Social protection programmes are now widely recognised as key policy instruments for developing countries to combat poverty. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has explicitly recognised the importance of implementing “nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors” as an explicit target under Sustainable Development Goal...

The Social Outlook for Asia and the Pacific lays out new arguments and evidence for the critical and urgent need to increase investment in people, particularly in social protection. Developing countries in Asia and the Pacific only spend about 3.7 per cent of GDP on social protection, compared to...

This is the third in a series of policy guides developed to support policymakers and practitioners in Asia and the Pacific in their efforts to strengthen social protection. This policy guide explains the  administrative processes, organizational policies and systems required to implement tax-financed social protection, focusing on schemes providing...

Knowing how climate hazards affect people’s resilience over time is crucial in designing more effective development and humanitarian interventions. This is particularly important in post-disaster contexts, where people’s livelihood opportunities and wellbeing changes rapidly during the long road to recovery. Yet, to date, our knowledge of resilience is largely...

At the global level in 2015 countries set in motion the most far reaching and ambitious development agenda of our time, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In Asia and the Pacific, countries have already begun translating this ambitious agenda into action and many have already set up the...

Inequality in Asia and the Pacific is on the rise. Many countries, including those held up as models of dynamism and prosperity, have experienced a widening of existing gaps, accompanied by environmental degradation. Market-led growth alone is not sufficient to deliver a prosperous, sustainable future for all. This report...

Developing Asia is forecast to expand by 6 percent in 2018, and by 5.9 percent in 2019. Excluding Asia’s high-income newly industrialized economies, growth should reach 6.5 percent in 2018 and 6.4 percent in 2019. With oil prices edging up and robust consumer demand continuing, inflation is poised to pick up...

This report takes stock of the changing nature of increasingly complex risks in Asia and the Pacific, and the stresses and shocks that are affecting a diverse region’s prospects for achieving the SDGs. It highlights the effects of selected natural hazards, commodity shocks and pollution shocks on the region’s...

The Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality marks an unprecedented advance in the care agenda in terms of the visibility of care as a central dimension of sustainable development. The new international commitment for recognizing, redistributing and reducing unpaid care and domestic work through care policies needs to...

Economic growth in Asia-Pacific economies, although steady, is modest compared with its recent historical trend amid prolonged weak external demand and its ramifications, such as subdued investment and rising trade protectionism. While robust economic growth is not a sufficient condition for achieving broader development goals, the lack of it...

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Asia’s growing labor force needs innovative solutions to reduce risks and ensure social protection of workers in vulnerable employment with informal arrangements. This book examines the need to expand social protection coverage of the informal sector to support working age productivity, reduce vulnerability, and improve economic opportunity. Case studies...

Social protection is variously seen as a right or poverty alleviation mechanism or shield from the vagaries of market. Although Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have brought out various social protection programmes through policies, legislations, constitutional guarantees and so on, their comprehensiveness and implementation remain a challenge....

Rising inequality as well as the need to build resilience to crises, whether economic and financial crises, or natural disasters, have increased the call for strengthening social protection in the Asia-Pacific region. To strengthen social protection, most countries in the region have already set in place income support schemes,...

This project working paper discusses the prevailing system of income security for older persons in Sri Lanka with regard to coverage, beneficiaries and sustainability. The paper finds that the current system is inadequate to provide income security for older persons, as the sustainability of several pension funds is at...

The rapid increase of the number of older persons, particularly the oldest-old – those above 80 years – increases the need for long-term care for older persons in the Asia-Pacific region. This working paper series examines the prevailing system of provision and financing of long-term care for older persons...

This project working paper discusses the prevailing system of income security for older persons in the Republic of Korea with regards to coverage, beneficiaries, and sustainability. It also discusses recently undertaken reforms of the income security system with regards to their budgetary implications. After the introduction of a mandatory...

Although India is still a relatively young country, there are currently 116 million older persons in India and their number is increasing rapidly. Income security for older persons can become an increasing concern. Coverage of contributory and non-contributory schemes is still low in India. Public sector workers are well...

The rapid increase of the number of older persons, particularly the oldest-old – those above 80 years – increases the need for long-term care of older persons in the Asia-Pacific region. This working paper series examines the prevailing system of provision and financing of long-term care for older persons...

Older persons, particularly the oldest-old, are the fastest growing population segment in India and many of them require or will require long-term care in the future. The paper discusses policies on population ageing in India, such as the National Policy on Older Persons and the National Programme for Health...

This brief looks at the effects of a basic income pilot project conducted in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Despite a short implementation period and relatively low benefit levels, the effects were impressive: by the end of the project it was possible to see significant improvements in living...

Starting in 2007, Mongolia has implemented one-stop shops (OSS) nationwide for social service delivery. This brief explores the Mongolian...

Between 2003 and 2013, the number of people covered by the health insurance system in China increased by ten times and has now achieved universal coverage (96.9 per cent of the population). This brief explores China’s experience in extending health...

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of trends in labour market outcomes of women in India based on unit level data sets of employment and unemployment surveys undertaken in 1999-2000, 2004-2005, and 2011-2012. The paper analyzes the gender differentials that exist in the employment status of women and men...