Public works and social protection in sub-Saharan Africa : do public works work for the poor? / Anna Gabriele McCord.

"Published in 2012 in South Africa by UCT Press, an imprint of Juta and Company Ltd."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [196]-215) and index.

Setting the scene : sub-Saharan African public works in context. The history of PWPs -- Public works programming in sub-Saharan Africa. Defining public works. The PWP typology -- The typology of PWPs in sub-Saharan Africa -- A schema of PWP objectives -- Poverty alleviation. The social protection function of public works programmes. Definition of social protection. Evaluating the performance of public works programmes. Current evaluation approaches. The impact of the wage. The transfer and stabilisation benefits of the wage -- The duration of the wage transfer -- The adequacy of the wage -- Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) PWP case study. The three vectors : assets. The value of assets created -- Social infrastructure -- The importance of asset production in different types of PWP -- Public works and social protection in sub-Saharan Africa. The three vectors : skills. -- Conceptual clarifications -- Are PWP an appropriate vehicle for skills development? -- Two South African case studies : context, methodology and analytical overview. The unemployment and social protection context -- Overview of the case study programmes. Assessing programme incidence. PWP access : targeting and rationing practices -- Incidence findings. Labour market findings. How to assess the labour market status of beneficiaries. The impact of programme participation on multi-dimensional aspects of poverty. Measuring the poverty impact -- Conclusion : re-evaluating the assumptions inherent in public works programmes. Problems with the current evidence base -- Why do PWPs remain so popular?