New WB and ODI publications on the link between public works programmes and social protection.

The World Bank and the Overseas Development Institute are hosting a joint book launch on March 6th to celebrate the publication of two new volumes:

• the World Bank's Public works as a safety net: design, evidence and implementation by Kalanidhi Subbarao, Carlo del Ninno, Colin Andrews and Claudia Rodriguez-Alas;
• and Public works and social protection in Sub-Saharan Africa: do public works work for the poor?, by Dr Anna McCord, published jointly by Juta Press and the United Nations University.

The World Bank volume reviews the conceptual underpinnings and operational elements of public works programmes around the world.It provides an overview of the state of public works programmes and how they function as part of wider social protection systems.

The ODI publication critically explores the concept of the Public Works Programme (PWP) and interrogates its social protection performance in the context of chronic poverty.