Widening the Net

After a decade of rapid economic growth, the world's leading developing countries still face the challenge of introducing social protections to their vulnerable populations. In China, the income gap between rural and urban households is the principal driver of social welfare policy, with potentially far-reaching political implications. Brazil’s efforts to extend the reach of its social safety net to poor and excluded populations have resulted in a dual social protection system, combining social insurance and social assistance. And India has increasingly turned to targeted assistance in its efforts to build a welfare state.