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Lao PDR Maximizing the Benefits of Public Workfare Programs

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2023-08-23
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2023-08-23
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The World Bank’s Road Maintenance Group project in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic offered road maintenance jobs to women in remote villages, targeting the poorest households. The project had three objectives: to increase the longevity of new roads, mitigate poverty, and empower participants. An independent evaluation revealed that the program significantly increased women’s engagement in paid work, plus their earnings and empowerment. While increasing welfare among all participants, the project had higher impacts on relatively less poor households. A study conducted under a grant from the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) Partnership provides insights into these results as well as recommendations on how better to integrate social inclusion and gender equality in programs.
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World Bank. 2023. Lao PDR Maximizing the Benefits of Public Workfare Programs. The QII Principles in Action. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/40261 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
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