The Asian financial crisis and its social aftermath triggered a fundamental reappraisal of the role of social protection in Asia. Existing social protection programmes in many Asian countries were found to be insufficient and not well designed. It is now widely agreed that considerable effort is...

When setting spending priorities in education and health, countries all too often target expensive schemes which can be shown only to benefit specific sections of the population, often the non-poor. The building of certain urban hospitals and universities may fall into this category. Wherever...

Poverty reduction remains a major development challenge in much of Asia and the Pacific. Historically, technology has played a central role in raising living standards across the region, including those of the poor. The Green Revolution and various innovations of modern medicine and public...

One in five of the world's population live in extreme poverty, with a per capita income of less than a dollar a day. At least two-thirds of these people live in rural areas, where farming is the dominant source of income. At the same time, the poorest non-farm households spend a relatively large...

Sustaining the fight against global poverty will be possible only if the "wider civil society", i.e. citizens in richer countries, actively and critically support international development co-operation efforts. The willingness undoubtedly exists: McDonnell, Solignac Lecomte and Wegimont (2003)...

This publication is based on an exceptional event which brought together civil society from the poor countries and OECD experts. The first-hand expertise of civil society is a priceless asset for understanding the everyday effects of economic change

Partnership Forums are the means by which the OECD Development Assistance Committee provides a venue for non-governmental actors to express their points of view and to offer their own contributions to development policy and strategy. In December 2000, the DAC and the Development Centre held a...