Whether as the result of fi nancial crisis (Thailand, Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia 1997; Russia and Ecuador 1998; Brazil 1999; Turkey 2001; and Argentina 2002), delayed systemic transformation (the countries of the Former Soviet Union) or domestic diffi culties (Zimbabwe 2001), a large number of countries have experienced macroeconomic crises in recent years. The precipitous falls in macroeconomic aggregates are refl ected in negative impacts on individuals — both as households’ incomes fall and poverty rises, and as public spending falls reducing available services for the poor (Ravallion 2002). An increasingly frequent response to macroeconomic crises and adjustments is the attempt to mitigate the worst consequences of these shocks through social protection programmes (Ferreira et al. 1999)1.