Shielding the Poor

Social Protection in the Developing World

Nora Claudia Lustig

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Year: 2010
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780815720249
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Policy
• Index: Social Sciences

The poor in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to adverse shocks. They have little or no access to public social insurance, are unlikely to save in adequate amounts to rely fully on self-insurance or informal insurance, face restricted access to private market insurance or credit mechanisms, and have little or no political voice to demand the protection of safety net programs. In this book, the authors analyze the best ways to help the poor manage risks such as health shocks, unemployment, sudden drops in income, and old age. Unemployment benefits, employment programs, means-tested social assistance, social investment funds, and micro-finance for consumption-smoothing purposes are the leading options considered. The book provides a careful assessment of issues that governments need to address in the process of designing appropriate safety nets.

Table of contents

• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Has Aggregate Income Growth Been Effective in Reducing Poverty and Inequality in Latin America?
• 3. Social Protection for the Unemployed: Programs in Latin America
• 4. Heterogeneity and Optimal Unemployment Insurance
• 5. Helping the Poor Manage Risk Better: The Role of Social Funds
• 6. Insuring the Economic Costs of Illness
• 7. Coverage under Old Age Security Programs and Protection for the Uninsured: What Are the Issues?
• 8. Social Assistance on Pensions and Health Care for the Poor in Latin America and the Caribbean
• 9. The Safety Net Role of Microfinance for Income and Consumption Smoothing
• 10. Consumption Smoothing and Extended Families: The Role of Government-Sponsored Insurance
• 11. Social Protection for the Poor in the Developed World
• Authors
• BackCover