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Social Protection for a Changing India : Main ReportIndia's surge in growth and rapid
 expansion in public spending in the past decade has created
 new possibilities for its social protection system. The
 growing importance of social protection (SP) is reflected in
 the Government of India (GoI) common minimum program and
 eleventh five year plan which commit to institutionalization
 of programs as legal rights (as in the case of public works,
 through the national rural employment guarantee act),
 continued up-scaling of interventions (e.g., social pensions
 and midday meals), and proposals to expand new types of SP
 interventions to the large unorganized sector (e.g., social
 security). The report draws on existing and new data
 sources,. including analysis of: (i) administrative data;
 (ii) several rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSS)
 data; (iii) a social protection survey (SPS) undertaken for
 this report in 2006 in rural areas of Orissa, Madhya
 Pradesh, and Karnataka; (iv) dedicated surveys on social
 pensions in Karnataka (KSPS) and Rajasthan (RSPS) in 2005
 and 2006 respectively; and (v) a living standards survey
 conducted in Jharkhand in 2005 (JLSS). In addition, the
 report incorporates a rich body of secondary sources on SP
 program performance and impact by national researchers and
 government agencies.
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The Elderly and Old Age Support in
 Rural China : Challenges and ProspectsAlthough average incomes in China have
 risen dramatically since the 1980s, concerns are increasing
 that the rural elderly have not benefited from growth to the
 same extent as younger people and the urban elderly.
 Concerns about welfare of the rural elderly combine spatial
 and demographic issues. Large gaps exist between conditions
 in coastal and interior regions and between conditions in
 urban and rural areas of the country. In addition to
 differences in income by geography, considerable differences
 exist across demographic groups in the level of coverage by
 safety nets, in the benefits received through the social
 welfare system, and in the risks of falling into poverty.
 This book aims to do two things: first, it provides detailed
 empirical analysis of the welfare and living conditions of
 the rural elderly since the early 1990s in the context of
 large-scale rural-to-urban migration, and second, it
 explores the evolution of the rural pension system in China
 over the past two decades and raises a number of issues on
 its current implementation and future directions. Although
 the two sections of the book are distinct in analytical
 terms, they are closely linked in policy terms: the first
 section demonstrates in several ways a rationale for greater
 public intervention in the welfare of the rural elderly, and
 the second documents the response of policy to date and
 options to consider for deepening the coverage and effects
 of the rural pension system over the longer term.
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Nepal's Investment Climate : Leveraging the Private Sector for Job Creation and GrowthThe objective of the Nepal Investment Climate Assessment (ICA) is to evaluate the investment climate in Nepal in all its dimensions and promote policies to strengthen the private sector. The investment climate is made up of many dimensions that shape the opportunities for investments, employment creation, and growth of private firms. Such dimensions include factor markets, product markets, infrastructure services, and the macroeconomic, legal, regulatory, and institutional framework. The report's key finding is that while there are some niche sectors growing and expanding employment in Nepal (including tourism and certain educational and other services), there are many constraints to the investment climate in Nepal that are hindering the development and growth of the private sector. In particular, political instability, poor infrastructure, poor labor relations, poor access to finance, and declining exports plague Nepal's private sector. To overcome many of these issues and move forward, many reforms are needed. Given the extent of the challenge, effective public-private dialogue is required so that the government and the private sector can work in partnership to address these constraints. The pervasiveness and impact of political instability in Nepal makes the investment climate in the country comparable more to Afghanistan than other countries in the region or the comparator countries used in the analysis. While this comparison is unflattering, it is true. Political instability has stifled growth and limited Nepal's ability to exploit its hydropower and tourism potential. Interestingly, many firms do not perceive access to land and finance as major obstacles. This could be a reflection of lack of dynamism: Nepalese firms are simply not planning to invest, expand, and grow in their unstable and unpredictable environment. The peace dividend is not difficult to measure. As the surveys show, ending civil unrest alone would give back to enterprises 44 working days a year. The effects on economic activity, investment, growth, and job creation could be potentially huge.