The informal economy in Africa is large and diverse, and it is the main source of employment in the region. It is projected to grow and create more jobs. The informal economy is well established in the region, but it also faces a host of development challenges. It is characterized by low human...

This note summarizes the impacts of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on Vietnam's labor market in 2020 and evaluates the social protection response to identify lessons learned for future crises. Vietnam's labor market was shaken by the outbreak in 2020. But an effective...

Lesotho, a high-altitude, landlocked country of 2.1 million people encircled by South Africa, has made gains in poverty reduction over the last decade but challenges of shared prosperity remain. The country has made significant investments in developing social protection programs as part of the...

An effective and equitable social protection system can help Kosovo to promote human capital, foster productivity, and reduce poverty. Since its independence in 2008, the country has made considerable socioeconomic progress, benefiting from the support of the international community and its own...

With the advent of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Brazil has come out with one of the fastest and most generous social protection responses globally. Auxilio Emergencial (AE's) operation is in contrast to that of regular social protection programs due to its highly centralized setup with...

This report was prepared at the request of the Philippines Social Security System (SSS) to analyze key challenges and propose reform options to improve the sustainability and expand the coverage of old age income protection for private sector workers. A simulation employing the Pension Reform...

This report proposes a toolkit which can be used to produce national assessments in MENA countries. The toolkit consists of a series of four questionnaires to be completed by institutions delivering specific programs in the areas of Social Assistance, Social Insurance, Health and Education. A...

Thirty eight percent of the urban population in Mozambique is poor and the latest political and economic developments are likely to increase their vulnerability. Moreover, a large share of the urban population that is close to the poverty line and that could worsen their poverty status through...

Pakistan's social protection system is still in a nascent stage of development and so is the country's fiscal and institutional architecture for inter-governmental relations. In particular, the implicit devolution of social protection and related functions in the eighteenth constitutional...

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...