Publications and tools
2010
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Employment and social security protection in the new demographic context
01 January 2010
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Social Protection Floor Initiative: SPF Country Brief Cape Verde
01 January 2010
Information on UN support for the Social Protection Floor in Cape Verde
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Concept note - High-level special event on South-South dialogue on the SPF-I - 2 Feb 2010
01 January 2010
2009
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Non-contributory pensions in Brazil: Their impact on poverty reduction
06 November 2009
Despite labour market informality, Brazil has reached a remarkable benefit coverage among the elderly over the last decades. This coverage extension is, to a large extent, due to two basic pension programmes financed by tax revenues and some social security contributions. The rural scheme, with nearly seven million beneficiaries, comprises old-age, widow and invalidity pensions, as well as maternity and labour accident benefits, all equivalent to the official minimum wage level. People are entitled to their benefits, if they belong to the rural family economy and if they can document length-of-service in agriculture, fisheries, or similar activity instead of length-ofcontribution, thus breaking away from the Bismarckian contributive link.
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Namibia's Universal Pension Scheme: Trends and challenges
06 November 2009
Namibia faces a number of challenges in reforming and providing for a comprehensive, affordable and sustainable pension system. At present, only about 6 per cent of the population is over 60. The World Bank estimates that this ratio is expected to grow to about 21 per cent over the next few decades. Consequently, the old-age dependency ratio is expected to rise from about 11 to 36 per cent. Existing pension arrangements are not well suited to meet the challenges of an ageing population. The Government is currently addressing these challenges by considering a process of policy formulation, which would take into account the full range of social protection needs, and balances those needs against national resources. Their aim is to create a balance in national policy, between public and social security schemes and individual and private provision, which ensures widespread coverage and achieves the desired level of income redistribution. In future, the main focus of the Namibian Government with regard to social pensions will be on redistribution.
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Labour markets and social security coverage. The Latin American experience.
06 November 2009
Since coverage for social security in Latin America has typically been closely linked to formal sector employment, it has excluded the self-employed and those employed in irregular and temporary work. This paper looks at the extent to which social security reforms have been able to encourage and sustain a higher and wider level of coverage and takes the view that in this regard, little has been changed by the reforms. The paper concludes that the expansion of coverage is governed by the structure of the labour market and by the scope for redistribution based on the social and political characteristics of the state.
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Gender equality and the extension of social protecion
06 November 2009
Gender is rarely used as a differentiating lens by which to understand more fully the various experiences and ramifications of the social protection agenda. This paper takes as its starting point the overwhelming evidence that women occupy a disadvantaged status in relation to work opportunities when compared to men from equivalent social groups, and that they are also far more likely to be excluded from the sphere of social protection strategies.
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Extending social security: Challenges for Cape Verde
06 November 2009
Cape Verde gained its independence from Portugal in 1975. Initially, it was governed as a one-party state and the economy was largely controlled by the public sector. Social policy followed the welfare state model and in spite of limited natural resources a comprehensive range of social benefits was provided by the State. In 1991, the country underwent radical political change in response to an economic recession. The first multi-party elections were held and economic reform followed political change. The private sector tripled in size so that by 1997 there were over 6,000 private enterprises employing 30,000 workers.
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Extending social security. Policies for developing countries
06 November 2009
This paper reviews the main trends and policy issues with regard to the extension of social security in developing countries. It begins by defining the concept of social security, and it examines its linkages with the development process and its impact on poverty reduction. It then reviews the four main social security programmes, i.e. health insurance, pensions, unemployment protection and tax-based social benefits. It shows that in many middle-income countries, statutory social insurance can form the basis for the extension process.
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Extending social security coverage in Africa
06 November 2009
This paper traces the development of social security in the continent and the links with colonial systems and concepts. It also identifies the elements which influence the development of social security and it highlights some country experiences which illustrate some level of success.
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Extending health protection in Tanzania. Networking between health financing mechanisms.
06 November 2009
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Extending health insurance in Senegal: options for statutory schemes and mutual organisations
06 November 2009
Social security in Senegal covers less than 20 per cent of the population in terms of both personal and derived rights. The list of persons excluded also includes temporary workers and day labourers as well as workers in the informal sector. Furthermore, it has transpired from studies conducted that the absence of protection is caused by problems of equity between protected workers and those who are not protected, which are related to the yield management strategies of undertakings related to international competition. A consequent challenge is that of finding relevant solutions that are balanced and that take account of the interests of all of the parties involved in labour relations.
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Anti-poverty programmes in Costa Rica. The non-contributory pension scheme
06 November 2009
This study provides an overview of the main problems facing the Costa Rican Government's poverty reduction programmes, with particular emphasis on the management of resources. In particular, it provides a detailed analysis of a specific programme, the Non-Contributory Scheme for Basic Pensions –also known as the Non-Contributory Pension Scheme–(the NCP Scheme, the Programme) which is administered by the Social Insurance Fund of Costa Rica (CCSS).
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Achieving health insurance for all. Lessons from the Republic of Korea
06 November 2009
Republic of Korea [Kwon, 2002] which has gradually extended compulsory health insurance to all workers over a period of 12 years (from 1977 to 1989): wage earners of large corporations with more than 500 workers were first to be covered, government employees and teachers came next, followed gradually by workers in increasingly small enterprises. Extension to the self-employed began through pilot programmes before being generalized.
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Tanzania Mainland. Social protection expenditure and performance review and social budget
18 February 2009
This report takes into account demographic and macroeconomic information specific to mainland Tanzania and makes projections from a baseline year based on the two types of social protection schemes - contributory and non-contributory.
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Zambia. Social protection expenditure and performance review and social budget
12 February 2009
This report, a review of the output of the first year's work of the project, examines the objective of extending social protection coverage in the country.
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How can we maintain pension levels in pay-as-you-go schemes? Maintaining pension levels in PAYG schemes in ageing societies: Rules versus discretion
01 January 2009
This article discusses on sustainability of pension systems and its adequacy.
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Optimal financing and self-adjusting mechanisms for sustainable retirement systems. The social stabilisation of pensions in times of crises and beyond: A critical review of three decades of pension reform and their outcomes
01 January 2009
This brief paper first recapitulates the main pension financing options and reviews the theoretical pros and cons of pension funding seeking for a logical synthesis. In the second part of the paper, a broad review of the historical experience of pension reforms since the 1980’s is presented as well as in the context of the recent financial and economic crisis. A proposal is then presented to enable the social and financial stabilizations of public pension reforms with a view to guarantee pension levels in times of crisis and beyond. The paper ends with an outline of the main principles of a pragmatic ILO pension policy stance. The present paper focuses primarily on contributory public pension arrangements.
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Responding to the crisis: Building a "social floor"
01 January 2009
in "World of Work" the magazine of the ILO, n° 67.
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Report to the Governing Body. Tripartite meeting of experts on strategies for the extension of social security coverage
01 January 2009
TMESSC/2009