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Inequality/Social Protection

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Inequality, Development, and Growth – Edited by Günseli Berik, Yana van der Meulen Rodgers and Stephanie Seguino - Zin - 2012 - Asian-Pacific Economic Literature. Arguments for constrained capitalism in Asia | Madeleine Bunting | Global development. Workers guide cars at a parking space in Wuhan, in China. If levels of car ownership in India and China aren't restricted, ‘it would take the entire oil production of Saudi Arabia to run them’, says Nair Photograph: Reuters Chandran Nair is a softspoken man with a radical message.

Listening to his hard-hitting analysis, it's not easy to know whether we are hearing a brave pioneer or a voice crying in the wilderness. His call to arms is clear: a western model of development has dominated the world for the last 60 years, but it will be disastrous if it is allowed to continue unreformed in Asia. Across Asia there is now unprecedented pressure on environmental resources such as water, fish, forestry and air quality. "It's a matter of numbers," Nair said on a visit to London to speak at the Royal Society of Arts. "If Asia continues like the west, the game is over; as people in Asia get richer, they eat further up the food chain. Yet this is the reality that Asians are reluctant to face.

Both hunger and obesity rising in the Philippines. Asia and Pacific's 'Missing Middle' Lacks Vital Social Protection. ADB's latest Social Protection Index shows social protection systems in many fast-growing middle-income countries in Asia and the Pacific are failing to support large numbers of poor and vulnerable people.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Social protection systems in many fast-growing middle-income countries in Asia and the Pacific are failing to support large numbers of poor and vulnerable people, leaving them exposed to risks and unexpected difficulties like unemployment, ill health, and natural disasters, says a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) study. “There are many vulnerable groups, including women and informal sector workers, who can’t access unemployment, health or other social insurance but are also not poor enough to be eligible for social assistance such as cash transfers,” said Bart Édes, Director in ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department, on the release of the study, The Social Protection Index: Assessing Results for Asia and the Pacific.

Focus on Social Protection: Reducing Poverty and Inequality. Social protection is a crucial tool for reducing poverty and inequality as well as accelerating prospects of long-term economic growth, says Sri Wening Handayani, Social Development Specialist at ADB. How effective are social protection systems in Asia and the Pacific? In general, the social protection systems operated by governments in the region are not terribly effective outside a few developed countries, such as Japan, Republic of South Korea, and Singapore.

They tend to suffer from fragmentation, weak coordination, and poor beneficiary targeting. The good news is that efforts are underway in many countries to address such shortcomings. Do the various subregions of Asia and the Pacific approach social protection differently? Yes, one can notice differences while moving across this vast continent. Can developing Asia and the Pacific afford social protection systems? Yes, it can. Is social protection a priority for the region? How can countries avoid the misuse of social protection? Social Protection in Asia (SPA) SPA is a research, advocacy and network building programme which aims to overcome barriers to the extension of social protection to poor and marginalized groups in Asia.

The programme seeks to identify and promote innovative forms of social protection which contribute to sustainable poverty reduction and development. SPA Research The most recent phase of the programme (2007-2010) has been concerned with the extension of social protection to those sections of the population who are excluded from formal social security systems and who must either work for their living in the informal economy or are dependent on others who do.

These people constitute the majority of the population in Asia and pose a major challenge for conventional models of social security. They are often amongst the poorest sections of their country's population and therefore least likely to be able to contribute to the taxes which fund state provision of social protection. SPA Networking, Communications and Advocacy.