The state of the world’s social protection floors.
A newly released policy review on Sustainable social protection systems by the Internal Organization of Employers shows how the economic disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting record-high government debt has transformed the recurring problems of funding national protection systems into a growing global economic crisis.
The policy review provides guidance and insights needed to advocate with governments for sustainable social protection floors that focus on promoting economic growth and job creation.
It offers an in-depth examination of the current state of global social protection benefits and spending and looks at the opportunities and limitations for increasing investment in them. It focuses on the structural challenge of pension schemes, the new challenges that digitisation and the gig economy present, and the current debates on how to address this issue.
Notably, the policy review highlights the hidden costs of the informal employment sector to the economic and social wellbeing of millions of workers and national safety nets. With some 60 per cent of the working population engaged in the informal sector, these individuals are vulnerable to widespread hardship as they function outside social protection floors.