Shielding the Poor - Social Protection in the Developing World

"A Brookings Institution Press and Inter-American Development Bank publication

The poor in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to adverse shocks. They have little or no access to public social insurance, are unlikely to save in adequate amounts to rely fully on self-insurance or informal insurance, face restricted access to private market insurance or credit mechanisms, and have little or no political voice to demand the protection of safety net programs. In this book, the authors analyze the best ways to help the poor manage risks such as health shocks, unemployment, sudden drops in income, and old age. Unemployment benefits, employment programs, means-tested social assistance, social investment funds, and micro-finance for consumption-smoothing purposes are the leading options considered. The book provides a careful assessment of issues that governments need to address in the process of designing appropriate safety nets.
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About the author

"Nora Lustig is a senior fellow in Brookings' Foreign Policy Studies program and the editor of Coping with Austerity: Poverty and Inequality in Latin America (Brookings, 1995)."

Product details

• Assisted by: Nora Claudia Lustig (Editor), Lustig Nora Claudia (Editor)
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.12.2000
• EAN: 9780815753216
• ISBN: 978-0-8157-5321-6
• Dimensions: 172 mm x 230 mm x 21 mm
• Weight: 494 g
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Poverty & Homelessness, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Disasters & Disaster Relief, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Social Policy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Economic Policy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Social Security, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Development / Economic Development, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Human Services, Poverty & unemployment, Developing Countries, Social welfare & social services, Social welfare and social services, Social impact of disasters, Central / national / federal government policies, Development economics & emerging economies, Development economics and emerging economies, Central government policies, Poverty and precarity, Social impact of disasters / accidents (natural or man-made), Global South / Developing countries