It is often argued that social protection is not affordable or that government expenditure cuts are inevitable during adjustment periods. But there are alternatives, even in the poorest countries. This working paper offers eight options that should be explored to expand fiscal space and generate...

This paper is a comparison between two programs implemented to combat poverty in Latin America: Prospera (Prosper) in Mexico and Asignación Universal por Hijo (Universal Assignment for Child) in Argentina. The first section offers a review of the emergence of the welfare state, examining...

The United States government recently passed legislation and stabilization packages to respond to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak by providing paid sick leave, tax credits, and free virus testing; expanding food assistance and unemployment benefits; and increasing Medicaid...

The implementation of social policies is often hampered by the fact that local decision-makers may be unwilling or unable to implement the policy as intended by the central government. In contrast to research that focuses on incentivizing and holding local decision makers accountable, we examine...

This paper presents the first empirical assessment of the causal relationship between social capital and health in Italy. The analysis draws on the 2000 wave of the Multipurpose Survey on Household conducted by the Italian Institute of Statistics on a representative sample of the population (n =...

Polish Abstract: Starzenie się społeczeństw stanowi wyzwanie, które wymaga opracowywania i wdrażania horyzontalnej polityki społecznej. Polityka ta powinna uwzględniać zróżnicowanie osób starszych oraz odmienność działań skierowanych do osób starszych i na wizerunek starości....

Cash transfers can affect labor supply through two channels: current transfers and anticipated future transfers. I develop a framework that jointly estimates both channels using a difference-in-differences model. I apply the framework to the noncontributory pension program in South Africa, which...