash transfer programmes, however, are likely to affect
all households living in a community, even those that are not
participating.
By Christian Lehmann
Posted at 11:38AM May 11, 2010 by IPC in Social Protection and CCTs | Comments[0]
Direct or Mediated Relationships? Civic Involvement and Social Accountability in the Bolsa Família Programme
Conditional Cash
Transfer (CCT) programmes are key to reducing the effects of the
economic crisis among the poor in Latin America. Their implementation, however,
entails two risks: an increase in political clientelism (exchange of votes for
favours) and the widening of the power gap between the poor population and local
authorities. In order to gain access to the programme and receive financial aid,
families rely on the authorities in charge of registering beneficiaries and
checking compliance with conditionalities. As a result, government actors enjoy
a better power position at the local level and/or are able to ask for political
support in return.
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager105.pdf
Posted at 12:11PM Feb 12, 2010 by IPC in Social Protection and CCTs | Comments[0]
What Is the Impact of the Bolsa Família Programme on Education?
Many researchers have shown that
Brazil’s Bolsa Família programme had a large impact on reducing poverty and
income inequality. But evidence for the programme’s impact on educational
outcomes is in short supply. Does Bolsa Família increase school enrolment? Does
it reduce dropout rates? Does it improve grade promotions?
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager106.pdf
Posted at 12:10PM Feb 12, 2010 by IPC in Social Protection and CCTs | Comments[1]
Green Jobs for the Poor: Why a Public Employment Approach is Needed Now
In the context of the economic and environmental challenges that the
world is facing today, there have been calls for a Global Green New Deal (see,
for example, UNEP/ILO/IOE/ITUC, 2008). Such calls have highlighted the
employment-creation benefits of “green” investments, mainly those aimed at
accelerating the shift to low-carbon economies. Policy innovations by developing
countries, such as South Africa and India in particular, also point to the value
of keeping sight of employment-generating environmental activities that are
relevant for reclaiming or enhancing access to public environmental goods and
services, as well as for improving the productive livelihoods of the poor. This
One Pager outlines a variety of economic rationales for promoting these types of
“green jobs” and adopting a “public employment” approach in this regard.
Download: http://www.ipc-undp.org/pub/IPCOnePager107.pdf
Posted at 12:10PM Feb 12, 2010 by IPC in Macroeconomic Policies | Comments[1]

