*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