Exclusion, cohesion and health international standards in the garment sector in Bangladesh, for example, has motivated demands for improved labour practices in other sectors. Im- proved compliance to increase competitiveness in the international market is an important strategy and may be a precursor to but not a substitute for sound national labour policy and enforced state regulations (52). International agencies, such as donors and United Nations agencies, play important roles in work- ing with different sectors to support adherence to legislation on international rights and to promote policies and actions that aim at reducing social ex- clusion. In addition, international agencies have a role of supporting the state in coordinating and monitoring the long-term strategy of the public and private-sectors, civil society and activities of other institutions and organizations that have the potential to address the processes contributing to social exclusion. Multidimensional policies and actions are necessary to address exclusion While financial poverty is an important contribu- tor to social exclusion in Bangladesh, cultural, po- litical and social factors also impact development of peoples’ capabilities and their access to society’s resources. The examples in the case studies made clear that policies and actions that address depri- vation and exclusion need to go beyond being ‘pro-poor’, beyond providing short-term financial incentives to address the multiple dimensions of exclusion and the related deficiencies in capa- bilities and resources that result in marginalization and deprivation. The contrast in terms of impact on women’s par- ticipation in society between the Female Secondary School Stipend Program (FSP) and employment in the ready-made garment (RMG) industry suggests that short-term financial incentives are inefficient means of creating social change compared to dem- onstrating a demand for enhanced capabilities. A consistent goal of the FSP has been to delay mar- riage and childbirth among girls and young women. The FSP provides short-term financial incentives to encourage parents to send unmarried daughters to school. However, after 14 years of implementation throughout rural Bangladesh, there is no evidence that the FSP is contributing to a delay in marriage or delayed fertility. Critics have charged that the FSP encourages parents to send daughters to school for the stipend rather than to increase the capabili- ties outside traditional roles of girls. 436 Johnston HB In contrast, by giving better opportunities to wom- en with higher levels of education, the RMG indus- try has been associated with motivating families to educate their daughters to increase their economic capabilities. In addition, participation in the RMG workforce has motivated delayed marriage and de- layed fertility for young female workers. This is not meant to belittle the challenges and hazards associa- ted with working in the RMG industry, rather to note the contrast of the natural experiment of the RMG industry to that of the FSP. The RMG industry capitalizes on the economic capabilities of young women, provides an obvious incentive for females to pursue education, delay marriage and childbirth, thereby altering the cultural and social conditions that prescribe early marriage and fertility. Viewing the FSP through the lens of social exclusion theory suggests that the programme insufficiently addresses cultural and social barriers that can make school participation difficult for adolescent girls and insufficiently enhances the capabilities of girls beyond bringing in a monthly stipend during the period in which they meet the conditions of FSP. The group-based microcredit programmes more specifically address dimensions of exclusion. Credit and skills development address economic resources and capabilities; participation in group meetings outside the household creates new social networks and increases women’s mobility, building social and cultural resources and capabilities. However, these programmes are not designed with the explicit intent of mitigating specific dimensions of exclu- sion and the programmes have not been formally evaluated in this way. Giving increased attention to the different dimensions of exclusion may yield the development of richer and more responsive policies and actions to address the specific dimen- sions of exclusion and facilitate more in-depth and informative analyses. More evidence is required Critically, the dearth of data on exclusion, exclu- sionary processes, and the link between exclusion- ary processes and health inequities needs to be rectified. This analysis makes clear the need for strengthened evidence that identifies the processes that contribute to exclusion and cohesion and that demonstrate the relationships between social exclusion and health equity. There is a need to de- velop measureable indicators for social, political, economic and cultural capabilities and resources; to measure changes in degrees of social exclusion associated with different actions and interventions; JHPN