September 2013

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In this issue
Whats New? ....................................................................................... CoP in Action ....................................................................................... Calendar ....................................................................................... Learning Opportunities ....................................................................................... Knowledge Products ....................................................................................... Web Picks .......................................................................................

Whats New?
VP Groff Discusses Post-2015 Agenda at UNESCAP Ministerial Dialogue in Bangkok The VP participated as a panelist on Asia-Pacific perspectives for taking the agenda from the MDGs to the post-2015 development challenges. He highlighted a spectrum of forward-looking financing options and ways to strengthen financial inclusion in support of the transformative shifts identified in the High Level Panel's report.

Positive Impact of Community-Driven Development Project The impact evaluation of the KALAHI-CIDSS program shows that the program led to the increase of people's participation in local assemblies, as well as improvements in basic service delivery. The program was designed to minimize the risk of elite capture, and appears to have been successful in doing so. See the impact evaluation report.

Blog Post: Role of Growth in Poverty Reduction The recent clash between two distinguished Indian economists prompts a re-examination of the role of economic growth in poverty reduction. In this blog post, Rising Tide Raises all Boats Or Does It?, Indu Bhushan, Deputy Director General, SPD, cites research that compares the experiences of Brazil, PRC, and India that shows economic growth does lower poverty, but governments can help to significantly accelerate the process by ensuring that the growth is inclusive.

Apprenticeship and Employment for the Youth in PNG Urban poor youth in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea are earning income from temporary employment, as well as getting access to training courses to increase their chances of getting jobs. Over 3,000 youth have been enrolled in this World Bank project. Several graduates have already obtained permanent jobs.

Hong Kong, PRC: Elderly among the Poorest in Developed World The elderly in Hong Kong, China are not only the poorest people in the city, they are among the poorest in the developed world. Close to one third of people aged 65 and over are classified as poor, according to calculations released by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service.

Innovative Development Financing How can more resources be applied toward development in the worlds poorest countries? Recent research has pointed to some promising ideas, such as migration bonds, private capital, matching contributions, and funds that address sector inefficiencies.

The Case for Unconditional Handouts to the Poor In some cases, an unconditional grant impacts positive behavior. In a research recently conducted in Morocco, parents in the country's poorest districts were given small grants of between $8 and $10 per child each month. Some of them were informed that they would be paid if their child attended school regularly, but the others were simply handed money, told nothing, and sent on their way. See the results of the study.

Donors, Business and Development This article discusses ways in which donors can engage companies so the latter can play a pivotal role in delivering development outcomes.

The Jobs Crisis: Dearth of Decent Work The ILO estimates that within the next 10 years, 600 million new jobs should be created worldwide to address the needs of the unemployed. Of the many approaches that will help solve youth unemployment, local economic development is one process that helps empower young people within their own communities.

Graying Asia: A Case of Increasing the Retirement Age This blog post explores how urgently increasing retirement age for Asian countries can be beneficial to both the economy and its elderly citizens.

The State of Social Investment in Australia Australia's social investment industry is learning from British methods.

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Calendar
Savings By and For the Poor: A Review of the Evidence and an Agenda for the Way Forward 9 September, 10:30 a.m., 4653E Aishwarya Ratan, Director, Global Financial Inclusion Initiative at Yale University and IPA, will lay out the constraints that hinder the poor to effectively use savings products and services, citing recent empirical evidence. Key areas open for research and practice on the savings of the poor will be raised.

Innovative Ways to Engage NGOs 26 September, 10 a.m., kHub Lainie Thomas, Social Development Specialist (Civil Society and Participation), SERD, will discuss the less commonly utilized processes in the bank that may also be opportunities for engaging NGOs in the implementation of projects.

Training and Write Shop on Evidence-based Evaluation 21-24 October, LRC1 The CoP is conducting a training seminar on incorporating impact evaluation early in the project design process. A training team from Harvard University will conduct the seminar. Staff and RM staff are invited to signify interest with Yukiko Ito at local 6606.

Training Course on Conditional Cash Transfers program 28-31 January 2014, ADB HQ

Other non-CoP activities of interest Report Launch: Food Security in Asia and the Pacific 11 September, 10 a.m., kHub This report examines competing demands for available resources, and ways to boost productivity amid changing demand and supply. The report also aims to stimulate discussion on the various approaches to achieving food security. Staff are invited to join the Chief Economist at the launch of the report.

2nd Inclusive Business Forum for the Philippines 16 September, Auditorium The Forum will give an overview on new government support for inclusive business, advanced knowledge exchange on good practices models in the country, and facilitate the engagement of inclusive business companies with possible investors on funding proposals. Poverty and Social Analysis Training for Resident Missions 13-15 November, TRM

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Learning Opportunities
Designing and Implementing Social Transfer Programs 30 September - 11 October, Chiang Mai, Thailand This two-week course provides policy makers, government officials and practitioners with an in-depth understanding of the conceptual and practical issues involved in developing social transfer programs.

13th International Conference on Health Impact Assessment 2-4 October, Geneva, Switzerland Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a science-based tool that gives an understanding of the linkages between health and various cultural, social and economic contexts. It also estimates the health outcomes that each sector can achieve. HIA enables finding practical solutions that will promote health from the local to the global levels.

International Workshops on Entrepreneurship in Socially Responsible Business for Development in Asia and the Pacific, and Young Business Leaders Program 16-18 October, Ahmedabad, India Features discussions on the promotion of socially responsible businesses for inclusive and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. The deliberations will center on : corporate social responsibility; socially responsible environment; human rights and labour; and socially responsible business investments and business development services. The output of this workshop will be submitted as contribution to the adoption of the Ahmedabad Declaration and Action Plan for Promoting Socially Responsible Entrepreneurship. The Young Business Leaders Program will be held on 17 October, to give a venue for young business leaders to exchange ideas on socially responsible businesses practices.

Khemka Forum on Social Entrepreneurship 2013 6-7 December, Hyderabad, India This forum connects social entrepreneurs, thought leaders, investors, philanthropists, and other like-minded professionals who are looking to create sustainable innovate solutions for large-scale social impact.

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Knowledge Products
Tailoring Social Protection to Small Island Developing States : Lessons Learned from the Caribbean Examines the role of social protection in Small Island Developing States in the Carribean, given their particular structural, human resource and capacity constraints. The lessons may be relevant to other countries with similar challenges. Gaps remain as many vulnerable groups are underserved, particularly when social protection systems show limited responsiveness to shocks.

How Donors Engage with Business Lays out types of business, modalities of engagement and some approaches to interacting with business through which donors can better achieve their existing objectives.

Promoting Human Development in India: Costs of Inequality Reveals that the low levels of attainment in health and education in India are characterized by a high level of inequality. Provides useful policy insights for promoting human development through a distributive policy option that is, addressing inequalities across dimensions in different states in the country.

Indias Direct Benefit Transfer and Public Distribution System: Can They Work Together? Explains how India's Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) program provides an efficient system in transferring money from existing cash transfers directly to the recipients bank accounts, discussing the options where DBT can be used to enhance food distribution. Concludes that this technology, combined with improved governance, will lead to success of the DBT model as long as it focuses on improving the delivery of existing cash entitlements, rather than seeking to replace in-kind transfers such as food grains with cash.

World Health Report 2013: Research for Universal Health Coverage Shows how countries, when developing a system for universal health coverage, can use research to determine what health issues should be addressed, how a system should be structured and how to measure progress according to their specific health situation. Points out that all nations should be producers of research as well as consumers. Also discusses that systems are needed to develop national research agendas, to raise funds, to strengthen research capacity, and to make appropriate and effective use of research findings.

Savings By and For the Poor: A Review of the Evidence and an Agenda for the Way Forward Enumerates constraints that may hinder the adoption and effective usage of savings products and services by poor people. Summarizes related empirical evidence, with a focus on recent field experiments. Key areas open for research and practice are also put forward.

Globalization, Labor Market Regulation, and Firm Behavior Analyzes the link between firm characteristics and labor market regulation in five Asian economiesBangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. Describes systematic differences in the perceived level of labor market regulation. Findings show the types of firms that find labor market regulation to be an obstacle to their operations, and can be used to design targeted policy interventions.

An Evaluation of the Electronic Pension Payment System in Tajikistan Shows that the implementation of electronic payments to pensioners has generally had positive effects, especially on perceived convenience and wait times. Points to a number of areas where improvements can lead to enhanced service delivery for the pensioners and increased cost efficiency.

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Web picks
Links to Useful Social Protection Websites This resource page of Capacity for Dev lists the most important websites that monitor social protection in Asia and the Pacific.

Data on Pensions: Pension Watch This website has data on over 100 social pension schemes in operation across the globe in low, middle and high-income countries.

On Twitter: Poverty Action This account directs readers to news, events and views on innovation that supports poverty alleviation around the globe.

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Send your links and announcements for events, papers, articles and slides of best practices/ lessons learned related to social development and poverty reduction to sdpcop@adb.org. If you have colleagues who you think may be interested in joining the CoP, please forward this newsletter to them. The Social Development and Poverty CoP Newsletter is prepared by Kat Olivares for the CoP Secretariat.