"This paper reviews the current level and pattern of access to finance for India's rural poor and examines some of the key microfinance approaches in India, taking a close look at the most dominant among these, the Self Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage initiative. It empirically analyzes the...

During the food, fuel, and financial crises of 2008 and 2009, the Government and donors found themselves without an effective mechanism for channeling assistance to the poor. In 2009, the Government of Tajikistan asked the World Bank to support improvement of its system of social assistance. The...

Indonesia has experienced strong economic growth over the last forty years. At the same time, the proportion of Indonesians living below the poverty line has fallen dramatically. Nonetheless, around 12 percent of Indonesians remain in poverty and another 30 percent remain highly vulnerable to...

The vision of Pakistan's social protection strategy to reach the poor and vulnerable (2007) is 'to develop an integrated and comprehensive social protection system, covering all the population, but especially the poorest and the most vulnerable'. Consistent with this vision, the goals of the...

Despite strong economic growth and falling poverty over the last decade, many households continue to live on the edge of poverty. The last decade in Indonesia has seen a return to strong economic growth, and the poverty rate has fallen from 23.4 percent (1999) to 12.5 percent (2011). The falling...