"This book is a timely and significant contribution to the field of social work as well as social policy and social development. The list of tables (see pp. xii. & xiii) provides a very useful factual information for readers on demographic, social, economic, health and employment statistics, among others, for all five case study countries. The reader, whether a researcher, an educator, a policy maker or an international agency administrator, will find this book very informative and useful in terms of understanding some effective and innovative ways to extend social security benefits to a large number of disadvantaged population of the world especially, those who are not covered under any formal sector. ... I consider this edition by W. V. Ginneken as a significant contribution to addressing the needs of the millions of suffering humanity. In that broader sense, the book definitely makes an immense contribution to the understanding of human rights and social development today."
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, USA, March 2001

The large majority of workers in developing countries are excluded from social security protection. This book examines this problem in Benin, China, El Salvador, India and the United Republic of Tanzania, and explores ways in which governments and organizations at national and local levels can work together to bring social security protection to all. Through a series of case studies, this volume reviews various approaches to the establishment of self-financed schemes, the extension of formal sector social insurance and the improvement of social assistance schemes, highlighting those that have been most successful.