protection institutions” (World Bank 2015c, 16). The Bulgaria SCD, similarly, makes the connection between the exclusion of the Roma in labor market outcomes to their exclusion in education: only 14 percent of Roma in Bulgaria have completed secondary education, compared to 85 percent of the rest of the population. Further, the education gap starts early in life: only 38 percent of Roma children aged 3-5 are enrolled in preschool, less than half the 82 percent for non-Roma.

While SCDs address the domains along which identified groups are excluded, most stop short of showing the manner in which exclusion plays out. Manifestations of social exclusion include stereotyping, that often affects hiring decisions, perceptions, that exacerbate discrimination and stigma, which stymies traditionally excluded groups from attaining their full potential. In order to highlight such practices, analysis would have to include not just the presence or absence of opportunities, but also, whether the social structures allow or disallow groups excluded on account of their identity, to take up such opportunities. There are a few notable exceptions, however. The Myanmar SCD explicitly states how non-Buddhists and ethnic minorities have faced systematic discrimination including restrictions on family size, marriage, birth registration and mobility. The Bulgaria SCD, similarly, addresses the deepseated animosity of the majority towards the Roma.

Attention to perceptions and attitudes is an important part of understanding the channels through which social exclusion plays out. Such channels could well be overt and sometimes even institutionalized through discriminatory laws or policies, but often, they play out in more subtle ways, such as through social norms. Perceptions of both excluded groups and the groups that exclude are important because members of both groups act based on how they feel (World Bank 2013). For example, in Bulgaria, 36 percent of jobless working-age Roma say that they are not registered with employment offices because they “don’t believe it’s worth it,” compared to 23 percent of the jobless non-Roma. Sixteen percent of the Roma do not search for work because they “believe there is no chance of getting a job,” compared to 2 percent of the non-Roma. Feelings of discrimination and hopelessness affect labor market outcomes: only one in every four Roma of working age population in Bulgaria is employed compared to one in every two of ethnic Turks, and three in every four of the ethnic Bulgarians respectively. In Lesotho, similarly, where women have greater vulnerability to HIV, are economically dependent, and have lower social status, nearly half believe that women are not justified in refusing sex with their husband, even if they know that he has had sex with other women. These perceptions, by affecting women’s sexual decision-making, may partially explain why they are more vulnerable to HIV.

Why are Some Groups Excluded?

While most SCDs identify at least one group as being excluded and many analyze the manner and extent of exclusion, very few analyze _why_ some individuals and groups fare worse than others do. The Panama SCD is a notable exception as it traces the roots of exclusion of indigenous peoples to the appropriation of their lands by non-indigenous farmers, Colombian forces and resource extractive industries. It suggests that the exploitation of lands and natural resources by outsiders in the territories of indigenous peoples (IP) is driving social mobilization ( _Mesa Indigena_ ) in the country. The Myanmar SCD also traces the history of 22