A good complement to the number of recipients of social benefits is the number of individuals belonging to population groups that are close to the target of social benefits. The database SOCR includes a number of series providing these reference populations. For example: old-age pensions are...

The OECD’s Social Benefit Recipients Database (SOCR) provides a unique source of comparable information on the number of people receiving cash benefits across countries. SOCR includes data for the main income replacement programmes in the unemployment, social assistance, disability and old-age...

The importance of having access to care options and being able to finance this has been laid bare through the experience of the COVID-19 health emergency. While most countries have public options for long-term care and health care, these are not always comprehensive and may not support the needs...

This paper argues that there is a need for competition agencies to become more active and effective advocates for the use of choice and competition in publicly funded healthcare markets. It suggests that the need for strong regulation will not shrink or disappear, as it might do in a utility,...