Social protection systems under scrutiny: New IOE policy review

Just published policy review examining the state of the world’s social protection floors.

IOE’s newly released Sustainable social protection systems policy review 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 IOE members with the 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.

IOE Secretary-General Roberto Suarez Santos explains the urgency of making these systems sustainable: “For IOE, social protection sustainability can only be achieved by promoting economic growth and job creation. It requires a whole-of-society approach. As part of the private sector’s commitment, this report strives to call attention to the problem and its impact on business growth and people, along with spotlighting some innovative sustainable funding mechanisms.”

The IOE policy review concludes with good practices from several countries that have developed innovative financing schemes - Indonesia, Costa Rica, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa and Belgium.