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This policy brief analyzes two public rural insurance programs in Brazil: the Agricultural Activity Guarantee Program (PROAGRO) and the Rural Insurance Premium Subsidy Program (PSR). The authors find that PROAGRO's design, where the government bears the risk while financial institutions operate the program, creates severe information asymmetries and moral hazard, leading to higher claim rates and increasing costs for the National Treasury. In contrast, the PSR, where private insurers bear the risk, shows greater efficiency and growth, though it struggles to reach small producers. The report recommends migrating resources from PROAGRO to the PSR, improving the training of claims adjusters, and adopting parametric insurance to reduce fraud and monitoring costs.

This report presents the results of Malawi's first National Crime Victimisation Survey, conducted between May and July 2003. The survey of 6,861 respondents reveals that while violent crime is relatively uncommon, property crimes—specifically crop and livestock theft—are prevalent and closely linked to food shortages and poverty, termed 'crimes of need'. The document also examines public perceptions of safety, the performance of the police and courts, and the role of community-based security groups.

This report section details the results of the Malawi National Crime Victimisation Survey regarding public perceptions of the police and the courts. Despite significant barriers to physical access and low visibility of uniformed officers, the majority of respondents expressed high levels of trust and satisfaction with both institutions. The report notes that these perceptions may be influenced by the political transition in Malawi and the identity of the survey enumerators.

This report section details public perceptions of crime prevention and safety in Malawi, based on the Malawi National Crime Victimisation Survey. It highlights a strong public preference for punitive law enforcement, the prevalence of community-based protection groups, high levels of social cohesion, and low awareness of formal initiatives like Community Police Forums and victim support services.

The Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) for Malawi outlines a geospatial strategy to achieve universal electricity access by 2030. The plan identifies a need to grow from 750,000 current household connections to 5.5 million by 2030, utilizing a mix of grid densification, grid expansion, mini-grids, and solar home systems (SHS). The report emphasizes the need for lower-cost rural construction standards and international competitive bidding to reduce the significant financing requirements for the national grid.