We assess the non-contributory cash transfer systems in 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries to identify factors that keep them from reducing poverty and inequality. To perform this assessment, we analyze three dimensions of size (number of beneficiaries, size of transfer per beneficiary,...

This paper makes two contributions to the literature. First, by employing a macro-level institutional dataset on benefit levels for social assistance (SA) and minimum income protection (MIP) in 22 European countries in the period 1990–2013, I show that the adequacy of income support for...

In 2020, the extensive consequences of the COVID-19 crisis placed social protection even more squarely at the centre of attention. As the health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19 echoed all over the world, social protection programmes were urgently developed, adapted, or extended to...

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated large-scale, rapid responses from governments to ensure that the negative effects of the crisis on people's livelihoods are mitigated. Countries with more well-established social protection systems in place prior to the crisis were able to respond faster,...

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated large-scale, rapid responses from governments to ensure that the negative effects of the crisis on people's livelihoods are mitigated. Countries with more well-established social protection systems in place prior to the crisis were able to respond faster,...