With 1.5 billion people covered globally, food and voucher programs provide an important lifeline for the poor and vulnerable. The study is the 1.5 Billion People Question: Food, Vouchers or Cash Transfers?
... See More + reveals that while countries increasingly support people with cash as a form of safety net, food-based programs are still important interventions in some contexts. The analysis highlights how food and voucher programs remain relevant, and in most circumstances, have improved over time.It is against such a backdrop that this book explores how to genuinely integrate the agendas of social protection and food assistance. To be clear: over the past decades, efforts to introduce, expand, and upgrade social protection systems in low- and middle-income countries primarily revolved around cash transfers—and for good reasons. At the same time, about 1.5 billion people worldwide have been covered by in-kind food programs, 1 billion of whom live in countries examined in this volume. In-kind transfers have been a key vehicle to provide income support to poor consumers; but, on average, they have often done so at high cost and as part of broader agricultural support and food price risk management efforts. In other words,in-kind programs can generate technical and political economy quandaries that go well beyond income support to poor consumers.The book provides a long-awaited and very much-needed analysis on such a shift: when viewed through the lenses of history, countries are increasingly moving from in-kind provisions to cash-based transfers, often with vouchers as an intermediate step. Yet this process is far from straightforward, and it is checkered by the bumpy and erratic pathways of evolution. In particular, the book argues that many of the precursors of current cash transfer programs were in-kind measures and that such measures are still relevant in certain circumstances. The volume’s analysis—one at the intersection of economics, political economy, politics, sociology, and history—would help debunk some long-standing myths about food assistance, highlight the complex and inter- twined objectives pursued by well-intentioned food programs, and identify insightful lessons from reform processes that are, regrettably, seldom available internationally.
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This paper exploits variation in country-level indicators drawn from published data to analyze the relationship between labor regulation and the use of digital technology.
... See More + The analysis shows a statistically and economically significant association between digital technology use by firms and a country's statutory minimum wage and employment protection regulations. The results are robust to the inclusion of controls for level of development, economic stability, available infrastructure, and trade openness. To ensure the broadest country coverage, the paper develops new indexes of employment protection, using the World Bank's Doing Business indicators, which allow several aspects of labor market regulation—such as restrictions on hours and hiring, dismissal procedures, and severance costs--to be analyzed separately.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8221 OCT 18, 2017
The objectives of the Second Social Protection Administration Project are to: (i) improve social protection service delivery and (ii) strengthen analytical and monitoring and evaluation functions of the agenciesdelivering social protection benefits and services.Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; construction waste will be collected and disposed properly by licensed collectors; the records of waste disposal will be maintained as proof for proper management as designed.
... See More + Whenever feasible the contractor will reuse and recycle appropriate and viable materials (except asbestos); construction noise will be limited to restricted times agreed to in the permit. The civil works will cause some noise mostly in defined working hours, however the Contractor shall maximally reduce inconvenience caused to the nearby residents; during operations, the engine covers of generators, air compressors and other powered mechanical equipment shall be closed, and equipment placed as far away from residential areas as possible; the site will establish appropriate erosion and sediment control measures such as e.g. hay bales and / or silt fences to prevent sediment from moving off site and causing excessive turbidity in nearby streams and rivers; The public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); and all legally required permits have been acquired for construction and/or rehabilitation.
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The objectives of the Second Social Protection Administration Project are to: (i) improve social protection service delivery and (ii) strengthen analytical and monitoring and evaluation functions of the agenciesdelivering social protection benefits and services.Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; construction waste will be collected and disposed properly by licensed collectors; the records of waste disposal will be maintained as proof for proper management as designed.
... See More + Whenever feasible the contractor will reuse and recycle appropriate and viable materials (except asbestos); construction noise will be limited to restricted times agreed to in the permit. The civil works will cause some noise mostly in defined working hours, however the Contractor shall maximally reduce inconvenience caused to the nearby residents; during operations, the engine covers of generators, air compressors and other powered mechanical equipment shall be closed, and equipment placed as far away from residential areas as possible; the site will establish appropriate erosion and sediment control measures such as e.g. hay bales and / or silt fences to prevent sediment from moving off site and causing excessive turbidity in nearby streams and rivers; The public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); and all legally required permits have been acquired for construction and/or rehabilitation.
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The objectives of the Second Social Protection Administration Project are to: (i) improve social protection service delivery and (ii) strengthen analytical and monitoring and evaluation functions of the agenciesdelivering social protection benefits and services.Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: waste collection and disposal pathways and sites will be identified for all major waste types expected from demolition and construction activities; mineral construction and demolition wastes will be separated from general refuse, organic, liquid and chemical wastes by on-site sorting and stored in appropriate containers; construction waste will be collected and disposed properly by licensed collectors; the records of waste disposal will be maintained as proof for proper management as designed.
... See More + Whenever feasible the contractor will reuse and recycle appropriate and viable materials (except asbestos); construction noise will be limited to restricted times agreed to in the permit. The civil works will cause some noise mostly in defined working hours, however the Contractor shall maximally reduce inconvenience caused to the nearby residents; during operations, the engine covers of generators, air compressors and other powered mechanical equipment shall be closed, and equipment placed as far away from residential areas as possible; the site will establish appropriate erosion and sediment control measures such as e.g. hay bales and / or silt fences to prevent sediment from moving off site and causing excessive turbidity in nearby streams and rivers; The public has been notified of the works through appropriate notification in the media and/or at publicly accessible sites (including the site of the works); and all legally required permits have been acquired for construction and/or rehabilitation.
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The development objective of Social Protection Investment Project aims to support the government of Rwanda to improve the coverage of the vulnerable and the effective delivery of Rwanda's main social protection program.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) for PAPs who are losing the land, first option is a land replacement to be given; (ii) resettle and compensate full market value for the structures to be demolished; (iii) provide assistance with relocation, and cover all the costs of moving any salvageable parts of existing structures and reinstallation and start ups; (iv) resettle and compensate full market value for assessed crops, plants or trees; and (v) vulnerable will be given special consideration by providing to them any assistance they may need to get back or above their previous livelihoods status.
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The Project Objective of the Social Protection Investment Project for Rwanda is to support the Government of Rwanda to improve the coverage of the vulnerable and the effective delivery of Rwanda's main social protection programmes.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts are includes : (i) air pollution causing health risks due to dust and exhaust gas from vehicle; (ii) noise pollution causing health risks due to noise from vehicles; (iii) reduced traffic safety due to improved roads, inducing drivers to exceed the speed limits and cause accidents (mostly to pedestrians); (iv) exhaust fumes and dust emission from movement of construction trucks and equipment and construction activities like digging etc.; (v) drainage discharging their sediments into water bodies; (vi) due to the removal of vegetation during public works, borrow pits, waste dumping area, protected areas, etc.; (vii) conflicts with incompatible activities and land uses; (viii) use of local labor and therefore income earning; (ix) Indiscriminate disposal of human waste or free-range defecation by project workers could create environmental health problems for local communities; Some of the mitigation measures are includes : (i) temporary storage of sanitary and cleaning wastes in containers. disposal should occur at waste dumps; (ii) Integrating land stability into the roads and radical terraces (and other relevant project activities) designs to address the landslide risks. The planting of grasses on embankments slopes with low landslide risks, stone masonry construction on embankments’ slopes with high risks; tree planting along rehabilitated roads or terraces embankments and other critical areas should be considered; (iii) adequate sanitary facilities should be available for workers and open range defecation should not be countenanced; (iv) limit any temporary interference with private property (e.g. farms) in creating routes; (v) all open trenches and excavated areas will be backfilled as soon as possible after construction has been completed. access to open trenches and excavated areas will be secured to prevent pedestrians or vehicles from falling in; (vi) design should ensure a proper drainage network allowing for return flow from the plantation plots into the river during the dry season; (vii) training of farmers to regulate quantities of water used will be a long term investment in sustaining the chemical properties of the soil for continuous fertility; (viii) provision of speed restriction measures (speed limit signs, bumps) near villages and special facilities (schools, health posts, markets); (ix) provide traffic control signage prominently at the entrance and throughout populated village areas;
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The combination of conflict, food insecurity, and displacement generates competing claims for financial resources that stretch the donors' ability to provide funding and the humanitarian organizations' capacity to provide social assistance.
... See More + The paper uses Receiver Operating Characteristic curves and related indexes to determine the optimal targeting strategy of a food voucher program for refugees. The estimations focus on the 2014 food vouchers administered by the World Food Programme to Syrian refugees in Jordan. The analysis uses data collected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Based on a poverty model, Receiver Operating Characteristic curves are used to optimize coverage and leakage rates under budget constraints. The paper shows how policy makers can use these instruments to fine-tune targeting using coverage rates, budgets, or poverty lines as guiding principles to increase the overall efficiency of a program. As humanitarian organizations operate under increasing budget constraints and increasing demands for efficiency, the proposed approach addresses both concerns.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8191 SEP 12, 2017
Could a partial subsidy for child education increase children's participation in paid work? In contrast to much of the theoretical and empirical child labor literature, this paper shows that child work and school participation can be complements under certain conditions.
... See More + Using data from the randomized evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines, the analysis finds that some children, who were in neither school nor work before the program, increased participation in school and work-for-pay after the program. Earlier cash transfer programs, notably those in Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador, increased school attendance while reducing child labor. Those programs fully offset schooling costs, while the transfers under the Philippine transfers fall short of the full costs of schooling for a typical child. As a result, some beneficiary children from poor Philippine households increased work to support their schooling. The additional earnings from this work represent a substantive share of the shortfall in the schooling costs net of transfer. The paper rules out several potential alternative explanations for the increase in child labor, including changes in household productive activities, adult labor supply, and household expenditure patterns that, in principle, can arise after a cash transfer and may also affect the supply of or demand for child labor.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8182 SEP 06, 2017
De Hoop,Jacobus Joost; Friedman,Jed; Kandpal,Eeshani; Rosati,Furio CamilloDisclosed
This paper takes advantage of repeated cross-section household surveys and a sharp discontinuity created by the introduction of an unconditional cash transfer to elders.
... See More + The paper evaluates the impact of these cash transfers on the educational expenditures for children within a household. The analysis finds positive and significant effects of the program at the aggregate level. It also finds that the program has stronger effects in indigenous populations and among female and rural populations. The results are robust with respect to a series of falsification tests, survey structures, model specifications, and estimation methods.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8176 AUG 29, 2017
The World Bank Water Global Practice, under the WSS GSG Utility Turnaround thematic area, has implemented the Global Study on WSS Utility Aggregation to provide evidence-based guidance to policy makers and practitioners regarding when, why, and how water and sanitation utilities can work together, or aggregate, to successfully deliver specific policy outcomes, such as better services or lower costs.
... See More + Aggregation has been regarded as an opportunity to improve cost efficiency and performance of service delivery through economies-of-scale and cost-sharing, as well as enhanced human capacity. However, the study shows that successful aggregation—where the aggregated service provider performs significantly better than the previously disaggregated entities regarding the intended purpose, without unreasonable deterioration of other performance dimensions—is not always guaranteed. This work presents and reviews global evidence, analyzes specific aggregation case studies, and identifies the key characteristics that successful aggregations have in common, depending on their purpose and the context in which they occur. This knowledge brief summarizes the study outcomes, which are detailed further in the main report, Joining Forces for Better Services? When, Why, and How Water and Sanitation Utilities Can Benefit from Working Together. The accompanying toolkit (accessible at www.worldbank.org/water/aggregationtoolkit), offers a broader set of resources to inform aggregation processes.
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This Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Turkey covers the period FY18-21. Itis aligned with the objectives of Turkey’s 10th Development Plan and is based on the findings of aWorld Bank Group (WBG) Systematic Country Diagnostic (SCD) that was finalized in February 2017.
... See More + The CPF aims to help Turkey to achieve its development objectives through building on the foundations of the existing program and consolidating gains in key areas where the WBG is already active, as well as developing the program further in areas which target the WBG twin goals of reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The CPF puts forward a flexible approach for the WBG’s program that is appropriate for a middle-income country of Turkey’s size and takes account of the evolving country and regional situation.The choice of CPF priorities and objectives was informed by a broad consultative approach undertaken both in the preparation of the SCD and of the CPF.The SCD also identified these challenges under its pillars of Solid Foundations and Dynamic Firms. The CPF objectives are grouped into three focus areas with nine CPF objectives.These challenges form the basis for the choice of CPF objectives under this first Focus Area: (i) increased fiscal space; (ii) enhanced access to finance to underserved segments; and (iii) enhanced competitiveness and employment in select industries. The second focus area supports WBG in this area aims to consolidate Turkey’s success towards achieving the twin goals while also supporting efforts to reach those who are left behind. This CPF objective has the goal of improving efficiency and effectiveness in social assistance and strengthening the evidence-base for policies aiming to narrow gaps between regions and ensure greater inclusion of vulnerable groups. The third focus area program will help address the SCD-highlighted challenge of reorienting growth towards a more green, resilient and sustainable pattern.
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Country Assistance Strategy Document 110906 JUL 28, 2017
In October 2015, the World Bank Romania Country Office commissioned an evaluation of its reimbursable advisory services (RAS) program for the 2012-2015 period.
... See More + The program included 39 RAS agreements conducted with line ministries, government agencies and local authorities for a total value of approximately US 59 million dollars. The conceptual approach for the evaluation was based on the Capacity Development Results Framework (CDRF) to explore how RAS outcomes extend beyond the knowledge and skills gained at an individual or group level to strengthen institutional capacity. According to the CDRF, analytic and advisory services are designed to contribute to one or more of three types of institutional capacity, including the strength of stakeholder ownership (the sociopolitical environment), the efficiency of policy instruments, and the effectiveness of organizational arrangements. There should be a program logic and evidence of intermediate outcomes that signal how a RAS is contributing to strengthening institutional capacity over the longer term. Each RAS helped to address capacity challenges that were blocking the achievement of a development objective. Findings from the desk review of project documents, survey of task team leaders, and interviews with 31 Government of Romania (GoR) counterparts and other RAS stakeholders all helped to inform which capacity challenges a RAS was designed to address and the extent to which RAS activities and outputs helped to achieve progress. The evaluation documented some progress achieved by 38 of the 39 RAS agreements in addressing a total of 98 institutional capacity challenges.RAS agreements are often designed to address more than one institutional capacity challenge blocking the achievement of a development goal.Although more than half of the targeted challenges were related to organizational performance, RAS engagements were most effective overall for supporting the elaboration of policies and strategies.Overall, RAS engagements reflected comprehensive support for public sector reform in Romania.
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This paper makes several contributions. First, it presents a ‘guidance note’ on the framework for Social Registries, anchoring the definition of these systems in their functions along the Delivery Chain and their social policy role as inclusion systems, while clarifying terminology in a manner that is consistent with IT standards in the discussion of their architecture as information systems.
... See More + Second, it illustrates the diverse typologies and trajectories of country experiences with Social Registries with respect to their (a) institutional arrangements (central and local); (b) use as inclusion systems (coverage, single or multi-program use, static or dynamic intake and registration); and (c) structure as information systems (structure of data management; degree and us of interoperability with other systems). These patterns primarily derive from a review of Social Registries in a sample of 20 countries), (Azerbaijan, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Djibouti, Georgia, Indonesia, Macedonia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Pakistan, the Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Turkey, and Yemen). The paper also draws on experience in other countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Egypt, Jordan, Vietnam, India, Estonia, Belgium, the US, Canada, Australia, and others) to illustrate specific points. Third, this paper develops a basic ‘Assessment Tool’ covering the core building blocks of Social Registries using a ‘checklist’ style of questions. Given the wide diversity of Social Registries in both their role in social policy and in their architecture, the approach is not prescriptive: it does not advocate for any specific model or blueprint for Social Registries. Any diagnostics or recommendations that emerge from use of this Guidance Note and Assessment Tool will be country specific. Some key take-away messages include: (a) the importance of recognizing both the role of the ‘front lines’ for outreach, intake and registration (Social Registries as inclusion systems) and the ‘back office’ functions of Social Registries as information systems; (b) the potential power of Social Registries as integrated and dynamic gateways for inclusion; (c) the recognition that Social Registries are generally part of end-to-end systems for specific programs, integrated social protection information systems, and/or even ‘whole-of-government’ approaches; and (d) there is significant diversity in the typology and trajectories of Social Registries across countries and over time.
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The development objective of the Rural Safety Net Project for Ethiopia is to support the Government of Ethiopia in improving the effectiveness and scalability of its rural safety net system.
... See More + Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (i) ensure drainage controls on new roads and rehabilitate temporary access following subproject implementation; (ii) minimize water crossings in road location and alignment; (iii) avoid interference with informal land users, and take measures to provide them access to alternative lands or resources; (iv) ensure that yards and storage areas include safety measures, as well as procedures for managing waste and avoiding placement in areas that are used for pastoralism, farming, etc.; (v) assess water supply and existing demands, and manage sustainability; (vi) identify and avoid effects of diversion or extraction on downstream ecosystems that depend on the surface or groundwater supply; (vii) provide training to farmers on sustainable irrigated agriculture, including maintenance of infrastructure; (viii) protect and encourage regeneration of endemic species; (ix) establish a water users committee through the kebele and equitable rules for water allocation; ensure a local grievance redress system is in place; (x) construction sites should include procedures for managing waste; local communities should be informed about temporary disturbance, noise, dust, etc.
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Ratings of Second Emergency Social Protection Implementation Support Project (ESPISP II) for Lebanon were as follows: outcomes were moderately satisfactory, risk to development outcome was substantial, Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and Borrower performance was moderately satisfactory.
... See More + Some of the lessons learned included: (i) Emergency projects include a wide spectrum of responses to crises, but political uncertainty adds to the complexity of emergency assistance; (ii) Institution building in weak, stressed environments is needed and, possibly, requires time and careful analysis; (iii) In complex situations, with a difficult political context, a fragile environment, and low capacity, having the World Bank’s implementation support team in the country office helps tremendously; (iv) Multi-sectoral projects, with several implementing agencies, are notoriously complex, all the more so in an emergency mode; (v) Nevertheless, in some cases, especially in the case of multi-sectoral projects providing a continuation of assistance for multiple, complementary reforms that are under way, it may make sense to proceed with interim, bridging support despite identified risks; (vi) With the basics in place, it makes more sense to start with a program and improve it based on implementation rather than waiting for the ‘perfect’ program; (vii) A functioning safety net program provides an effective vehicle for tackling poverty in response to crises; (viii) The use of scientific evidence, linked with the potential for cost savings and financing, can counter the prevailing challenges of political and confessional favoritism; (ix) Multi-sectoral projects generally require expertise in different areas on both the Government and donor sides; (x) It is possible, in a post-conflict environment, to achieve concrete institutional reforms; and (xi) Behavioral changes are possible, even in small operations.
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Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR4111 JUN 30, 2017
Given its modest position as a lower-middle-income country, Vietnam stands out from the rest of the world with its remarkable performance on standardized test scores, school enrollment, and completed years of schooling.
... See More + This paper provides an overview of the factors behind this exemplary performance, from an institutional viewpoint and by analyzing several data sources, some of which have rarely been used. The study finds that Vietnam has significantly increased school enrollment at all school levels in the past 20 years, and has achieved virtually universal primary school enrollment. Girls' net enrollment rates caught up with and then overtook those of boys at the secondary level in the past decade. Most of the variation in school enrollment and completed years of schooling was due to within-commune individual factors, rather than between-commune or between-province factors. School-level factors played an important, but diminishing, role in determining students' test scores, which was likely caused by a convergence in school quality in the country. The paper further discusses a host of challenges for the country—most of which have received insufficient attention to date—such as little school choice, a low secondary enrollment rate (compared with other Programme for International Student Assessment participants), inadequate training for the labor market, and the necessity of strategic planning for systemic reforms.
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Policy Research Working Paper WPS8112 JUN 26, 2017
