[Excerpt] The Asian Development Bank (ADB) report The Social Protection Index: Assessing Results for Asia and the Pacific (2013) documents the role of social assistance in social protection systems across the region. This brief examines the six major subcomponents of social assistance and draws out policy lessons based on comprehensive data for 35 countries in the region. The report uses the Social Protection Index (SPI) as the focal point for its analysis. The SPI is the ratio of total social protection expenditures to the total number of intended beneficiaries. These “expenditures per potential beneficiary” are then compared to a regional poverty line as a reference point (ADB 2012c).