The development of Brazil's modern social safety net is quite recent, and social assistance programs claim a relatively small share of resources of the broader social sector. A key feature of the Brazilian social protection system is the duality between formal sector workers, who gained social...

Nepal's recent transition to a federal state structure provides a historic juncture to realize the role that social protection can play in achieving the constitutional goals of equity, inclusion, and prosperity. The transition to a federal structure of governance and the promulgation of a new...

Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe, and a growing proportion of the population is at risk for social exclusion and long-term poverty. Overall spending on social protection has increased significantly over recent years, largely because of increases in pensions and war related...

Panama has experienced impressive and significant economic growth, emerging as one of the better performers in Central America in recent years and one of the fastest growing economies worldwide. From 2003 to 2013, Panama has averaged an annual GDP growth rate of approximately 7 percent,...

Bangladesh's economy is growing at a healthy pace and macro conditions are strong. Progress in social outcomes in Bangladesh is inspiring other countries, but deep challenges persist as the pace of poverty reduction slows down. Bangladesh labor market is dominated by low-productivity and...

The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has an ambitious long-term vision for the nation and its people, operationalized through the national development plans. A rapid increase in public spending financed through borrowing, due to lack of a concomitant increase in public revenue, meant a...

The aged and community care sectors in Australia and New Zealand are widely expected to expand rapidly over the coming decades. The forces that have led to ageing in Australia and New Zealand is the lower probability of death at all ages and, to a lesser extent, the weakening of the social and...

Canada is home to some of the world's most admired and successful public pension organizations. This was not always the case. As recently as the mid-1980s, many Canadian public pensions were invested largely or entirely in domestic government bonds, were funded primarily on a pay-as-you go...

The objectives of a well-designed pension system are poverty reduction in old age and income smoothing throughout an individuals' lifetime. Over the last thirty years, changing demographic trends have caused a shift from 'pay as you go' and occupational defined benefit (DB) schemes - where the...

While Thailand's pension system is typically described as a multipillar pension scheme, its design is highly fragmented and offers adequate coverage only to a small segment of the population, including civil servants and high-income individuals. In its 2018 Article IV report, the IMF highlighted...