We assess the impact of a large-scale social protection intervention, Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), over a 15-year period. We find that the PSNP had a positive impact on food security but inconsistent impacts on assets. There were positive impacts on fertilizer use,...

One of the main arguments for implementing public works programmes (PWPs) instead of other social protection schemes such as cash transfers is that the assets created through these programmes themselves can generate medium- to long-term benefits. This is particularly important as the costs for...

Public works programs (PWPs) have long been a common choice to protect people in need by providing temporary jobs and income. They promise more than a paycheck: They offer dignity, visible community investments, and the prospect of long-term progress. But today’s world is changing fast....

Rapid advances in digital technology are transforming how people learn, work and access public services. At the same time, digital skills and work experience are increasingly important for economic inclusion and jobs. This shift presents both opportunities and challenges for social protection...

As climate and environmental challenges increasingly threaten livelihoods worldwide, some countries are turning to public works programs (PWPs) to confront them. This has given rise to “green public works”—PWPs that combine social assistance with environmental and climate objectives, such...

Women often face multiple, gender-specific barriers, such as mobility constraints, and care obligations, that prevent them from accessing income-generating activities, including public works programs (PWPs). A range of “gender-smart” design features can be incorporated in PWPs to enhance...

Women around the world face a heavier care burden than men, restricting their participation in the labor force. At the same time, the shortage of quality, accessible, and affordable care services undermines human development and well-being. Limited investment in early childhood care and...

Public works programs (PWPs) have long been a common choice to protect people in need by providing temporary jobs and income. They promise more than a paycheck: They offer dignity, visible community investments, and the prospect of long-term progress. But today’s world is changing fast....

Public works programmes (PWPs) are widely used social protection instruments in low- and middle-income countries. Participants carry out temporary, labour-intensive works in exchange for cash or in-kind compensation. The available empirical evidence indicates that these programmes are usually...

This paper evaluates a 90-day hiring subsidy designed for young jobseekers aged below 25, introduced in Hungary in 2015 as part of the Youth Guarantee programme. The subsidy covers the total wage cost with no obligation to retain the new hire when the subsidy expires. The analysis is based on...

We assess the impact of a large-scale social protection intervention, Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), over a 15-year period. We find that the PSNP had a positive impact on food security but inconsistent impacts on assets. There were positive impacts on fertilizer use,...

The effectiveness of social safety nets (SSNs) as anti-poverty policy instruments is increasingly attracting attention in development discourse. Previous studies on their impacts have mainly considered outcomes other than vulnerability, leaving a gap in the knowledge and literature. We use the...

We assess how one of the largest public works programmes in the world-Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP)-affected violent conflict and civil unrest. Using difference-in-differences methods and linking administrative and geocoded conflict event data, we find that the PSNP did not...

The effectiveness of social safety nets (SSNs) as anti-poverty policy instruments is increasingly attracting attention in development discourse. Previous studies on their impacts have mainly considered outcomes other than vulnerability, leaving a gap in the knowledge and literature. We use the...

As a bottom-up approach, a Job Guarantee policy can tackle the issue of unemployment on the macroeconomic, socioeconomic, and individual level in a unique way and promote the social inclusion of the unemployed. This paper aims at analysing the potential obstacles - namely inflationary pressure...

This paper evaluates a large urban public works program randomly rolled out across neighborhoods of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We find that the program increased public employment and reduced private labor supply among beneficiaries and improved local amenities in treated locations. We then combine...

This study aims to scrutinize the impact of the independent variables, i.e., budget participation and leadership style, on managerial performance mediated by organizational commitment. For this reason, the quantitative research approach was utilized to examine the hypotheses, and such an...

Public infrastructure procurement is crucial as a prerequisite for public and private investments and for economic and social capital growth. However, low performance in execution severely hinders infrastructure provision and benefits delivery. One of the most sensitive phases in public...

This paper evaluates a 90-day hiring subsidy designed for young jobseekers aged below 25, introduced in Hungary in 2015 as part of the Youth Guarantee programme. The subsidy covers the total wage cost with no obligation to retain the new hire when the subsidy expires. The analysis is based on...

This paper investigates the relationship between Malawi's largest and oldest public works programme (PWP) and social cohesion, specifically within-community cooperation for the common good. Using both primary and secondary data, we show that public works are associated with higher coordination...

While there is substantial evidence of the effect of social protection on poverty and vulnerability, limited research has focused on societal outcomes. This paper serves as introduction to a special issue (SI) examining the relationship between social protection and social cohesion in low- and...

Cash-for-Work (CfW)/public works programmes have gained great interest recently because they can deliver employment and income for vulnerable households, in addition to dearly needed infrastructure. Studying donor-funded CfW programmes for Syrian refugees and their local neighbours in Jordan we...

In this work, adopting a semi-parametric approach and a quasi-experiment setting, we empirically assess the effects of a reform of public procurement regulation in Italy, approved in 2011, that increased the discretion of bureaucrats in selecting the procurer. To this end, employing a large...

Project duration is an important metric in the assessment of public works procurement and consists of the time taken to complete the three major sub-phases (design, awarding and execution). The overall duration may be influenced by various factors such as project characteristics, local market...

This paper explores the aggregate economic effects from India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which provides up to 100 days of labor to rural laborers at the mandated minimum wage. We examine the within-district change to night-time lights and banking deposits using the...