This report lays out a strategy for Ukraine to make the transition to a market economy in the social sectors, taking into account the widespread system of benefits and the high spending on education and health inherited from the former Soviet Union. A central part of this strategy is the need to...

The issue of the retirement age is fundamentally linked to policies on social protection. It is an issue that inevitably causes debate and has proponents, men and women, who argue on both sides. During preparation of the gender equality law in Vietnam, several options were presented for changing...

This report, Argentina facing the challenge of ageing and social security, is structured in five parts that follow the introduction and summary of main findings. Part I presents a conceptual framework for decision makers charged with crafting policies for old age income security, and describes...

Social security is the single most important fiscal issue facing the Brazilian government today. This report summarizes the state, and potential policy implications, of the Brazilian Social security system. It also discusses policy recommendations for: social security and pensions, the national...

This note reviews the challenges in Mexico s social protection system and possible options to achieve an integral and effective system that is more than the sum of its parts. Mexico s social protection system includes contributory social security schemes, social assistance programs, and labor...

The Government of Romania (GOR), in agreement with the European Commission (EC), requested functional reviews of the Romanian public administration through an independent advisory service with the World Bank. The general objective of this advisory service is to review the current situation of...

The Government of Romania (GOR), in agreement with the European Commission (EC), requested functional reviews of the Romanian public administration through an independent advisory service with the World Bank. The general objective of this advisory service is to review the current situation of...

The Thailand Country Development Partnership for Social Protection (CDP-SP) is a collaborative program of policy development and technical assistance between the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the Bank and was launched in July 2001. CDP-SP operates in three key policy areas: labor...

Interconnected and often devastating covariate shocks are a threat to human development. Covariate shocks are shocks that affect large numbers of people or communities at once and can be natural, economic, or political. Occurrence and the human devastation from natural disasters has increased...