Public Works as a Safety Net : Design, Evidence, and Implementation
From the Victorian poor laws in nineteenth century Britain to the post-war recovery of the 1940s, public works programs have historically played an important role as countercyclical interventions to address seasonal and short-term unemployment. In...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Publication |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/11/16988159/public-works-safety-net-design-evidence-implementation http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11882 |
| Summary: | From the Victorian poor laws in
nineteenth century Britain to the post-war recovery of the
1940s, public works programs have historically played an
important role as countercyclical interventions to address
seasonal and short-term unemployment. In recent times, the
role of public works has broadened, because globalization
and economic integration, while expanding opportunities for
all, has also increased the exposure to and transmission of
risk, especially to the poorest. Public works are now being
used increasingly across the developing world as an
essential part of the social protection toolkit to respond
to risk and persistent poverty. And recent flagship public
works programs in Argentina, Ethiopia, India, and elsewhere
have sparked even greater interest in their effective use in
other developing-country contexts. This book provides a
comprehensive overview of public works programs as a safety
net instrument and their impacts. It also provides a
practical review of program design features and
implementation methods, and a compendium of operational and
how-to knowledge, combining technical expertise with ongoing
country experiences. The book thus fills a major knowledge
gap in this field. To date, much attention has been devoted
to making the case for improved public works, with less
attention paid to the how-to aspects. The target audience of
the book includes policy makers and practitioners in
national and sub-national governments, donors and
international organizations, and nongovernmental
organizations, particularly those working in countries where
a new wave of social protection interventions has been seen
in recent years (e.g., Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda) or is likely
to emerge in the future (e.g., countries emerging from the
Arab Spring in the Middle East, like the Arab Republic of Egypt). |
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