New Frontiers of Social Policy

Climate change is arguably the most profound challenge facing the international community in the 21st century. It is as much a challenge for poverty reduction, growth and development as it is a global environmental issue. It could undermine or reverse progress in reducing poverty and attaining the Millenium Development Goals, thereby unraveling many of the development gains of recent decades. It already threatens the livelihoods, health and well-being of millions of people worldwide, and of the poorest and most vulnerable groups in particular. And it has potentially far-reaching implications for international relations and for personal, national and regional security. While significant uncertainties still remain, tremendous strides have been made over recent years in improving scientific understanding of the human processes driving global climate change and the likely impacts on world ecosystems. What is much less well understood is how these dynamics in the physical environment will interact with those of socio-economic systems, what the consequences will be for society, and how best to address them. In order to focus attention on these previously neglected and poorly understood social dimensions of climate change, the World Bank convened an international workshop in March, 2008, with the participation of community activists, former heads of state, leaders of Indigenous Peoples, representatives of non-governmental organizations, international researchers, and staff of the World Bank and other international development agencies. This edited volume brings together revised versions of many of the papers presented during that workshop, as an initial step in taking stock of existing knowledge on the social dimensions of climate change. Several new papers were also commissioned for this volume.

Opening the Black Box: Contextual Drivers of Social Accountability fills an important knowledge gap by providing guidance on how to assess contextual drivers of social accountability effectiveness. This publication aims to more strategically support citizen engagement at the country level and for a specific issue or problem. The report proposes a novel framing of social accountability as the interplay of constitutive elements: citizen action and state action, supported by three enabling levers: civic mobilization, interface and information. For each of these constitutive elements, the report identifies 'drivers' of contextual effectiveness which take into account a broad range of contextual factors (e.g., social, political and intervention-based, including information and communication technologies). Opening the Black Box offers detailed guidance on how to assess each driver. It also applies the framework at two levels. At the country level, the report looks at 'archetypes' of challenging country contexts, such as regimes with no formal space or full support for citizen-state engagement and fragile and conflict-affected situations. The report also illustrates the use of the framework to analyze specific social accountability interventions through four case studies: Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Yemen, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

Questions of equity and inequality have moved to the center of debates on development and poverty reduction. This reflects growing awareness that even countries with high rates of growth can experience stagnating or increasing inequality, and that inequality can itself limit the poverty reducing effects of growth. Indeed, recent work indicates that, in addition to its intrinsic value, equity should be valued for its positive impacts on growth and the poverty-reducing effects of such growth. These concerns are coupled with questions of governance. This is because institutional arrangements affect not only overall rates of growth but also the distributional effects of growth, and are themselves more or less equitable in their structure and functioning. How given institutional arrangements emerge over time, with their implications for growth and equity, remains less understood. 'Institutional Pathways to Equity: Addressing Inequality Traps' tackles the relationship between equity and development, the place of institutions in determining these relationships, and the conditions under which particular institutional arrangements can either block or promote transitions toward more equitable forms of development. The chapters, originally commissioned as background documents for the preparation of the World Development Report 2006, are prepared by leading scholars from the fields of economics, political science, sociology, geography, and development studies. The book speaks directly to current discussions on inequality, poverty, and growth and will contribute to the construction of a historically informed political economy of development. The book specifically highlights the importance of inequality, institutional change through social mobilization, and institutional change through state policies. The authors show that, under certain conditions, state institutions can and have taken a leading role in promoting policies to redress inequitable social relations and so weaken the social foundations of inequality traps.

Unlock the potential of local communities for sustainable development. This book provides a comprehensive guide to scaling up local and community driven development (LCDD) initiatives in developing countries. It addresses the challenges of state effectiveness, market imperfections, and structural inequities that hinder social policy. This volume offers a framework for moving beyond conventional approaches, empowering communities and local governments to drive economic and social progress. Discover: - The historical roots and theoretical underpinnings of LCDD - Practical strategies for adapting LCDD to diverse country contexts - Tools and techniques for effective program design and implementation - Case studies and lessons learned from successful initiatives worldwide For policy makers, development practitioners, and researchers, this is an essential resource for achieving equitable opportunity and social justice.

This report tries to put boundaries around the abstraction that is "social inclusion". It is intended for policy makers, academics, activists and development partners – indeed anyone who is curious about how to address inclusion in a world that is witness to intense demographic, spatial, economic and technological transitions. Placing the discussion of social inclusion within such global transitions and transformations, it argues that social inclusion is an evolving agenda. While it does not purport to provide definitive answers as to how to achieve social inclusion in any given context, the report offers an easy-to-use definition and a framework to assist practitioners in asking, outlining and developing some of the right questions that can help advance the agenda of inclusion in different contexts. There are seven main messages in this report: 1. Excluded groups exist in all countries. 2. Excluded groups are consistently denied opportunities. 3. Intense global transitions are leading to social transformations that create new opportunities for inclusion as well as exacerbating existing forms of exclusion. 4. People take part in society through markets, services, and spaces. 5. Social and economic transformations affect the attitudes and perceptions of people. As people act on the basis of how they feel, it is important to pay attention to their attitudes and perceptions. 6. Exclusion is not immutable. Abundant evidence demonstrates that social inclusion can be planned and achieved. 7. Moving ahead will require a broader and deeper knowledge of exclusion and its impacts as well as taking concerted action.

Can effective public institutions emerge in some of the world's most challenging settings? This study examines how nine government agencies in fragile states have managed to improve their capacity. Institutions Taking Root identifies shared mechanisms underpinning institutional success in contexts such as The Gambia, Lao PDR, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. It explores: - Strategies for navigating difficult political landscapes - The importance of managing relationships with elites - How to build capable public institutions - How to achieve sustainable development in challenging contexts For policymakers, development practitioners, and researchers, this volume offers insightful guidance for building effective governance and promoting equitable opportunity in countries with weak institutional capacity.