Publication database

This case study focuses on L’Occitane’s involvement with the shea sector in Burkina Faso. The report explores the inclusive business model of L’Occitane, which includes the sourcing of shea butter from rural cooperatives and the provision of capacity development for the supplying communities. The study presents constraints and the solutions adopted by the company in Burkina Faso as well as its results, including economic, social and environmental impacts.

In this video interview, Nestlé’s Janet Voûte discusses the link between business growth and societal needs.

"Protecting the Poor: A microinsurance compendium, volume II", is a unique collection of recent practices and emerging ideas in microinsurance. It covers the numerous innovations that have emerged in recent years to meet the challenges of providing insurance to low-income people, from new products and delivery channels to consumer education tools, while examining institutional changes in regulations, providers and schemes. 
Offering a synthesis of new trends and practices in the growing market of microinsurance, this volume will be an invaluable resource for policy-makers and practitioners alike.

Research Paper #17 uses a laboratory experiment in Gujarat, India to assess consumers' relative valuations of savings versus insurance when planning for risky rainfall. This is done in an attempt to measure potential demand for a new type of financial product that combines savings and rainfall insurance, a Weather Insured Savings Account (WISA). Experiments reveal that many participants prefer pure insurance or pure savings to any mixture of the two, and that this preference is most pronounced among those who are more risk averse. The results suggest that the introduction of a WISA is unlikely to be successful and mixed saving, insurance products require further investigation.

Research Paper #11 evaluates the Health Care Fund for the Poor (HCFP), a scheme that was initiated in Vietnam in 2003. The paper shows that, participation in the HCFP program reduced the out-of-pocket health care expenditure of poor participants, increased the intensity with which the poor sought health care and regular check-ups in public health facilities. The paper also reveals that the HCFP helped reduce the incidence of catastrophic spending when dealing with adverse health events. The paper addresses the possible selection bias of insurance participation by means of fixed-effects models and an instrument variable method within fixed-effects.

Research Paper #12 looks into whether access to microinsurance makes any difference in reducing child labour. The research compares three groups of households: those with no microcredit or microinsurance, those with microcredit but no microinsurance and those households with both microinsurance and microcredit. The study finds that in the case of extremely poor households with health microinsurance and/or life microinsurance in combination with microcredit, microinsurance has a significant effect on reducing child labour. However, it is also found that credit-life insurance has no significant influence. The practical policy consideration stemming from this research is that providing microcredit to extremely poor households is not enough to negate the use of child labour, however microcredit in combination with certain types of microinsurance can have a positive impact on reducing child labour.

This report identifies three business benefits of empowering women and outlines the steps which should be taken by forward-thinking companies who want to maximise the opportunities for women in emerging markets.

This paper examines how the corporate sector can play a positive role in international development. It outlines two components needed to do so: (1) a regulatory and legal framework that facilitates corporate investment and activity, and (2) structures to harness corporations and corporate behaviour that provide the greatest development benefits and that marginalise the corporations and behaviour that damage development.

This document summarises four approaches for assessing social impact of companies: local livelihood assessment, poverty footprint/value chain mapping, economic contribution and tracking indicators. For each option, the purpose, strengths, constraints and relevant application of approach is discussed.

This paper discusses the insertion of small and medium-sized producers in national, regional and international high-value agriculture value chains. It identifies four major constraints that limit producers competitiveness, and it examines how project interventions, by overcoming these constraints, can improve competitiveness factors and ensure that producers’ inclusion in the value chain is based on a viable business case, rather than corporate social responsibility.