No abstract

In low-income countries where unemployment is a regular phenomenon, policies ought to be geared toward raising the income of the working poor who generally reside in rural areas. This article focuses on two national employment programs (NEPs) aimed toward employing the rural poor who are excluded from the mainstream activities (e.g., agriculture) in India and Bangladesh. It provides an assessment of the NEPs performance in challenging rural poverty through offering employment generation activities. In view of India's long and rich experience in directing social provisions to the rural poor, the article argues that government interventions cannot suffice to alleviate rural poverty unless they are complemented by other forms of legal and civil support.

No abstract

The article attempts to explain the underlying rationale for consideration of remittances as a potential source of Innovative Development Finance (IDF). Remittance is considered as IDF in the face of declining flow of external resources, mainly foreign aid, in Bangladesh. The sources of remittance are depicted in relation to the type of workers remitting earnings back to Bangladesh and also the different destination countries. The concluding remarks of the article are preceded with a new idea on how to mobilize such private flows as development finance, through the public–private partnership (PPP) model.