This paper provides conceptual definitions and distinctions between formalization, worker protection and productivity enhancement, and examines the impact of social protection and labor market policies in achieving these inter-related yet distinct policy goals. Focusing on empirical evidence...

This paper reviews the current and potential roles of social protection and jobs (SPJ) policies and mechanisms in supporting address the challenges related to climate change. Given its central role in reducing poverty and vulnerability and in helping people cope with various shocks, SPJ can play...

The coverage of pension systems in the Africa region is limited to the small segment of the population in the formal sector. Coverage is thin partly because traditional contributory pension schemes are not responding to the needs of the informal sector. As a result, a large share of the...

Investments in childcare can generate immense economic and social benefits through increased female labor force participation and improved child development outcomes. However, high quality childcare options in Bangladesh are limited and available options are unaffordable for the urban poor. This...

This paper assesses the performance of government spending on social protection programs in reducing poverty and inequality in Lesotho, applying benefit incidence and microsimulation methods to 2017-2018 household survey data. The paper investigates the distributional effects of actual spending...

Short-term education and skills training programs are a popular way to meet the needs of unemployed, out-of-school youth by providing them with an opportunity to quickly acquire qualifications and skills that can lead to productive employment. This paper reviews the global evidence to identify...

This report considers the science of adult literacy acquisition, with the goal of identifying principles that may improve the effectiveness of adult literacy programs. We define literacy as a continuum, from emerging literacy, through improving literacy, to fluent literacy and we outline the...

As in most conflicts, in South Sudan, women and girls have been the most vulnerable. Not only do they face many challenges, including extreme poverty and lack of access to basic services and productive assets, but many of the risks they face, such as gender–based violence (GBV), are heightened...

The Ethiopia Social Accountability Program (ESAP) seeks to empower citizens, strengthen civil society, promote citizen engagement in public venues, modify how public officials engage citizens, and improve service delivery. This paper assesses the impact of the second phase of the ESAP...

The objective of this note is to highlight how social protection can help lay the human capital foundations needed for poverty reduction and economic growth in the East Asia and Pacific region while also building, protecting, and deploying the human capital needed to keep up with and take...