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Inclusive growth is a buzzword among all nations. Poverty alleviation programmes are vital part of inclusive growth. Hence, the potential role of social protection in the development process has received heightened recognition in recent years. Poverty alleviation through government schemes or programmes is an important part of all nations’ inclusive growth. The explanation of social protection has varied across different development agencies, namely the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Labour Organization (ILO), etc. But the basic thrust of such definitions has involved what the Asian Development Bank (ADB) described in its 2001 Social Protection Strategy as enabling ‘vulnerable groups to prevent, reduce and/or cope with risks’ (ADB, 2001). Hence, it is vital to stress that social protection can help or cover vulnerable non-poor vis-á-vis poor groups. In some cases, such as in East Asia, the poor benefit more from social assistance (SA). This is attributable, no doubt, to the impact of cash- or food-for-work programs (ADB, 2009). This chapter seeks to determine or identify the impact of Social Protection Index (SPI) on inclusive growth through poverty alleviation in a few Asian countries using secondary data (ADB, 2009, 2016, 2019) on government social protection programs in some countries in Asia. It is obtained that the impact of components of SPI, such as social insurance (SI) programs, SA programs and labour market programs (LMP), is playing a vital role in eradication of poverty and attaining inclusive growth.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of welfare schemes in India and their impact on social protection during a period of high economic growth. It summarizes India's performance with respect to select economic and social indicators relative to select low and middle-income countries in the Asia Pacific region. It further overviews trends in some key select economic and social indicators for India and discusses India's attainment in Social Protection relative to an index of such protection provided by the Asian Development Bank.

This paper uses a comparative statistical approach and evaluates India's performance in key social welfare areas vis-à-vis that of countries with economic performance comparable to that of India. It also evaluates India's progress along these parameters over time.

The basic messages of this paper are: first, compared to low and middle-income countries in the Asia Pacific India's economic performance has outstripped its performance in social and welfare indicators. Second, nevertheless India is spending less on social welfare programs and other welfare schemes than many countries in the Asia Pacific, including some of those whose economic performance has been less impressive than India's. Third, the efficiency and effectiveness of key welfare programs in India need to be substantially improved. Particular attention needs to be paid to female participation in and their access to social welfare programs.

Informed analyses of social sector spending in India and their impact on welfare outcomes are relatively scarce although descriptive studies of social sector spending and welfare schemes abound. This paper attempts to fill this gap with a cross-country as well as intertemporal analysis of India's performance in these key areas.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the social development situation in the Pacific Island countries (PICs). It also aims to present the various social and economic policies that are directly linked to improving social indicators.

The paper draws on the theoretical framework provided by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, which defines social policy as involving redistribution, production, reproduction and protection. The paper presents data on these four components.

The paper shows that many PICs have managed to increase some of their social development indicators especially those relating to education. Yet they are also lagging behind on many fronts, such as health, water and sanitation, social protection, and inequality.

Issues of state capacity and governance linked to policy formulation and implementation are not addressed in this paper. More in‐depth and empirical research could be undertaken to investigate the link between economic growth and social development.

This paper has the merit of being able to synthesize social and economic data for the PICs and compare it with other small island economies.

The purpose of this paper is to show evidence of the divergence of welfare outcomes in the European Union (EU) during the economic crisis, which made the European social model fail, and the convergence among European countries halt. This study reviews Sapir’s model for classifying European welfare state systems and adapts it to the new reality, taking into account Europe 2020 targets on poverty reduction and employment growth.

Two variables are used in the application of Sapir’s graphical analysis to European social models: the employment rate as efficiency indicator, and the people At Risk Of Poverty and/or Exclusion rate as equity indicator. Both efficiency and equity are present in Europe 2020 targets. In addition, a cluster analysis is applied.

The division of EU member states into four geopolitical social models has proved to be dynamic, changing in the period under analysis. As a consequence of the economic crisis and the fiscal consolidation, efficiency and equity levels across the EU are polarised between the Mediterranean and the Nordic models.

This paper shows the effects of the economic crisis in the EU, analysing the evolution between 2008 and 2014, and incorporating Eastern Europe new member states into the analysis.

The control of particularly virulent communicable diseases such as COVID-19 can be considered a global public good. Unabated contagion, both within and across borders, can result in a global public bad. More effective control – such as by flattening the epidemiological curve – could prevent severe social and economic disruption by allowing domestic health and social protection systems to more adequately respond to the health crisis. This article elaborates on some of the main elements of counter COVID-19 responses, drawing on emerging international good practices. While a full evaluation of policy effectiveness is still forthcoming, it is critical to review and synthesize the emerging lessons and evidence even this early.

This article reviews the international good practices in counter COVID-19 responses across countries.

Concerted efforts across borders, such as by sharing data and collaborating in research and by coordinating international support for countercyclical economic and health responses at the national level, are some of the options for countering COVID-19 at the international level. Within countries, more inclusive social protection and health systems, combined with countercyclical economic policies, and concerted behavioral changes tend to produce more effective collective action against the spread of the disease.

This study is based on a review of emerging responses to the health crisis.

The policies and practices reviewed in this paper could feed into better-informed crisis responses to COVID-19 and other types of health shocks.

This study is among the first general reviews of policy responses to the COVID-19 health crisis.

Whether welfare provision should be broad-based or selectively targeted at the poor is one of the most common themes in social policy discourse. However, empirical evidence concerning people's preferences about these distributive justice principles is very limited. The current paper aims to bridge this gap, by analyzing Europeans' opinions about a hypothetical transformation of the welfare state that would provide social transfers and services only to people on low incomes.

The analysis draws on data from the 2016 European Social Survey and covers 21 countries. In order to understand what would motivate people to support the complete means testing of welfare provision, we use multilevel models with individual-level and contextual predictors.

The results show that the upper and middle classes are the most opposed to the idea, presumably as they would be the net losers from such a reform. Furthermore, our results indicate that more-egalitarian people show a higher level of support for means testing, even though the political left has traditionally promoted universalism. Some key characteristics of the welfare state also matter: People are more likely to endorse complete means testing in countries with less-generous provision and a higher incidence of poverty. However, the extent to which the existing welfare state relies on means testing has no influence on people's opinions about implementing a fully means-tested welfare model.

Some of the key findings are likely to be of interest to activists advocating on behalf of the poor and the socially vulnerable. Although it is generally assumed that universal provision is the best strategy to address the needs of disadvantaged people, our results suggest that from an electoral point of view, targeting within universalism may be a more appealing welfare strategy.

This paper details one of the very few studies to examine preferences for means-tested welfare provision in a comparative context. In addition, one of the contextual variables used in the analysis – the proportion of means-tested social benefits out of the total expenditure on social benefits – is unique to this study.

This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of Baitul Maal wat Tamwil (BMT) in reducing poverty.

The case study approach on BMT MMU Sidogiri (located at East Java Province) is taken. Two important and dominating products of BMT MMU Sidogiri (i.e. ba’i bithaman ‘ajil (BBA) and mudarabah) are examined carefully on how much they have helped the customers in reducing their poverty. The paper goes beyond data measurement using descriptive statistics, paired t-test and some poverty measurement indexes such as headcount index; poverty gap; Sen index; and Foster, Greer and Thorbecke Index to investigate the effectiveness of the BMT in reducing poverty.

This paper reveals that BMT financing is effective in reducing poverty. Most of respondents can increase their income after receiving BMT financing. Products of BMT, especially BBA and mudarabah, to empower the poor in various productive businesses have been able to reduce the extent and severity of poverty. This paper also discloses some interesting and important findings related with how BMT’s work, so that it can contribute more to the knowledge enrichment, as well as the development of BMTs, in general, in realising their mission.

The establishment of the so-called BMT in the form of an Islamic microfinance is intended initially to effectively help the poor. At present, there are around 3,874 BMTs operating around the country. Although the BMTs have been existing since more than ten years, no research has been conducted to examine their effectiveness in alleviating the poverty. This study in aimed at fulfilling this important gap.