This note is one of two designed to serve as a resource for policy makers and practitioners aiming to introduce… Read more or scale up economic inclusion programs in urban and peri-urban areas. The first note explores the potential of economic inclusion programs to promote the social and economic inclusion of the urban poor and vulnerable. It lays out a framework for such programming based on the current landscape and evidence and points to the central role economic inclusion programs can play in meeting the urban jobs challenge, facilitating a Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) recovery, and building inclusive cities. This note addresses the question of how to operationalize these programs. It shows that a rethink is needed about the ways in which programs are designed and delivered to fit the needs and lifestyles of the urban poor. The emerging experience from a growing pipeline yields some important operational insights, but several questions remain to be answered in coming years, as programs continue to evolve and customize to the urban context. Read less ...

This document provides a gender and inclusion analysis in Timor-Leste. It summarizes the legal and institutional framework in the country… Read more in regard to gender equality and describes an analysis of the sociocultural norms and power dynamics that can affect women participation and performance in economic activities, as well as the political and civil life.  Read less ...

This paper uses experimental data to investigate whether an increase in exogenous income through the Child Grants model of the… Read more Social Cash Transfer programme in Zambia fosters economic inclusion among rural women. Authors find a strong evidence of direct impacts of the Grant on the productive capacity, financial inclusion, and psychological assets of rural women. In addition to these direct impacts, researchers implement a mediation analysis to explore the potential mediating role of psychological assets in affecting the other pillars of economic inclusion. Read less ...

From 2018 to 2020, ADB implemented a pilot project to test the graduation approach, working with 2,400 households in Negros… Read more Occidental. One objective was to find cost-effective ways to sustainably reduce poverty and build resilience to socioeconomic shocks. In this brief, ADB highlights the findings and results at the end of the pilot’s implementation period, including promising new evidence from a September 2020 mobile phone survey of 1,243 households. Despite severe impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic especially on poor and vulnerable households, an average of 71% of the participating households met each of the graduation criteria in September 2020. The survey assessed resilience during the pandemic by comparing the experiences of pilot project households with households that only received government cash transfers. Read less ...

Powerpoint slides providing an overview of evidence on graduation programs in refugee and conflict-affected settings… Read more Read less ...

Low and middle-income countries host approximately 85% of all refugees in the world. In many of these countries, refugees often… Read more face legal barriers to start and operate their own businesses – preventing them from building their livelihoods. Even in countries where refugees can start businesses, laws are often implemented inconsistently and to the detriment of refugees. However, we know that when governments permit refugees to work and own businesses, they stimulate local economies by spending more on goods and services, generating tax revenue, and creating new jobs for locals and other refugees. This report provides a legal overview of policies affecting refugee entrepreneurship in eight select countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, and Uganda. The report, developed by law firms with global expertise, offers country-by-country insights on refugee laws and policies; enterprise development; and informal business activities. While each country analyzed in the report has seen an influx in its refugee population in recent years, these countries have varying degrees of formal laws, regulations, and policies governing the rights of refugees. The research suggests that adopting policies focusing on refugee and host community collaboration will best serve host countries by encouraging refugee self-reliance and promoting positive outcomes for all stakeholders. Read less ...

This paper examines the extent to which social protection responses to the crisis have recognised and addressed the gendered impacts… Read more of the crisis. Drawing on case studies from South Africa and Kerala, India, the paper looks at the design and implementation features of the social protection response from a gender perspective, and offers policy recommendations for strengthening gender in social protection and crisis response in the future. Read less ...

Refugees have been supported by innumerable cash or voucher interventions implemented by international humanitarian and development actors during the Covid-19… Read more pandemic, but only a few of these have explicitly aligned or integrated with government social protection responses. Refugees residing in low- and middle-income countries have mostly been excluded from government social protection responses, and where they have been included (largely in Latin America and the Caribbean) this typically represents a continuation of pre-pandemic policy. This paper reviews the evidence on: 1. The inclusion of refugees in government-led social protection responses to Covid-19 in the Republic of Congo and Colombia 2. The alignment or integration of international humanitarian and development actors’ cash assistance to refugees and government social protection responses – focusing on Jordan and Pakistan. Read less ...

Annex to the case studies

To share learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Grand Bargain Cash Workstream Sub-Group on Linking Humanitarian Cash (HC) and Social… Read more Protection (SP) has drawn up a series of case studies that offer practical examples of how actors in a range of different contexts have aligned or linked elements of existing and/or nascent humanitarian and social protection approaches in cash-based responses to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Using concepts that have been captured in a combination of different theoretical frameworks, the case studies bring to life examples that show how a variety of stakeholders have linked different elements of HC and SP in COVID-19 responses and the successes and challenges faced in doing so. The case studies are organised around a combination of the humanitarian project cycle and the building blocks of the delivery chain. Learnings presented in this note have been drawn from the experience of sub group member agencies in several different countries. Case Study 3 looks at Implementation. Outreach and communications; information systems, registration and enrolment; payments/delivery; grievances and community feedback mechanism; transition and/or exit; monitoring and evidence. Read less ...