Social Finance and Public Policy

“All national and international policies and measures, in particular those of an economic and financial character, should be …accepted only in so far as they may be held to promote and not to hinder the achievement of … social justice … It is a responsibility of the International Labour Organization to examine and consider all international economic and financial policies and measures in the light of this fundamental objective” -Constitution of the ILO and the Philadelphia Declaration

Summary

The linkages between social finance and public policy are explored in various ways by the Social Finance Programme with a view to provide technical support and advice for more inclusive finance to policy makers and actors of the financial market.

This includes examples such as:

- research on cost efficiency of microfinance as a public policy intervention;

- formulation of guidelines on setting up and managing national youth funds, with an African perspective; and

- exploring the impact of microcredit on job creation and quality in the European context and fostering public-private partnerships.