Social Protection in Africa and Asia: Challenges and Innovations

This is panel deals with recent changes (both challenges and innovations) in social protection and Africa and Asia. Welfare state type interventions in Africa and Asia during the last decade or so have seen rapid expansion and transformation. While some of these changes are rooted in market oriented (“Neoliberal”) thinking , other ones are not. Some of the challenges have been confronted with innovative ideas, several of which have been implemented (albeit not necessarily at scale). These and related issues will be addressed in the panel.