Social security represents an investment in a country's human infrastructure, which is no less important than its physical infrastructure. This book outlines basic concepts such as the social  protection floor and the social security staircase, analyses the  affordability of various approaches, and examines the results of  practices around the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The overall message is that such investment can benefit poorer countries as well as richer ones, and that even in times of tightened budgets and global economic crisis, the dividends are well worth the expenditure.

Social protection systems in Latin America have been transformed in the past two decades. Until the 1980s, those who were not covered by the social security arrangements available primarily in the urban formal sector received little public assistance beyond universal subsidies for some food or fuel purchases. Since the 1990s, the introduction of non-contributory social insurance programs (including "social pensions") and conditional cash transfers has substantially extended the coverage and improved the incidence of social assistance.
However, the organic growth of subsidized social assistance in parallel to the older social insurance system, financed largely out of taxes on formal sector employment, has led to a dual system that is neither properly equitable nor efficient. The twin challenges that now face social protection in Latin America are to better integrate those two halves of the system, and to develop programs that promote sustainable self-reliance, by moving from "safety nets" to "opportunity ropes."

The report Promoting Pro-Poor Growth - Social Protection , prepared by the DAC Network on Poverty Reduction (POVNET), shows that social protection programmes can be affordable, including in the poorest countries, when they are well designed and well implemented. Countries can start off small and expand coverage and benefits over time, on the basis of emerging evidence and expanding support. But social protection needs strong and long-term political will and commitment as well to deliver lasting benefits. Aid donors can help by committing to a long-term partnership with developing countries to provide the technical and financial support needed to underpin developing countries’ efforts.

"Combating poverty and social exclusion: A statistical portrait of the European Union 2010" presents a broad range of statistical concepts and indicators from social statistics. The publication explores poverty, social exclusion and the role of social protection across the 27 Member States, as well as providing information about candidate and EFTA countries.

In the last decade, social protection has emerged as a policy framework employed to address poverty and vulnerability in developing countries. This report has two main aims: to provide an overview of social protection, and to provide an assessment of its potential contribution to addressing poverty and vulnerability in developing countries.

Author: Armando Barrientos

Drawing on a wide range of data sources, this book constructs and analyses different indicators of child well-being across the OECD. These indicators cover six key areas: material well-being; housing and environment; education; health and safety; risk behaviours; and quality of school life. They show that no one OECD country performs well in all areas and that every OECD country can do more to improve children’s lives.

The important demographic changes in Europe are causing tangible effects, both economically and socially. Economically, there is an increase in public expenditure on account of the ageing population, on pensions and health costs. Added to the effects of the collapse of public revenues by the birth deficit, this expenditure may lead to the reduction / elimination of social benefits and finally the bankruptcy of the welfare state.

Rising public health care spending remains a problem in virtually all OECD and EU member countries. As a consequence, there is growing interest in policies that will ease this pressure through improved health system performance. This report examines selected policies that may help countries better achieve the goal of improved health system efficiency and thus better value for money.

This report indicates that new forms of collaboration between key stakeholders – individuals, financial institutions, healthcare providers, employers and governments – will be critical to finance the ongoing well-being of current and future generations in a sustainable manner. The World Economic Forum’s report takes an innovative approach to the analysis, describing three thought-provoking scenarios to 2030. The scenarios are designed to challenge current thinking, create new insights, facilitate the debate between key decision-makers and provide momentum for action.

The book has four specific objectives: (a) to discuss the role of retirement income transfers in the context of a strategy for expanding old-age income security and preventing poverty among the elderly; (b) to take stock of international experience with the design and implementation of these programmes; (c) to identify key policy issues that need to receive attention during the design and implementation phases; and (d) to offer some preliminary policy recommendations and propose next steps.

Le ralentissement de l’économie mondiale a accru la pauvreté et le chômage dans le monde. Cet ouvrage prend fait et cause pour le développement de systèmes globaux de sécurité sociale dans tous les pays, y compris les plus pauvres, afin d’éliminer les terribles conditions de la pauvreté, de mettre e mettre un terme au creusement des inégalités et d’encourager la croissance économique.

This is the first edition of Private Pensions Outlook, a new OECD publication that guides readers through the changing landscape of retirement income provision. This edition presents a special feature on the implications of the financial crisis for private pensions, as well as in-depth, international analyses of private pension arrangements across OECD and selected non-OECD countries. The publication focuses on the role of pension funds, and also provides evidence on public pension reserve funds which complement the financing of social security system.