This paper analyses the role of social safety nets in the form of redistributional transfers and wage subsidies. It is argued that public welfare programs can be viewed as a crime-preventing or disruption-preventing devices because they tend to increase the opportunity cost of engaging in crime...

Efficiency and equity are cornerstone concepts in rational service delivery in the public sector. This paper benchmarks efficiency and equity in public spending on health, education and social protection in a broad group of Asian Development Bank (ADB) member economies with varying levels of...

Broadly speaking, developing Asia and Latin America are at similar income and development levels. Relative to the advanced economies, economic growth and development are much more urgent priorities for both, yet Latin America has significantly more experience in using fiscal policy to tackle...

Social protection has been a beneficial tool used by the government and other stakeholders to address challenges faced by the most vulnerable members of society. It has been a valuable strategy to include the poor as participants in our neo-liberal economy that disregards the weak. It gives the...

This paper studies the relationship between public education and pay-as-you-go social security in a representative democracy, where the government reacts both to voting and lobbying activities of workers and pensioners. While an intergenerational conflict prevails concerning actual social...