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The government of Burkina Faso has a strong interest in strengthening its social safety nets provision to better support the country's poorest and most vulnerable households. It has demonstrated this commitment through past investments in social protection. Against a backdrop of limited public finances and budgetary constraints, it is critical to ensure that the resources allocated for social protection, and for social safety nets, are cost-effective. This report responds to a request by the Burkinabe Ministry of Finance to: enhance knowledge about the current state of social safety nets and assess their effectiveness in meeting the needs of the poor; and inform a debate on feasible reform and policy options to make social safety nets in Burkina Faso more effective and of greater impact and able to contribute to a consolidation of expenditure.

Social policy. --- Burkina Faso --- Social conditions.

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This note presents and analyzes the main design features of an inventory of non-publicly provided Active Labor Market Programs (ALMPs) in Arab-Mediterranean Countries (AMCs), with a specific focus on programs targeted at youth. Despite considerable international evidence, there is little systematic analysis on the effectiveness of ALMPs in AMCs as most programs and investments remain largely un-assessed. Since most AMCs lack unemployment insurance systems or other safety nets for the unemployed, ALMPs constitute a relevant instrument to address the consequences of labor market frictions, such as high unemployment and slow school-to-work transition. Programs from nine countries are included in the inventory: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen. Benchmarked against international best practices, assessment of the programs covered in the inventory reveals that the majority lack the necessary mix of design features that make programs effective. These findings call for urgent reforms in program design and delivery, especially given the sizeable financial investments in programs and the urgency to improve labor market outcomes among youth. This policy note constitutes a first step towards understanding and assessing provision of ALMPs in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and intends to provide policy makers and financiers with options for reform to enhance efficiency of existing programs and improve the design of future interventions. In addition to specific aspects of program design and implementation, stakeholder coordination needs to be strengthened and put at the forefront of ALMP reform.

Access to Information --- Accounting --- Curriculum --- Data Quality --- Decision Making --- Disadvantaged Groups --- Education --- Education For All --- Educational Attainment --- Employment Opportunities --- Employment Rates --- Employment Services --- Human Capital --- Innovation --- Job Creation --- Job Search Assistance --- Labor Markets --- Labor Policies --- Labor Regulation --- Layoffs --- Leadership --- Literacy --- Market Economy --- Occupations --- On-the-Job Training --- Participation Rates --- Poverty Impact Evaluation --- Poverty Reduction --- Primary Education --- Private Sector --- Productivity --- Schools --- Small Businesses --- Social Protections and Labor --- Teachers --- Unemployment --- Unskilled Workers --- Workers --- Working Hours