First published in 1948, the International Social Security Review is the principal international quarterly publication in the field of social security.
The extension of social protection to all has become a central policy objective, both nationally and internationally. A considerable number of middle- and low-income countries have undertaken substantial efforts to extend social protection, while the international community reaffirmed its commitment to the extension of social protection through the adoption of the ILO Recommendation concerning National Floors of Social Protection, No. 202 (2012). This article reviews the legal provisions and the implementation of the Indian Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), legislated in 2005, and does so in the light of the more recent provisions of ILO Recommendation No. 202. Since its introduction ten years ago, MGNREGA has provided a source of income to rural workers, increased wage rates, achieved high female participation rates and created durable assets. India’s local governance bodies, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), have been empowered and involved in the processes of planning and monitoring. However, despite successes, there have been considerable shortcomings in implementation. This article highlights two central themes: first, the innovative policy framework of the Act, which brings together rights-based entitlements, demand-driven employment, and citizen-centred monitoring. Second, it assesses the accessibility and adequacy of benefits in the implementation of MGNREGA. We conclude that MGNREGA offers potential for South-South learning, both in terms of policy-design and implementation.
The rapid rise in unemployment since 2008 caused by the global financial crisis has created renewed interest in the effects of well-designed unemployment benefit systems on the speed at which labour markets recover and job creation resumes. On the basis of a newly-created database on labour market flows, this article makes use of a micro-founded macroeconomic model to estimate different effects of active and passive labour market spending on employment growth and the state of public finances. It demonstrates, in particular, that for the average G20 country, spending on unemployment benefits yields employment gains both in the short term and long term that are superior to those observed for active labour market policies. Moreover, rather than tightening their budgets prematurely, G20 countries would have fared much better in accepting further deterioration in public finances stemming from higher spending on social transfers in order to stimulate faster employment growth, which would have led to a more rapid recovery in the state of public finances as well.
Nigeria has a predominantly youthful population and limited job opportunities in the formal labour market, which makes the search for formal employment difficult and can be conducive to the growth of exploitative working conditions. As one response to address the vulnerability of Nigerian workers, the Employee's Compensation Act was passed into law in December 2010. Of note, the Act includes provisions for compensation for mental health injuries, or “mental stress”, suffered in the course of employment. The article examines the strengths and weaknesses of the provisions, in particular the premise for mental health injury claims made in the Act. The wider policy implications of the Act as regards the development of compensation for mental health injuries in sub‐Saharan Africa are discussed and suggestions for the future review of the Act offered.
This article analyses the risk of disability facing workers who contribute to the Argentinian Integrated Social Security System (Sistema Integrado Previsional Argentino— SIPA). Using administrative records as our source of data for the period 2000‐2006, the results indicate that 1.46 workers per 1,000 became disabled annually during that period. The risk of disability rates were higher for men than for women, but increased with age for both sexes. The risk of disability rates have also been broken down by pathology and social security scheme, taking the effects of age and sex into account. To conclude, international comparisons are presented.