Simone Cecchini

Can information and communications technology applications contribute to poverty reduction? Lessons from rural India

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can reduce poverty by improving poor peoples access to education, health, government and financial services. ICT can also help small farmers and artisans by connecting them to markets. It is clear that in rural India -as well as in much of the developing world- realization of this potential is not guaranteed. This paper outlines a simple model to explain why a digital divide may exist between rich and poor. Low-cost access to information infrastructure is a necessary prerequisite for the successful use of ICT by the poor, but it is not sufficient. The implementation of ICT projects needs to be performed by organizations and individuals who have the appropriate incentives to work with marginalized groups. Furthermore, grassroots intermediaries and the involvement of the community are identified as the key factors that foster local ownership and the availability of content and services that respond to the most pressing needs of the poor.

Electronic Government and the Rural Poor: The Case of Gyandoot

In the poor and drought-prone rural district of Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, India, Gyandoot has tried to make government services more accessible to villagers through information and communications technology (ICT) since January 2000. Two recent surveys of this e-government project allow us to evaluate whether the local population is benefiting. Main findings are that service satisfaction is quite high, but usage is low, and Gyandoot is not reaching the poorest people. We conclude that much of the potential benefits of e-government are not being realized. Lessons for ICT projects that intend to benefit the rural poor include the use of appropriate technology, implementation of the project by agents who have incentives to serve the poor, community participation and ownership, availability of pro-poor services, and campaigns to raise awareness.

Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights: Faraway, so Close?

Abstract The objective of this article is to identify some key dimensions for a human rights‐based approach (HRBA) in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) monitoring processes. We aim to highlight not only how this can bring human rights and the MDGs closer to each other, but also how it can contribute to better results in the achievement of the latter. Within this framework, the article describes how a HRBA could contribute to redressing the main weaknesses of the MDGs and gives an overview of good practices and challenges in incorporating a HRBA into the MDG monitoring processes in Latin American and Caribbean countries, with a particular focus on the preparation of MDG reports.

Tapping ICT to reduce poverty in rural India

The paper considers how information and communication technologies can enhance poor peoples opportunities by improving access to markets, health and education. It considers ICT projects for poverty reduction in rural India.

Social Protection Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Comparative View

This report pursues three complementary aims. Firstly, it presents the first generation of country case studies on social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, published in the ECLAC Project Documents collection; and it provides justifications for developing such systems. Secondly, it sets out a classificatory approach to social protection system in the region, which aims to provide a comparative basis for interpreting national cases. Lastly, using standardized data and case studies, it identifies major trends in the changes the region is undergoing in terms of social protection.

Rights and the life cycle: reordering social protection tools

A number of Latin American countries have made major changes to their social protection systems and to social policy generally in the early years of the twenty-first century, with differences attributable to their history and stage of development.

Consolidating social protection in Latin America: Main challenges

This book has analysed different elements of the recent debate on social protection in Latin America, distinguishing conceptual, historical, normative and social policy aspects and identifying four social protection approaches that have shaped policies and programmes in the region.

Towards a comprehensive social protection system

Previous chapters have discussed a number of issues relating to the development of social protection in Latin America, including the various conceptual approaches and frameworks that have shaped it in recent decades, existing proposals for consolidating broader access to social protection instruments and some of the main initiatives and policies that countries have designed and implemented in the area of social protection. This chapter explores the components, scope and prospects for building comprehensive social protection schemes in the region, identifying their role within the wider set of social policies. After presenting the social protection components guided by this approach, this chapter goes on to review some of the central tenets underpinning social protection management and implementation, bringing to light a number of challenges and unresolved issues.

Hacia un sistema integral de protección social

En los capitulos anteriores se han discutido una serie de aspectos vinculados al desarrollo de la proteccion social en America Latina, incluidos los diversos enfoques y marcos conceptuales que han guiado sus formulaciones a lo largo de las ultimas decadas, las propuestas existentes para consolidar un acceso mas amplio a sus instrumentos y algunas de las principales experiencias y politicas que los paises han disenado y puesto en marcha en materia de proteccion social. En este capitulo, se profundiza en los componentes, alcances y posibilidades existentes para construir esquemas integrales de proteccion social en la region, identificando su rol en el conjunto de las politicas sociales. Una vez presentados los componentes de una proteccion social guiada por este enfoque, se revisaran algunos ejes fundamentales en torno a su gestion e implementacion, a partir de los cuales es posible identificar diversos desafios y aspectos pendientes.

La protección social y los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales

El piso normativo para los requerimientos de proteccion que los Estados deben cumplir esta definido por el sistema internacional de los derechos humanos y, en particular, por el conjunto de derechos economicos, sociales y culturales. Estos fueron incluidos inicialmente en la Declaracion Universal de Derechos Humanos (Naciones Unidas, 1948), antecedente directo del Pacto Internacional de Derechos Economicos, Sociales y Culturales adoptado por las Naciones Unidas en 1966. En el caso de America Latina y el Caribe, el sistema interamericano de la Organizacion de los Estados Americanos (OEA) suscribio en 1969 la Convencion Americana sobre Derechos Humanos y en 1988 el Protocolo de San Salvador. Tambien cabe destacar el Convenio 102 de 1952 sobre seguridad social de la Organizacion Internacional del Trabajo (OIT), ratificado hasta el momento por ocho paises de la region. Estos instrumentos sustentan la importancia de considerar los derechos como elementos centrales en el enfoque que debe tener la proteccion social en la region.