Testing old theories in new surroundings: The timing of first social security laws in Africa

This article examines the timing of the introduction of four major social security programmes — work accident insurance, sickness benefits, pensions, and family allowances — in 43 African countries. Further, it explores whether legislative structure, dominant religion or the colonial past of the country is of importance when we control for year of independence, prosperity, degree of democracy, government stability, industrialization and the size and ethnic homogeneity of the population. On the basis of Cox hazard rate modelling it is concluded that industrialized, homogeneous and rather populous countries that were under French rule tend to be pioneers in African social security legislation.     

Changing the development policy paradigm: Investing in Social security floor for all

The Paper briefly reviews social security coverage that the world has achieved and summarizes economic and social benefits of a national social security system. It then goes on to argue that social security systems are a necessary part of the institutional framework of any effective market economy, creating—among other things—societal cohesion that is needed for long-term economic development. It makes the case that the introduction of basic social protection in developing countries is both a desirable and an affordable investment in their social and economic development. It estimates the global minimum investment cost to provide basic social security and finally suggests international instruments to introduce a global social security floor.     

Social security and dependence

There is increasing concern that social security creates dependence. The contingencies of most interest are unemployment, lone parenthood and disability. The relationships between each of these contingencies and the level of social security benefits are analysed cross-nationally; in no case is there a systematic relationship. The paper then examines other factors that determine dependence on social security.     

论土地保障与社会保障的性质和关系

当前我国农村缺乏完善的现代社会保障服务体系,以及土地天然地提供了一种综合性保障的事实,被一些学者解读为土地具有社会保障功能。他们认为,在当前农村政策政策背景下可以借助土地经营权流转等方式构建农村社会保障体系,这暗含着土地实际肩负着农村的部分社会保障职能和农民进入社会保障门槛需要以放弃土地权利为代价两个观点。土地的天然保障功能与社会保障之间具有异质性,土地流转带来的保障作用与社会保障之间同样具有异质性。应当尽量排除土地因素在农村社会保障建设中的作用,在“去土地化”的路向上似乎更有助于农村社会保障事业的发展。     

Complementary retirement pensions: Towards a definition of terms

One of the main difficulties in carrying out an international comparison of retirement systems is the task of establishing clear common terminology. Like other social institutions, welfare systems differ from country to country; confusion can arise when a given word is applied to different institutional structures because such usage can mask important differences. On the basis of a comparison of complementary pension plans in the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, this paper discusses and clarifies the meanings of some key terms. The distinction between "private" and "public" retirement plans, commonly used by Americans, can be erroneously applied to other systems, particularly that of France, where complementary retirement plans resemble American "private" plans in some respects and "public" plans in others. The terms "occupational" and "supplementary", often used in Europe, can be used interchangeably; however, each one stresses different aspects of complementary plans. The terms "funding" and "pay-as-you-go" and their equivalents in French (répartition and capitalisation) have somewhat different meanings and quite different connotations. Finally, the author discusses the concept of "social insurance", as applied to both social security and complementary pension plans, to end with some reflections on the definition of what constitutes a retirement plan.     

The "Papy-boom": A historical opportunity for French public hospitals

Abstract   The French public hospital system represents a major element in overall social security expenditure and ongoing reforms are having a significant impact on its financial equilibrium and the internal management of its activities. Nonetheless, the system has been unable to achieve the productivity objectives imposed on it. Significantly, staffing costs account for three quarters of its expenditure, yet most employees are civil servants who cannot be laid off easily. The only possibility for meaningful change in the size of its workforce may lie in the demographic revolution now affecting the French population, which will see half the present staff of public hospitals reaching retirement age within the next decade.     

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS): What's in it for Social Security?

This article explores the implications of the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for social security. It examines what bearing the GATS has, or will have, on social security policy and administration and what the effects might be. These questions are explored through a review of legal, political and policy issues relating to the status of social security within the GATS and the consequences of applying the Agreement's provisions to social security. The discussion distinguishes between the supply of social security services on the one hand and access to and use of social security services on the other hand. It also distinguishes between substantive questions regarding the scope of the GATS and procedural issues regarding governments' scheduling practices. I argue that although the GATS does not yet have a direct material bearing on social security policy and provision, it may do so in the future. However, it is too early to ascertain what the nature or magnitude of the effects might be. More generally, the discussion highlights the difficulties of securing multilateral cooperation among countries with different levels of "development", strategic interests and priorities, and social security systems.     

我国社会保障管理信息系统构建探析

社会保障即是保障公民基本生存权利的重要体现,也是保障社会经济稳定发展的重要因素,而使用信息技术对社会保障工作进行管理升级必将是未来社会保障管理工作的发展趋势。解决目前社会保障管理系统建设中存在的体制、技术、人才等问题,就需要适应政策变化,扩大系统覆盖面;建设统一的信息管理系统,实现数据充分集中;加大资金、技术、人才投入,确保信息安全;体现“以人为本”,向服务型系统转变。     

Book notes

Beau, Pascal; Beau, Roger, Lexique de la protection sociale .
Berthoud, Richard, The examination of social security .
Berthoud, Richard, Selective social security: An analysis of the Government's Plan .
Charpy, Christian; de Jouvenal, Hugues, Protection sociale: Trois scénarios contrastés à l'horizon 2000 .
European Institute for Social Security, Annuaire EISS 1982–3: Part I: La sécurité sociale et la crise économique .
Kervasdoué, Jean de; Kimberly, John R.; and Rodwin, Victor G., The end of an illusion .
Lynes, Tony, Paying for pensions: The French experience .
Salais, Robert; Baverez, Nicolas; and Reynaud, Bénédicte, L'invention du chômage .
Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund, Die Arbeit am Bildschirm .     

Developmentalism in Korea: A Useful Tool for Explaining the Role of Social Security in the Reduction of Poverty and Inequality

It is conventional wisdom that universalism is more effective than selectivism in addressing the problems of poverty and inequality. In providing income security for the elderly, retirement pensions calculated on the principle of social insurance represent universalism and social assistance benefits on the basis of means-test selectivism. Korea has both a contributory pension scheme and social assistance program for the elderly. The social assistance began in 1961. The contributory scheme, the National Pension, started belatedly in 1988 and its coverage expanded to the entire population in 1999. We can, therefore, expect that the social security system, especially the universal pension scheme based on social insurance, has some positive impacts on the reduction of poverty and inequality. This paper, however, raises doubt as to the conventional wisdom and thus reviews the developmental process of the Korean social security system for the aged. It was found that the dominant ideological controversy revolved, not around universalism versus selectivism, but around the option between developmentalism and other strategies. Our empirical analysis showed that the public pension had little impact on the reduction of poverty and inequality, particularly in comparison with advanced welfare states. This is not surprising at all, since poverty eradication and redistribution were not major objectives of the Korean social security system. The controversy between universalism and selectivism was relatively unfamiliar in the policy process of the Korean social security system. Even though the redistributive effect is getting larger as the National Pension system becomes mature, the developmentalist model has been proved to be a more useful tool for explaining the limited role of Korean social security.     

完善社区社会保障体系的思路和措施

随着我国社会主义市场经济体制的建立,单位体制互解,单位保障逐渐"衰落",企业的社会福利功能在弱化,社区成为社会整合的主要载体,社区社会保障成为保障公民福利的一项重要体系。将社区作为实施社会保障的依托,应树立以人为本社区建设的理念,完善社区管理体制,探索社区社会保障资金的方式和渠道等。     

Institutional Developments in the Russian System of Social Security: Organizational and Interorganizational Aspects

In the course of the present transition in Russian society, a new system of social security has been developed. The previous Soviet system has been replaced by a system of four more or less independent social funds, covering the main branches of social security. These funds are supposed to be run according to insurance principles and to be financed by contributions, mainly from employers. Given the difficult economic and social situation of the country, there have been increasing demands for effectiveness in the management of the different funds and also in the management of the whole social security system. The results of this study show that the social funds have developed different organizational structures with different degrees of centralization and decentralization. Only one of the funds seems to be relatively well-functioning and effective, while the others have experienced more or less serious problems in fulfilling their main tasks and functions. The most serious problems, however, seem to stem from the structure of the social security system as a whole, which is perceived as fragmented and badly coordinated. In order to improve the coordination of the system, there have been proposals to merge two or more funds into a unified social security organization. This strategy is open to question, however, since it would increase the bureaucracy of the system. There are other ways in which the structure of the social security system might be advanced. Such developments should be based on an analysis of the system from the perspective of the individual client or patient.     

残疾人特殊性及其需求分析

近年来,我国残疾人社会保障事业取得了很大的成绩,残疾人社会保障和社会福利水平不断提高,但是我国残疾人社会保障还滞后于整个社会保障事业,残疾人的基本生活状况与健全人的生活水平还存在着较大差距,残疾人社会保障事业还滞后于经济社会的发展。本文认为残疾人社会保障不同于一般意义上的社会保障,只有在充分认识到残疾人特殊性及其需求的基础上,才能探索和建构出适宜残疾人的社会保障模式。     

China’s social security response to COVID-19: Wider lessons learnt for social security’s contribution to social cohesion and inclusive economic development

China has adopted an array of special social security measures in response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, to mitigate the downside social and economic impacts caused by the pandemic. Measures include the reduction, exemption and deferral of social security contributions by employers, the extension of benefits coverage for employees, and the provision of more accessible e-services by social insurance agencies. The article points out that a preliminary assessment of those measures would suggest that they have played a key role in supporting social cohesion and in stabilizing the economy. In a critical manner, the article compares the measures adopted in China with those of other countries, and identifies how China could learn from international practice and experience. Finally, and based on recent Chinese experience, the article presents proposals that seek to improve the longer-term contribution made by the Chinese social security system to realize the goals of social cohesion and inclusive economic development. As set out in China’s Social Insurance Law of 2010, the social security system should not only support a fair sharing of benefits of development, but also promote social harmony and stability.     

Income security for older people: An Asian perspective

In Asia and the Pacific, as in other developing regions, the continuing growth of the aged population has a great impact on social security programmes generally and, in particular, on the income security of older persons. In societies where traditional support systems are breaking up, their need for social security protection is increasingly important. A system of social security for the elderly population exists in most countries of the region. Many are provident fund schemes, which are basically saving schemes, and their coverage is low. Where social insurance pension schemes exist, the levels of benefits provided are also low. The focus for future development, therefore, lies in converting the savings schemes into multitiered pension schemes, extending their coverage and raising the level of benefits. In this context the critical question concerns the role of the State and the type of schemes used. The need for public pension schemes is great in Asia and the Pacific, where the level of poverty is comparatively high. Building pension schemes, whether public or private, involves a set of issues that need to be addressed. This article considers the systems currently in place and the challenges and limitations faced when considering the future development of social security in this area.     

论政府社会保障政策能力建设

我国目前的社会保障形势非常严峻,为此必须大力加强政府社会保障政策能力建设。政府社会保障政策能力是指政府科学制定社会保障政策和执行社会保障政策的能力。为了切实提高政府社会保障政策能力,我们必须完善政府的社会保障政策问题发现机制、社会保障政策民主参与机制、社会保障政策执行机制、社会保障政策评估机制、社会保障政策决策者责任追究机制和社会保障政策调整机制,等等。     

Extending social security protection to the entire population: Problems and issues

Rural, agricultural and informal-sector workers have often beendenied the social security protection to which other economic sectors of populations have had access, and this is particularly true in the case of developing countries. There are also other important groups which have few or no rights to social security protection, such as family, domestic and casual workers. The lack of coverage is disturbing, as witnessed by the frequency with which this topic appears on social security meeting agendas worldwide, and particularly so since these sectors, as a whole form a very large proportion of the populations of many countries. Certainly there are difficulties of a practical nature which inhibit extension of coverage to these groups. So what can social security systems do? What kind of coverage is best suited to the needs of these groups? This article, based on papers presented at an ISSA Regional Meeting for Asia and the Pacific held in Manila in 1992, analyses the issues and makes some suggestions for a strategy relating to extension of coverage.     

Social policy and family relations: Choices for change

This article examines the relationship between social security policies and the trend toward greater equality in family life. The declining birth rate and increasing labour-force participation of women, among other factors, have altered the traditional division of labour in family life on which many social security policies were originally predicated. As the traditional guidelines dissolve, two schools of feminist thought suggest alternative ways that husbands and wives should divide their labour to fulfil domestic responsibilities. These perspectives on gender equality in family life are analysed in terms of their implications for social security policies. The merits of these approaches to policy are assessed in light of their impact on social choice, independence, self-realization, and family stability.     

Issues in Complementary Health Insurance in Belgium

This article attempts to assess the increasing role of complementary social insurance in healthcare in Belgium. As different players attempt to fill in the lacunae of the statutory social security scheme, the demarcation of their sphere of action and of their mutual relationship is becoming problematic. It is therefore interesting to see the evolution of solidarity and selectivity. The analysis of both categories and products in complementary health insurance indicates the limitations and the bottlenecks in coming years for the social security scheme on the one hand and complementary social insurance on the other.     

浅析社会保障覆盖面扩大面临的压力

我国现行社会保障社会化程度低、覆盖面窄的特点已经成为我国现今社会保障体制面临的最重要的问题之一。如何解决好扩大社会保障覆盖面的问题关系到社会主义市场经济的良性运行和社会公平的体现。但扩大社会保障覆盖面需要面临众多困难,任重而道远。