Extending social security in developing countries: a review of three main strategies

The article discusses strategies to extend social security cover-age in developing and newly industrialised countries. The three major options are to extend social insurance coverage , to rely on mutuals or micro-insurance or to bring in social assistance in one form or another. Social insurance usually covers small population segments. Insiders are seldom willing to extend coverage to poorer groups, as poorer groups are usually higher-risk groups. Micro-insurance and mutual societies work pri-marily among people with similar risk profiles. Discretionary social assistance targets poorer groups, but is open to patronage and misuse. However, some social assistance designs are less open to misuse than others. Demogrants, i.e. benefits given to people in vulnerable social categories, are easy to administer and difficult to misuse. Whether or not a developing country provides such benefits can be considered an indicator of the willingness of the ruling elite to alleviate hardship among 'unproductive' population groups.     

A framework for comparing social protection in developing and developed countries: The example of child benefits

Abstract   The article outlines a conceptual and theoretical framework for improved comparative analysis of publicly provided social protection in developing countries, drawing on the research tradition of the study of longstanding welfare democracies. An important element of the proposed institutional approach is the establishment of comparable qualitative and quantitative indicators for social protection. The empirical example of child benefits indicates that differences between developed and developing countries should not be exaggerated, and that the prevalence of child benefits in sub-Saharan African and Latin American countries today resembles the inter-war period (1919-1938) situation in developed regions.     

Gender issues in social security policy of developing countries: Lessons from the Kerala experience

This paper is based on the premise that labour market conditions are critical in shaping access to social security benefits. Women's entitlement to long-term social security is in many respects different from that of men on account of the assumptions which pervade the system about gender roles, labour market conditions, and outcomes. The Indian state of Kerala has made great strides in formulating various schemes for workers in the informal sector, but gender concerns in social security are in want of attention in the light of demographic pressures, fiscal constraints and changes in the global economy.     

从全球生态危机看发达国家与发展中国家的合作

生态危机的全球性迫使各国认识到跨国合作的必要性 ,各国追求自身利益的强烈冲动与国际社会的根本特征决定了这种合作关系自始至终与其对立面———冲突交织在一起 ,合作是在冲突中实现的。国家间的能力差异对国际合作具有特别重要的意义 ,发达国家与发展中国家的合作关系是全球生态领域合作的焦点。伴随着冲突的合作关系表现在道德的价值取向、经济问题、政治问题和公平问题四个方面。     

The employment effects of trade in manufactured products between developed and developing countries

This paper examines prospective changes in employment associated with the expected expansion of trade in manufactured goods between the developed and developing countries over the next decade. It appears that, on balance, the developed countries would experience net employment creation as a result of this trade, and there would be only relatively small decline of employment in their import-substituting industries. In turn, the developing countries would gain employment through increased export that would further contribute to their economic growth, with favorable indirect effects on employment.     

The redistributive effect of social transfer programmes and taxes: A decomposition across countries

The aim of this article is to offer detailed information of the redistributive impact of social transfer programmes and taxes in 28 Member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, employing data that have been computed from the Luxembourg Income Study's micro‐level database. We find that welfare states on average reduce inequality by 35 per cent. Social benefits have a much stronger redistributive impact than taxes. As far as social programmes are concerned, public pensions account for the largest reduction in income inequality, although the pattern is diverse across countries. To a lesser extent, social assistance, disability and family benefits also contribute to smaller income disparities.     

A simple test on the convergence of social security transfer in OECD countries

The growing trend toward globalization not only has aggravated international competition but also has increased interdependence among countries, inducing the need for harmonization and convergence of socioeconomic policies across countries. This paper examines whether the convergence phenomenon holds for social security transfers as a percentage of GDP in OECD countries, applying the traditional methodology of σ- and β-convergence.     

Economic support in old age: The role of social insurance in developing countries

The origins of social insurance in industrialized and developing countries are discussed. In recent years social insurance programmes in many developing countries have come under sharp attack. Major issues have been raised with regard to how these programmes are operating, especially with regard to problems of inadequate coverage, adequacy and equity, shortfalls in financing, and administrative mismanagement. In addition to discussing these problem areas, the article reviews the major social insurance options: the family, social assistance, employer sponsored pensions, and savings plans encouraged or operated by governments.     

China: developmentalism and social security

China began its social security reform when the market-oriented economy was first promoted in the late 1970s. Initiatives have been taken to replace the employer-based labour insurance model with a largely social insurance model. However, it is a mistake to argue that China is pursuing a neo-liberal agenda in its social initiatives. Instead, the state has played a major role in the process. Based on a developmental analysis, it is argued that the direction of change is generally encouraging. The emerging social insurance programme has the following advantages: it widens coverage, facilitates economic development, seeks a minimum entitlement, fosters social integration, and enhances individual participation and responsibility. The creation of an economically and socially viable social insurance programme will support the economic development of the country in the twenty-first century.     

Biometric technology and beneficiary rights in social protection programmes

Over the past decade, the use of biometric technology in the identification and authentication of beneficiaries of social protection programmes has increased. However, there has been little debate among governments, donors and civil society organizations on the potential implications of this technology in relation to the inclusion of the most vulnerable sectors of the population, as well as for the protection of privacy and personal data. This article aims to fill that gap. First, the article reviews how biometric technology is used in various social protection programmes around the world. Then, it examines the potential risks and challenges of deploying biometric technology in social protection programmes. Finally, it assesses the requirements necessary to ensure that biometric technology is implemented in compliance with international law standards. The focus is on developing countries, where the use of biometric technology in identification systems has increased considerably in recent years. Among the key conclusions of the article is that the adoption of biometric technology, often encouraged by donors, needs to be preceded by democratic debate where all alternatives are discussed. The adoption of this technology should be accompanied by a context‐specific assessment of risks, and the adoption of an appropriate legal and institutional framework to protect rights and ensure that the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the population are not excluded.     

扩大社会保障覆盖面实现社会公平

党的十六届五中全会对社会主义和谐社会建设做出了全面部署,强调“要以扩大就业、完善社会保障体系、理顺分配关系、发展社会事业为着力点,妥善处理不同利益群体关系,认真解决人民群众最关心、最直接、最现实的利益问题。”其中,完善社会保障体系作为一个重要的着力点,而在社会保障制度建设中,目前群众要求最为强烈的是扩大社会保障覆盖面,将更多的社会成员特别是中低收入者纳入社会保障体系。多年以来,尽管我们做了很多努力,但社会保障的覆盖面还是太窄,多数城镇职工未能享有社会保险,而广大农民则基本上被排斥在社会保障体系之外。这种情…     

Estimating potential output in developing countries

This paper describes a parsimonious methodology employed by the World Bank for estimating potential output using the production function method. Despite the necessity of strong assumptions, sensitivity analysis suggests the reported estimates for 159 countries are robust to alternative specifications. Moreover, for the majority of countries estimated output gaps are positively correlated with inflation acceleration and negatively correlated with current account balances. An examination of estimated output gaps and post-crisis economic developments in several middle-income countries suggest that the methods can play a useful role in guiding macroeconomic policy.