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The purpose of this paper is to provide information on how to transform and strengthen pluralistic agricultural extension and advisory systems in moving toward the broader goal of increasing farm income and improving rural livelihoods. The focus of this book is primarily on the technical knowledge, management skills, and information services that small-scale farm households will need to improve their livelihoods in the rapidly changing global economy. In addition, the book will also include information on how extension should help all types of farmers in dealing with escalating natural resource problems, including climate change. The primary focus of this paper will be a comparative analysis of different extension strategies, organizational models, institutional innovations, and resource constraints and how an extension system might be transformed and strengthened through specific policy and organizational changes as well as needed investments. This paper is organized into nine chapters. These chapters follow an institution building strategy used by many donors and governments as they seek to improve their extension system. The diagram in Figure one outlines these basic planning, implementation, and evaluation procedures that will be considered. The sections outlined below will provide a brief overview of the different chapters included in this paper.

Firms are increasingly facing their own limitations in today's complex and demanding environment. The need for cooperation is evident in an environment characterized by uncertainty, complexity and rapid technological progress. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular are faced by a dilemma. On the one hand SMEs feel the urge to cooperate with others in order to acquire knowledge and other competencies; on the other hand they often face difficulties in finding partners and often they lack the knowledge base to be able to absorb the required knowledge. This dilemma clearly points to a need for understanding their environment, and brokers in particular, in order to deal effectively with the complex environment. Brokers, or intermediaries, are regarded as people who connect disconnected parties and facilitate knowledge flows in the local innovation system. Since brokers are becoming more and more important the need arises to provide SMEs with insight into the role of brokers in the network. The main question of this dissertation is: Which factors contribute to the capacity of main brokers in a SME network? This dissertation investigates their network environment, their inter-firm relations and intrinsic characteristics that facilitate networking at an individual level. The focus of this study is on the SME network of design and high-tech companies in Southeast Netherland. The fields ascribe to the research since their activities involve complex knowledge processes which in turn benefit highly of optimal knowledge creation and exchange. Design is seen as increasingly important in product development and there is an increase in efforts to establish co-operations between design and high-tech organizations. The design sector is a dynamic but highly fragmented industry. However, high-tech organizations (i.e. original equipment manufacturers, first, second and third tier suppliers) in the region seem to be highly interdependent. By this study we aim to gain a better understanding of efficiency across these particular fields. To study the network environment, inter-firm relations and intrinsic characteristics of brokers, we have conducted quantitative and qualitative research. A questionnaire was used to map the most important work relations between people who are active in the fields of design and high-tech industries. Respondents were asked to mention the names and organizations of at most ten Dutch business partners who had an important (qualitative) influence on their performance over the last five year. In order to take into account the full richness of relationships in the network the respondent had to identify who was important to them in what way. Everybody who was listed in the response also received an invitation to fill in the survey. Data collection took place in several waves. This snowball technique is developed to identify hidden members and relation patterns. Social network analysis is used to draw the actual network and to identify the brokers. The results in Chapter two and three are based on the main component of this network which includes 440 names and 584 relations mentioned by 93 respondents. Finally, in order to investigate what brokers actually do an empirical multiple case study is conducted. The information regarding the actual network across design and high-tech industries is used to select 12 brokers for semi-structured interviews. A qualitative comparative analysis of the results has provided a more general picture of how brokers span structural holes between various social groups. Question 1 This dissertation searches to answer five subquestion underlying the main research question. The first of these questions addresses connectivity and efficiency of the SME network across design and high-tech industries. These characteristics are likely to be different for networks of various industries. The growing importance of networks requires that SMEs thoroughly understand its characteristics, so they can use this knowledge to their own advantage. The first question of this research is: 1) What are the structural network characteristics of the SME network, in particular at network and subgroup level? Chapter two investigates if knowledge is transferred in an efficient way, if there are partnership concentrations and who is involved in co-operations. The concept of 'small worlds' is used to investigate knowledge diffusion in the network and consequently judge overall network efficiency. Proximity to others is important in order to manage the complex processes. However entrepreneurs or SMEs do not have the resources to manage a large network. A few well positioned stakeholders can be dealt with. A small world consists of a relatively small number of intermediaries which are relative closely positioned to people in the environment and which probably have stable reputations and various backgrounds. Knowing more about small worlds in this network is therefore highly interesting for science and valuable to the region. The actual network can be classified as one in which a small world is present. The short paths between people indicates the presence of efficient knowledge flows, the high clustering of efficient knowledge exploitation. Visualization of the results shows a single core group in the network, indicating that the two industries are not distinctly separated. It is found that people of the non-profit as well as science sector are overrepresented in the core of the field. Still, this part of the study describes the core-group of people only to a certain extent. Chapter three and four explore who has significant brokerage capacity and the concept of brokerage. Question 2a and 2b In order to investigate brokers they have to be identified first. The second question is: 2a) Can brokers be identified within the SME network? 2b) What types of brokers can be detected within the SME network Chapter three highlights the personal networks of members across design and high-tech industries and investigates the brokerage roles they fulfill. The concept of brokerage roles perceives brokerage behavior as the facilitation of information flows whether or not a direct reward is involved. A person in a network can fulfill several roles depending on his interests. The study of brokerage roles enables to identify who has significant brokerage capacity in the network, but also enables to describe what types of brokers are observed. Our empirical results show that there are persons with significant brokerage capacity in the actual network. Furthermore significant values with regard to gatekeepers, representatives and liaison roles are found. Question 3 In addition to identifying main brokers, Chapter three investigates whether specific characteristics are associated with these brokers. Studying characteristics provides clear insights into how third parties contribute to the transfer and development of knowledge. Question three is: 3) What are characteristics of brokers in the SME network? Whether or not people emerge as brokers seems to depend on the characteristics of people and the context in which they work. Chapter three highlights individual's affiliation, kind of partners and kind of information exchanged in the network, with controls for gender, education and years in branch as sources of brokerage capacity influence. Empirical results show that people with high brokerage capacity are found in the nonprofit and science sector and have a long track record in their branch. Furthermore a wide variety of information is discussed with brokers; practical support in the form of valuable contacts and innovation-related information, but also finance, marketing and operational information. Question 4 The last part of the study complements the research regarding characteristics of brokers by taking an in-depth look at what brokers actually do. This leads to the fourth question of this study: 4. How is brokerage enacted in the SME network? How brokers actually seize network opportunities can be investigated by studying their strategic goals, strategic actions and strategic behavior. Empirical results in Chapter four show that specific strategic goals, activities and behavior can indeed be associated with having high brokerage capacity. The main brokers have a tertius iungens orientation; they strive to interconnect others. It is not in their interest to keep parties, passively or actively, separated for their own personal benefit. They seem not to neglect their personal aims in favor of others. It is just that more can be accomplished together. Furthermore, brokers are mainly involved in knowledge exploring activities, i.e. articulation of needs and requirements, information gathering, connecting partners, setting up projects in order to generate and combine information, and facilitating contract negotiations. Finaly brokers work according to the logic of effectuation. They prefer to focus on current means and they transform these means into co-created goals with others. They consider it less important to focus on setting clear goals in advance and carefully plan and execute their bridging actions to accomplish these goals. At a detailed level, there are differences among main brokers regarding (the combination of) strategic goals, activities and behavior. It indicates that there are different kind of types among main brokers. The answering of the various subquestions enables us to draw a more detailed picture of how brokers span structural holes. People with the highest brokerage capacity are found in the non-profit and science sector. However, the resemblance between these brokers and others is high in general. Brokers discuss a variety of information with others and they have a long track record in their branch. Brokers in general focus on the same strategic goals, activities and behavior. The results implicate that the brokers operate as architects and lead operators of the network. Brokers in this field are less involved in care-taking activities; maintaining and enhancing the existing network. In Chapter 4 it is shown that the sector, especially the job context, influences strategy preferences only at sub-level. Theoretical implications The study is important from an academic perspective because it addresses the voids in research about brokers at the individual level who (consciously) position themselves between heterogeneous actors in networks; people who differ in industry backgrounds and skills. Our results are based on a network of both formal (business) as well as informal (personal) oriented relations at the individual level, while most relationships in the existing literature are based on formal relationships only and usually studied at firm level. The study in general provides more insights into the concept of brokerage regarding SME networks in different fields. In particular it highlights how third parties in general contribute to the transfer and development of knowledge. Chapter two contributes to empirical research concerning structural aspects of a network as a whole and in particular on network structures that span sectors by taking an inter-sectoral approach. Furthermore network theory regarding small worlds is enhanced because our insights contributes to the still infant field that studies the efficiency of partnerships in SME networks. Chapter generates knowledge regarding brokers in general. The main contribution of this part of the study is, in contrast to most other work than our own, that it is quantitative and that it focuses on brokers identified in an actual network (based on both suppliers and users of the knowledge infrastructure). The research contributes to social network theory by taking a look at empirical data in order to generate a better understanding of the specific brokerage concepts first. One can argue that a grounded theory perspective is taken by trying to show how people handle information problems. Chapter four addresses the lack of empirical research regarding the range of brokers and their practices in detail. Chapter four enhances the understanding of social network theory by integrating theories based on the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship regarding brokerage. To be able to develop an individual-level understanding of brokers other theories besides network theory need to be studied. Cross theory studies creates a more holistic view regarding brokerage at the individual level. Such research was not undertaken before. In addition, highlighting individual strategic dimensions separately as well as in combination will also contribute to an extended picture of how intermediaries contribute to the transfer and development of knowledge. By empirically highlighting brokerage in general, brokers of the actual network can be compared to others in other industry networks and thus can be valued. In general, the research contributes to theory on mediation processes, alliances, social capital, network dynamics, SMEs and innovation. Practical Implications The study contributes to the efficiency of knowledge creation and exchange in dynamic industries, especially across sectors. It contributes to the design and high-tech industries in particular. The research is the first attempt to actually construct the design and high-tech network in a social network way. No such data was available before in the Netherlands. Chapter two shows that increases of efforts of various parties to establish co-operations between the two industries seem to work. The triple helix between companies, governmental institutions and science organizations is well present in this network. In policy terms these are interesting findings. Despite the positive results, policy makers may reflect on these findings in terms of improving their interventions in the economic structure of the region even more. Results of Chapter two and three imply that SMEs should get involved in projects in the non-profit or science sector. Chapter three also shows that SMEs or even non-profit organizations whose brokerage capacity is not in line with their ambitions should invest in connections with branch experienced people with a broad knowledge base. From a non-profit consultant point of view these findings are also interesting. They often have difficulties in proving their successes. Sometimes merely mentioning contact information leads to a successful match. Sometimes brokerage takes much time and effort and still the involved parties are dissatisfied. Moreover the effectiveness of non-profit organizations, like branch associations, is subject to discussion in the Netherlands. This research shows that the intervention of non-profit consultants (eventually) is of value to companies. Traditional supply-side innovation policies seem to be insufficient to meet the challenges posed in promoting competitiveness. At the European Union level interest is focused on public procurement as a means to spur innovation. Measurement at individual level gives a profound picture of actual contributions of government expenditures. It is now possible to review policy from the bottom up. Chapter four shows that brokers are involved in exploration of an opportunity together with others, but generally are not involved in exploitation of an opportunity; the building of efficient business systems for full-scale operations. The focus on exploration of information indicates that the time spend on brokerage is important, but the results are not predictable. The non-profit and science sector should be aware that the efficiency of this work is not predictable and should take this awareness into account when timetables are being made. The profit sector should be aware that investments without secure profit are necessary. Brokerage is labor with delayed profits; at the moment of investment it is still unclear if payment will be possible and who will pay in the end. The results also imply that co-developing and coordinating projects concerned with commercialization of exploration outcomes over time, may be interesting to stimulate in this field. Furthermore since people of the non-profit and science sector can not operate in the competitive field, the research findings imply that an important role can be fulfilled by people in the profit sector. SMEs can strengthen their broker capacity by leaping in on projects related to the commercialization of outcomes.

In October 2010, the Government of Madhya Pradesh hosted, with World Bank technical advice, a Conference on higher education reform in the State. The Governor, the Chief Minister and the Minister of Higher Education all addressed the Conference and about 150 people attended the event. Subsequently, four regional Conclaves were organized, in which a total of more than 400 people participated, representing the leadership, administrators, faculty and students at universities and colleges across the State. This represents an impressive outreach to the sector stakeholders. This report is written on the cusp of the publication of the Government of India s 12th Five Year Plan. The indications are that the Government of India intends to push ahead with some significant reforms in the higher education sector. Of particular significance for this report is the emphasis, for the first time, on the need to support the improvement of State universities and colleges. The objective of this report is to provide policy makers in Madhya Pradesh with a menu of options for improving the equity, governance and financing of the higher education system in the State. Though the primary audience is policy makers, this report could serve as part of the continued dialogue with the higher education sector on the direction for reform.

Because agriculture is the economic backbone of most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Ethiopia, any meaningful sustainable development program in the continent must therefore be anchored in the sector. The concept for this study on agribusiness indicators was based on the vital role that agribusiness plays in agricultural development. The study focuses on agribusiness indicators (ABI) to identify and isolate the determining factors that lead private investors and other stakeholders to participate in agribusiness and to engage in discourse regarding its development. A more thorough empirical understanding of these determinants in turn can usefully inform the types of policy reforms that can promote agribusiness in Africa. In Ethiopia, the ABI team focused on the following success factors: a) access to critical factors of production of certified hybrid seeds, fertilizer, and mechanical input; b) enabling environment in terms of access of credit and transportation; and c) government expenditures on agriculture, and trade and regulatory policies that currently influence the agribusiness environment. The factors and indicators that the research team has included in this study are not exhaustive but rather are intended to serve as a pilot that could be scaled up to include more variables and countries. The findings of the study revealed the dominant role of the government in the seed and fertilizer markets. In the seed sub-sector, perennial shortages of both basic and certified seeds have greatly limited agricultural productivity in Ethiopia.

The principal purpose of this Global Program Review (GPR) is to learn lessons from the experience of the Global Fund and its interaction with the Bank in three areas: (a) the design and operation of large global partnership programs like the Global Fund that are financing country-level investments, (b) the engagement of the World Bank with these partnership programs, and (c) the evaluation of these programs. The Review has an intensive focus on the Bank's engagement with the Global Fund at the country level because of the potential for competition or collaboration between Global Fund-supported activities and the Bank's lending operations at the country level. Therefore, it also focuses on the design and operation of the Global Fund-supported activities at the country level. This review was initiated before the high-level independent review panel on fiduciary controls and oversight mechanisms of the Global Fund was commissioned in February 2011, and it was drafted before their final report, turning the page from emergency to sustainability, was issued on September 19, 2011. While the two studies are complementary and overlap to some extent, they were conducted independently of each other, for different audiences, and for different purposes.

Social funds represent a diverse universe of World Bank projects. Social funds are defined as agencies or programs that channel grants to communities for small scale development projects. Social funds typically finance some mixture of socio economic infrastructure (e.g. building or rehabilitating schools, health centers, water supply systems,), productive investments (e.g. micro?finance and income generating projects), social services (e.g. supporting nutrition campaigns, literacy programs, youth training, support to the elderly and disabled), and capacity building programs (e.g., training for community based organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and local governments). Social Fund programs are demand driven and aim to involve the active participation of several local actors, often using a community driven development approach. The main goal is usually to address the needs of poor and vulnerable communities while building social capital and empowerment at the local level. Social funds have several features that place them in the social protection (SP) realm. They typically target poor communities and/or vulnerable households. They finance social risk management interventions like temporary employment generation and expanded access to basic services by the poorest. Social funds are often employed to address immediate post?conflict needs and responses to natural disasters.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the World Bank Group's (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development [IBRD], International Development Association [IDA], and International Finance Corporation [IFC]) effectiveness in promoting growth in agricultural productivity in Azerbaijan, and to derive lessons that may be relevant for the World Bank Group's future engagement in Azerbaijani agriculture. The study covers the World Bank's entire agricultural lending and analytical portfolio, and the full period of the Bank's involvement with Azerbaijan's rural sector, commencing in 1997 when the first agricultural project was launched, to 2010. The report begins (section one) with an overview of agriculture's role in Azerbaijan's economy, the strategic need for increased agricultural growth and the technical, economic and policy constraints impeding growth. Section two reviews the Bank's lending program and analytical work, and considers the appropriate balance between lending and analytical activities. Section three assesses the Bank's impact on agricultural productivity, and section four considers how environmental management, social welfare and agricultural growth can be mutually complementary. Section five and six reviews cross-cutting aspects of the Bank's work in Azerbaijan's agriculture sector, including the Bank's effectiveness as an innovator and as a partner with the government in agricultural reform. And section seven assesses the impact of the Bank's own institutional structure and practices on its operational effectiveness promoting agricultural productivity. Concluding the report, Section 8 highlights the main areas where the Bank could have had greater impact on the country's agricultural productivity, and the lessons thereby emerging for the Bank's agricultural role in Azerbaijan in future years.

This policy note examines Thailand's programs for preventing poverty among the elderly, and suggests options for improving the effectiveness of these programs. The number of elderly people in Thailand will increase dramatically over the next 30 years, and the elderly already have a higher poverty rate than the population as a whole. Although Thailand currently has a total of eight pension programs, the majority of the benefits go to those who are not poor. In addition, unlike most countries, Thailand lacks a pension and provident fund supervision agency or a consolidated financial institution regulator, and does not appear to have a well-articulated national pension policy. This has led to the development of two major sets of pension programs, with one group sponsored by the ministry of labor and the social security office, and the other by the ministry of finance and the securities commission. These are also supplemented by an assortment of social assistance and community programs sponsored by the ministry of social development and human security and the ministry of interior. This policy note will examine the above issues in more detail and recommend policy options to simplify and coordinate the various pension and social assistance programs aimed at preventing poverty among the elderly, target more spending at the elderly poor, and assure long-term fiscal sustainability.

Emerging market economies have been experiencing high credit growth and high delinquency rates amongst retail banking customers in recent years. However, collections practices have not always kept pace with this rapid growth; many collectors still rely on relatively unstructured processes and weak oversight frameworks. It is therefore important to consider how fair and ethical treatment of borrowers can be better promoted in these markets. To this end, International Finance Corporation (IFC) commissioned a study in 2009 to examine the question of what guiding principles should financial institutions follow to raise their responsible and ethical standards in collections. IFC has subsequently commissioned Oliver Wyman to study existing global retail debt collections practices and recommend tangible actions that lenders and collectors can take to promote responsible and ethical standards in the field. The conclusions of this study are based on field research conducted by IFC and Oliver Wyman, industry experts analysis and opinion, and a survey of institutions in 20 emerging markets.

Global agriculture will face multiple challenges over the coming decades. It must produce more food to feed an increasingly affluent and growing world population that will demand a more diverse diet, contribute to overall development and poverty alleviation in many developing countries, confront increased competition for alternative uses of finite land and water resources, adapt to climate change, and contribute to preserving biodiversity and restoring fragile ecosystems. Climate change will bring higher average temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, and more frequent extreme events, multiplying the threats to sustainable food security. Addressing these challenges requires co-ordinated responses from the public and private sectors and civil society that will need to be adapted to the specific circumstances of different types of farmers in countries at all levels of development. The recommendations provided are broadly of two types: specific actions that can contribute in some way to improving productivity growth or sustainable resource use (whether building on existing initiatives or suggesting new activities) and more general proposals that may not be actionable as presented but that serve to highlight areas for priority attention. This report also invites G20 countries to engage in a medium, to long-term, analysis-based peer review of policies fostering sustainable productivity growth, which would identify specific constraints and opportunities, beginning with their own food and agriculture sectors. In addition to possible benefits to participating countries, a peer review process could contribute to the identification of best policies and best policy packages to achieve the widely held aim of sustainably improving productivity of the global food and agriculture system. While such an initiative is proposed to and for G20 countries, it could have much wider application to interested countries.

There are three main messages running throughout this report. First, Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) can impose large health, financial and economic costs on countries. This is particularly important in the Pacific where Government already finances, and provides, the bulk of health services. Second, risk factors in the Pacific are feeding a pipeline of potentially expensive to treat NCDs, including diabetes and heart disease, but governments are already fiscally constrained in how much more they can provide to the health system. Third, from public health and public finance perspective, many of the NCDs are avoidable, or their health and financial costs can at least be postponed, through good primary and secondary prevention. This will require a more coherent approach to health system financing, and health system operations more generally.

Papua has abundant natural and fiscal resources but also faces great development challenges. On the one hand, Papua currently has the largest per capita fiscal capacity after West Papua. Papua is rich in natural resources such as non-oil-and-gas minerals and forest products. On the other hand, development challenges in Papua are significant, including geography, terrain and demography. In general, Papua is still underdeveloped both socially and in economic terms compared to other regions in Indonesia. This underdevelopment is evident in most poverty, education, health, and infrastructure indicators. The economy and investment in Papua are dominated by the mining sector and, in a distant second place, the agricultural sector. Between 2004 and 2007, the mining sector accounted for more than 50 percent of the Papua's gross regional domestic product (GRDP). As a consequence, economic growth was determined by fluctuations in mineral commodity prices. The second largest sector is agriculture, which accounts for about 14-18 percent of GRDP. This sector absorbed the most workers in Papua province until 2008. Meanwhile, industry continues to lag and contributed less than 10 percent to GRDP. The PEA is a part of the PEACH (Public Expenditure Analysis and Capacity Harmonization) program. This program is an initiative of the Government of Papua to continuously improve its public financial management performance. Consequently, the analysis contained in this report addresses issues that are the region's main focus. Today, the Government of Papua is trying actively to achieve a 'New Papua' through implementing the following agenda: a) restructuring the local government; b) developing a prosperous Papua; c) developing a safe and peaceful Papua; and d) improving and accelerating the development of basic infrastructure and facilities.

Together with reductions in indirect taxes on food imports, cash for work programs were one of the main responses implemented by African governments following the food, fuel, and financial crisis of recent years. The main objective of those programs was to help the poor cope with the various shocks by increasing their net earnings through community-level work paid for under the programs. Yet it is unclear whether these cash for work programs indeed reached their intended beneficiaries and to what degree they generated other, potentially long-term beneficial impacts. This paper explores these issues in the context of Liberia and the performance of the Cash for Work Temporary Employment Program (CfWTEP) funded by the World Bank through an emergency crisis facility in response to the 2007/2008 food crisis. Both quantitative and qualitative data are presented, focusing on the operational and policy experiences emerging from program implementation. This paper analyzes the context that led to the creation and implementation of the CfWTEP in Liberia, the nature and administrative arrangements for the program, and its operational performance. The objective is to share the lessons learned from evaluation findings so that they can be useful for implementing similar programs in the future in Liberia itself or in other countries. Findings from the analysis highlight the possibilities of implementing public works program in low capacity, post conflict setting and the scope for using the program as a springboard towards a broader and more comprehensive social safety net.

The social protection (SP) portfolio includes a number of operations that are focused on improving service delivery across a broad range of social services. These service delivery goals are typically oriented to improving access to and quality of social services, usually as part of broader government reform and decentralization strategies. There is one case of this type of a project in an emergency context, ensuring access to basic services as an important complement to a safety net strategy. There are other complementarities between safety nets and service delivery projects, for example many safety net programs like Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) rely on the basic functioning of health and education services in the vicinity of program beneficiaries. The cohort includes 12 social service delivery-oriented SP projects representing about 15 percent of the cohort with an average of 2 operations approved per year in the period FY05-09. Despite the relatively lower frequency of this type of SP operation, there was broad regional representation with 5 in AFR, 4 in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) and one each in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), South Asia Region (SAR) and Europe and Central Asia (ECA). The group is evenly divided between policy-based and investment lending, with six policy-based Development Policy Loan (DPL) and Private Sector Committee (PSC) projects, four specific investment projects, one technical assistance, and one emergency recovery project. The prominence of DPLs underscores the policy type of objectives often found in these projects. The DPLs range from PRSCs and DPLs with broader country focus, like Madagascar and Niger, to DPLs more narrowly focused on social services, as is the case of a series of DPLs in Peru. Investment lending ranges from stabilization of social services in response to crisis in the West Bank and Gaza, to longer-term institutional objectives of decentralizing social service delivery and financing in Serbia and Ethiopia. In terms of institutional objectives, these projects most typically focus on sector institutions and decentralization strategies. There is less of a focus on the community level than on sub-national government roles and responsibilities.

Section one provides an economic update and assesses the challenges and near-term prospects facing the South African economy. In particular, it looks at the implications for South Africa of the resurgence of uncertainty in global financial markets, the surge in capital flows to safe-haven assets, the continuing Euro zone crisis, and signs of slowdown in some of the large emerging market economies. Section two focuses on inequality of opportunity in South Africa. For the first time, using innovative techniques, this section presents an analysis of the interlinked inequality of opportunities for children and for access to employment. Every society has a degree of inequality of outcomes that reflects differences in innate human capabilities, effort, education, experience, and skills. But a recognized goal for public policy is to ensure at least the equality of opportunity for every individual in a country. Many countries have used this new approach to develop targeted policies to promote such equality of opportunity and to monitor and evaluate the success of public programs.