Written by a team of internationally respected experts, this book explores the conditions under which social policy, defined as the public pursuit of secure welfare, operates in the poorer regions of the world. Social policy in advanced capitalist countries operates through state intervention to compensate for the inadequate welfare outcomes of the labour market. Such welfare regimes cannot easily be reproduced in poorer regions of the world where states suffer problems of governance and labour markets are imperfect and partial. Other welfare regimes therefore prevail involving non-state actors such as landlords, moneylenders and patrons. This book seeks to develop a conceptual framework for understanding different types of welfare regime in a range of countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa and makes an important contribution to the literature by breaking away from the traditional focus on Europe and North America.

Abstract. We present a different approach to appraising welfare regimes, stressing different dimensions, variables and techniques to those used by Esping‐Andersen in his path‐breaking work entitled The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. First, instead of focusing on social rights, we construct an alternative path to identifying welfare regimes starting from the welfare mix. Second, we incorporate active labour market policies (ALMP) as a key variable of the welfare mix. Third, we use hierarchical and k‐means cluster analysis to identify welfare regimes in the data. Fourth, we compare regimes over time. Nevertheless, despite these different approaches, we conclude, like Esping‐Andersen, that there are three clusters or worlds of welfare capitalism. We also find that the clustering of welfare regimes was sharper in the mid‐1990s as compared to the mid‐1980s, but that comparing welfare regimes in the 1980s with the 1990s indicates strong path‐dependence. Faced with high and persistent levels of unemployment in the 1990s, OECD countries have adopted policies, including ALMP, which reinforce their welfare mix.

This paper provides an overview of the recent extension of social protection in sub-Saharan Africa. It identifies two main 'models' of social protection in the region: the Southern Africa and Middle Africa models. It then assesses the contrasting policy processes behind these models and examines the major challenges they face as regards financing, institutional capacity and political support. It concludes that, for an effective institutional framework for social protection to evolve in sub-Saharan African countries, the present focus on the technical design of social protection programmes needs to be accompanied by analyses that contribute to also 'getting the politics right'

The theory and practice of social protection in developing countries has advanced at a rapid pace over the last decade or so. There is a growing consensus around the view that social protection constitutes an effective response to poverty and vulnerability in developing countries, and an essential component of economic and social development strategies. This paper argues that the rise of social protection constitutes a response to global trends, but with considerable regional diversity. It examines the factors determining the future course of social protection and identifies urgent research needs.

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