ARMANDO BARRIENTOS is Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK. DAVID HULME is Professor of Development Studies at the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK.

• Foreword by Frances Stewart PART I. INTRODUCTION Social Protection for the Poor and Poorest: An Introduction; A.Barrientos& D.Hulme PART TWO: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS FOR SOCIAL PROTECTIONS: RISKS, NEEDS AND RIGHTS Risks, Needs and Rights: Compatible or Contradictory Bases for Social Protection?; L.Munro Insurance for the Poor?; S.Dercon, T. Bold& C. Calvo Transformative Social Protection: The Currency of Social Justice; S.Deveureux& R.Sabates-Wheeler Poverty Traps and Natural Disasters in Ethiopia and Honduras; M.Carter, P. Little, T. Mogues& W. Negatu PART THREE: WHAT POLICIES WORK FOR THE POOREST? Indonesia's Social Protection during and after the Crisis; S.Sumarto, A. Suryahadi& S. Bazzi HIV/AIDS, Social Protection and Chronic Poverty; R.Slater The Social Protection Function of Short-term Public Works Programmes in the Context of Chronic Poverty; A.McCord The Emergence and Popularity of Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America; T.Britto Assisting the Poorest in Bangladesh: Learning from BRAC's 'Targeting the Ultra Poor Programme'; D.Hulme& K.Moore Protecting the Poorest with Cash Transfers in Low Income Countries; B.Schubert PART FOUR: THE POLITICS AND FINANCING OF SOCIAL PROTECTION Process Deficits in the Provision of Social Protection in Rural Maharashtra; S.Pellissery Conceptualising the Politics of Social Protection in Africa; S.Hickey Political Incumbency and Drought Relief in Africa; N. Munemo Can Low Income Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa Afford Basic Social Protection? First Results of a Modelling Exercise; C.Berendt Financing Social Protection; A.Barrientos PART FIVE: CONCLUSION Embedding Social Protection in the Developing World; A.Barrientos& D.Hulme