Social Safety Nets Primer

28 items available

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This series is intended to provide a practical resource for those engaged in the design and implementation of safety net programs around the world. Readers will find information on good practices for a variety of types of interventions, country contexts, themes and target groups, as well as current thinking on the role of social safety nets in the broader development agenda.

Items in this collection

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Publication
    Safety Nets in Transition Economies
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-01) del Ninno, Carlo
    Transition economies are commonly understood to be countries that have moved or are moving from a primarily state-planned to a market-based economic system with private ownership of assets and market-supporting institutions. These countries include those of the former Soviet Union, those of Eastern and Central Europe closely allied with the Soviet Union and those in Asia and Africa recently undergoing market transformations of various degrees, such as China, Mongolia and Vietnam.
  • Publication
    Food-Based Safety Nets and Related Programs
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-01) Weigand, Christine
    Food-based safety net programs provide food, either directly, or through instruments (such as food stamps or coupons) that may be used to purchase food. More generally, these programs serve a variety of purposes and are designed to ensure livelihoods, to increase purchasing power, or to relieve deprivation and improve nutritional status, perhaps through the direct provision of food.
  • Publication
    Assisting the Poor with Cash : Design and Implementation of Social Transfer Programs
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-01) Blomquist, John; Mackintosh, Fiona
    Cash transfers can be defined as the provision of assistance in the form of cash to the poor or those who face a probable risk, in the absence of the transfer, of falling into poverty. Cash transfers, broadly defined, can be given in the form of social assistance, insurance, near-cash tax benefits, and private transfers. This note focuses on government programs, recognizing that private transfers and public programs serve multiple objectives, of which social safety net protection is just one.
  • Publication
    Public Attitudes Matter : Political Economy in the Design of Safety Nets Policies
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-01) Blomquist, John
    It has long been recognized that political economy influences the design, implementation and outcome of safety nets, as well as other social programs, but there is no consensus about how to account for such concerns in policy decisions. This note draws on international public opinion surveys and other research to highlight some of the implications for the design of safety net policies.