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This paper examines the economic and social implications of the current system of residential electricity subsidies in Pakistan, and assesses the potential to improve the system's outcomes through alternative targeting and program design. The analysis is multi-disciplinary in nature, drawing on national household survey data, electric company data on household electricity consumption, a welfare database, and a specially commissioned qualitative assessment of household and service provider attitudes and experiences. Affordability is only one of many concerns among electricity users, with reliability of supply and customer service being arguably more important. The analysis finds that targeting could be improved considerably by allocating subsidies according to proxy-means test scores using an existing national proxy-means test database. Providing a flat credit rather than a price subsidy could also alleviate certain governance concerns. The paper concludes with some guidance on how to carry out these reforms based on international experience.

Electric Utilities --- Safety Nets --- Subsidies --- Targeting --- Welfare

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This paper uses household survey data collected in September-October 2009 on a nationally representative sample of 2,000 households in Bangladesh to examine the nature of shocks experienced by households over the preceding 12 months and the type of coping mechanisms that were adopted. The analysis finds that more than half the sample claimed to have faced a shock-economic, health, climatic, or asset related-over the previous year. Surprisingly, the non-poor face a larger share of these shocks compared with the poor. A closer look at this result shows that the non-poor report a significantly larger share of "asset-related" shocks, which is consistent with the fact that the poor have fewer assets to lose. Health-related shocks dominate and households appear to have coped with these shocks through savings and loans, help from friends, and depletion of assets. The results show that households, when faced with covariate shocks due to climatic reasons, are less able to cope. As would be expected, the poor are less able to cope with shocks compared with the non-poor; the poor are more likely to use coping mechanisms that could have negative welfare implications in the longer term, including the depletion of assets, reduction of essential consumption, and use of high-interest loans. Econometric analysis suggests that geographical location, socio-economic status, and access to microfinance all affect the ability to cope with shocks. Policy implications include the importance of developing safety nets that take into account the vulnerability to climate-related shocks and further developing the links between micro-finance and safety net programs.

Access to Finance --- Housing & Human Habitats --- Microfinance --- Poor --- Rural Poverty Reduction --- Safety nets --- Safety Nets and Transfers --- Shocks --- Small Area Estimation Poverty Mapping --- Social Protections and Labor --- Bangladesh

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This paper uses household survey data collected in September-October 2009 on a nationally representative sample of 2,000 households in Bangladesh to examine the nature of shocks experienced by households over the preceding 12 months and the type of coping mechanisms that were adopted. The analysis finds that more than half the sample claimed to have faced a shock-economic, health, climatic, or asset related-over the previous year. Surprisingly, the non-poor face a larger share of these shocks compared with the poor. A closer look at this result shows that the non-poor report a significantly larger share of "asset-related" shocks, which is consistent with the fact that the poor have fewer assets to lose. Health-related shocks dominate and households appear to have coped with these shocks through savings and loans, help from friends, and depletion of assets. The results show that households, when faced with covariate shocks due to climatic reasons, are less able to cope. As would be expected, the poor are less able to cope with shocks compared with the non-poor; the poor are more likely to use coping mechanisms that could have negative welfare implications in the longer term, including the depletion of assets, reduction of essential consumption, and use of high-interest loans. Econometric analysis suggests that geographical location, socio-economic status, and access to microfinance all affect the ability to cope with shocks. Policy implications include the importance of developing safety nets that take into account the vulnerability to climate-related shocks and further developing the links between micro-finance and safety net programs.

Access to Finance --- Housing & Human Habitats --- Microfinance --- Poor --- Rural Poverty Reduction --- Safety nets --- Safety Nets and Transfers --- Shocks --- Small Area Estimation Poverty Mapping --- Social Protections and Labor --- Bangladesh

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Adaptive social protection (ASP) helps to build the resilience of poor and vulnerable households to the impacts of large, covariate shocks, such as natural disasters, economic crises, pandemics, conflict, and forced displacement. Through the provision of transfers and services directly to these households, ASP supports their capacity to prepare for, cope with, and adapt to the shocks they face-before, during, and after these shocks occur. Over the long term, by supporting these three capacities, ASP can provide a pathway to a more resilient state for households that may otherwise lack the resources to move out of chronically vulnerable situations. Adaptive Social Protection: Building Resilience to Shocks outlines an organizing framework for the design and implementation of ASP, providing insights into the ways in which social protection systems can be made more capable of building household resilience. By way of its four building blocks-programs, information, finance, and institutional arrangements and partnerships-the framework highlights both the elements of existing social protection systems that are the cornerstones for building household resilience, as well as the additional investments that are central to enhancing their ability to generate these outcomes. In this report, the ASP framework and its building blocks have been elaborated primarily in relation to natural disasters and associated climate change. Nevertheless, many of the priorities identified within each building block are also pertinent to the design and implementation of ASP across other types of shocks, providing a foundation for a structured approach to the advancement of this rapidly evolving and complex agenda.

Adaptation --- Climate change --- Disaster --- Disaster risk finance --- Humanitarian --- Resilience --- Risk Management --- Safety nets --- Social protection --- Vulnerability

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World Bank Group President David Malpass remarked that early in the pandemic, the World Bank Group set out to use aggressive financial programming and leverage to increase commitments as rapidly as possible. The World Bank group used a number of powerful financial programming and leveraging techniques toward that goal. He highlighted recent capital increases, aggressive leveraging through bond issuance by IBRD, IDA and IFC, as well as MIGA reinsurance, and private sector mobilization, the combined WBG has been able to provide support to low- and middle-income countries over the last fifteen months. This financing is based on world-class knowledge work, and deep country relationships and know-how in our country teams present on the ground around the world. The World Bank Group strongly supports leveraging donor resources to maximize commitments, respond to emergencies, and prepare for crises. The World Bank Group provides grants to countries that are most in need, including fragile and small states and are investing heavily in social safety nets and digital cash transfer programs. Data sharing by both debtors and creditors enables debt reconciliation, a key for the debt restructuring process and he called on the G20 members to share their lending data and assist in the reconciliation exercise. The Group is actively implementing the Sustainable Development Finance Policy under IDA19 and will continue it in IDA20. The Group continues to strongly and actively support the implementation of the Common Framework, working closely with partners.

Debt Markets --- Debt Restructuring --- Finance and Financial Sector Development --- Governance --- International Governmental Organizations --- Social Safety Nets