International Social Security Review最新文献

This article seeks to problematize and develop the concept of resilience in social security systems by focusing on more endogenous processes – specifically, endogenous welfare austerity. Existing literature on both resilience and welfare austerity has predominantly focused on external factors or formal institutions as the primary sources to change. However, Sweden offers a compelling case that challenges this assumption. Over an extended number of years, reaching its peak at the end of the last decade, the Swedish Social Insurance System (SSIS) has become increasingly restrictive, despite the absence of corresponding changes in the law or through reforms. Rather than exogenous pressures, we argue that the roots of welfare austerity in Sweden lie within an informal institution: the SSIS knowledge regime. Drawing on Michael Walzer’s “sphere-approach” from 1983, the article highlights the character of the knowledge regime – plural or authoritative – as a useful theoretical framework for understanding endogenous austerity. We contend that the SSIS knowledge regime, composed of distinct spheres, each governed by its own norms and logics, has in recent years been annexed by the welfare bureaucracy. We identify two forms of bureaucratic annexation: the supplanting and incorporating of other spheres of knowledge. The article demonstrates that, if social security systems are to be able to respond resiliently to external fragile situations and extreme events, it is crucial to develop a deeper understanding of their internal, more subtle vulnerabilities.

This article assesses the functioning and disaster response capacity of the Turkish social security system in the aftermath of the Kahramanmaraş-centred earthquake that struck southeastern Türkiye on 6 February 2023, affecting 11 provinces. Türkiye's social security infrastructure, which was restructured after the 1999 Marmara earthquake, has developed an important response capability with multidimensional instruments such as short-time working allowance, unemployment insurance, survivors’ and disability pensions, and access to health services and social assistance. Moreover, social security expenditures have increased, procedures for social security beneficiaries and employers have been simplified and conditions for access to social security benefits have been eased. Administrative and micro datasets from institutions such as the Social Security Institution (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu – SGK), the Turkish Employment Agency (İŞKUR) and TurkStat reveal the effectiveness and inclusiveness of the social protection system at the regional and sectoral level. The findings show that institutional digital infrastructure enables a more rapid response, but that some population segments are excluded from the system due to informal employment. In the light of past experiences, the article provides recommendations on how a disaster-resilient social security system can be built.

In an era defined by unprecedented global complexity and change, social security institutions are confronted with significant challenges in maintaining organizational effectiveness and cultivating the resilience necessary to serve evolving community needs. Institutions need to maintain organizational solidity and stability to ensure reliability in the provision of benefits and services, whilst at the same time ensuring that they are adaptable to keep up with evolving environmental changes over time. This article critically examines the transformative potential of organizational agility and creativity in reimagining governance structures and enhancing institutional responsiveness within these vital public-sector entities. Contemporary social security systems often exhibit inherent rigidities that can impede adaptive capabilities. This article analyses the mechanisms through which governance organizations can develop robust resilience characteristics, focusing on fundamental organizational capabilities that enable dynamic and proactive institutional frameworks. By exploring these organizational elements, this article offers insights for developing more resilient, creative, and dynamic institutional structures. The key factors identified for fostering creativity and agility within governance ecosystems include decentralized decision-making processes, comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategies, adaptive leadership models, flexible organizational structures, and strategic technological integration. The methodological approach is qualitative and incorporates literature, theory, and a survey of member organizations of the International Social Security Association. A research-grounded framework for institutional resilience is proposed, offering practical strategies for enhancing organizational adaptability. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of governance structures, positioning social security institutions as dynamic, adaptive entities capable of effectively navigating increasingly complex and unpredictable global landscapes.

Resilience, increasingly emphasized in both development and humanitarian discourses, is a complex concept that is often treated simplistically, leading to residualist or reactive interventions that do not consider the structural causes of vulnerability. Moreover, there is often confusion between “people-centred” and “systems-centred” approaches. This article argues for a holistic approach. Resilient individuals, households and communities (IHC) are a desired outcome that can only be achieved by building social protection, disaster risk management (DRM) and food systems that are efficient, sustainable and resilient. Resilient social protection systems must be constructed to deliver appropriate, adequate and timely support that builds the resilience of all IHC, in the context of rising shocks, stressors and polycrisis. This article presents resilience-building through social protection not as a static endpoint, but as a continuum within the broader humanitarian-development trajectory. These two perspectives – resilient people and resilient systems – delineate three core pathways of social protection’s contribution to resilience outcomes: enhancing IHC assets, strengthening systemic capacities, and coordinating with other sectors and systems. Two case studies are analysed. Brazil’s integrated approach includes delivering adequate and comprehensive social protection to realize the human right to adequate food, but also strengthening delivery mechanisms using the social registry and coordinating with DRM and other sectors. India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) builds absorptive and adaptive resilience, by choosing community public works projects that drought-proof rural livelihoods against climate risks. Although innovative ideas are being piloted through MGNREGS, an important conclusion of this article is that projectized responses should not be introduced if they divert attention and resources away from strengthening the core social protection system and extending coverage.

De plus en plus mise en avant dans les discussions ayant trait au développement et à l’aide humanitaire, la résilience est un concept complexe fréquemment traité de façon simpliste, entraînant des interventions résidualistes ou réactives qui ne prennent pas en considération les causes structurelles de la vulnérabilité. La différence entre les approches «centrées sur les individus» et celles «centrées sur le système» est en outre souvent floue. Cet article plaide en faveur d’une approche globale. Des individus, ménages et communautés résilients constituent l’objectif souhaité, qui ne peut être atteint qu’en bâtissant des systèmes alimentaires, de protection sociale et de préparation aux catastrophes efficaces, durables et résilients. Des systèmes de protection sociale résilients doivent voir le jour pour pouvoir offrir l’aide appropriée, adéquate et rapide à l’ensemble des individus, ménages et communautés leur permettant d’accroître

Public works programmes (PWPs) are pervasively used to tackle poverty and unemployment, and to build infrastructure and skills in low- and middle-income countries. While their impacts on poverty, food security and labour outcomes have been widely documented, there is little research focusing on the role of PWPs in supporting household climate resilience in the global context of a deepening climate crisis. To fill this gap, we propose a conceptual framework that links the different components of PWPs – wages, infrastructure, and skills development – to household capacity to cope with, and adapt to, climate-related shocks. We use this framework to guide our review of empirical experimental and quasi-experimental evidence on the multiple short-term and long-term effects of PWPs on resilience to weather shocks, such as floods, droughts and cyclones. Such evidence mostly draws from a few programmes in India, Ethiopia and Malawi. Overall, we find that, through the wage component, PWPs can be effective in enhancing household resilience through increasing savings and productive investments. However, these benefits usually only materialize in the case of regular, long-term programmes, as opposed to ad-hoc/temporal PWPs. PWPs’ infrastructure component can play a crucial role in supporting households’ long-term capacity to adapt to shocks, especially in the case of “climate-smart” infrastructure, with positive externalities beyond direct programme beneficiaries to communities. There is a key evidence gap investigating the effects of PWPs through the infrastructure component on both beneficiaries and other community members, as well as on the role of on-the-job training and its capacity to strengthen resilience in combination with the infrastructure component. Evidence from different socioeconomic contexts is also scarce. Another key gap relates to the identification of the main mechanisms through which these relationships operate. Filling these gaps will support policy makers taking decisions about when to implement PWPs (especially in comparison with other social protection interventions), and how to design them to tackle vulnerability to climate change.

Since 2016, China has established long-term care insurance (LTCI) in the form of pilot projects that now extend to almost 50 cities. The need for long-term care is likely to increase significantly. This article looks at initial studies undertaken in a range of cities on the impact of the LTCI pilots on health and the use of health care, on income, poverty and consumption, informal care and labour force participation. It reviews policy assessments that have identified gaps and challenge in the provision of LTCI. The article concludes with possible next steps in developing LTCI in China drawing on national and international experiences.

Maternity and care of young children are among the primary reasons for gender-based discrimination and formal work interruptions faced by women. We examine how maternity impacts access to contributory pensions and the amount of the first pension in Uruguay, a country with relatively high income and low informality in the Latin American context. Motherhood reduces the proportion of women eligible for full pensions by 12–60 percentage points depending on retirement age and length of the interruptions. Access disparities are greater for low-income than high-income women. Many women leave the formal labour market despite having previously made contributions, resulting in them not being able to satisfy eligibility conditions for contributory pensions. Maternity credits while necessary are insufficient alone to address this issue.

La maternité et la prise en charge des jeunes enfants figurent parmi les principales causes de discriminations liées au genre et d’interruptions de carrière subies par les femmes. L’article analyse l’impact de la maternité sur l’accès aux pensions contributives et sur le montant de la pension versée par le premier pilier en Uruguay, pays où le revenu est relativement élevé et le travail informel relativement peu répandu comparativement à d’autres pays d’Amérique latine. La maternité est associée à une réduction de la proportion de femmes ouvrant droit à une pension à taux plein, réduction qui varie de 12 à 60 points de pourcentage selon l’âge de la retraite et la durée des interruptions de carrière. Les inégalités d’accès sont plus grandes parmi les femmes modestes que parmi celles qui perçoivent un revenu élevé. Beaucoup de femmes quittent le marché du travail formel malgré les cotisations qu’elles ont déjà versées, si bien qu’elles ne remplissent pas les conditions requises pour ouvrir droit à une pension contributive. Pour nécessaire qu’elle soit, la validation de crédits au titre de la maternité n’est pas une mesure suffisante pour remédier à cette situation.

La maternidad y el cuidado de niños de corta edad se encuentran entre las principales causas de la discriminación por motivos de género y de las interrupciones en la carrera profesional que sufren las mujeres. En este artículo se examina la repercusión de la maternidad en el acceso a las pensiones contributivas y en el importe de la pensión del primer pilar en el Uruguay, país en el que los ingresos son relativamente altos y el nivel de informalidad es bajo, si se compara con otros países de América Latina. La maternidad genera una reducción de la proporción de mujeres con derecho a una pensión completa, que va de 12 a 60 puntos porcentuales, dependiendo de la edad de jubilación y de la duración de las interrupciones. Las disparidades de acceso son mayores entre las mujeres con ingresos bajos que entre las que perciben ingresos altos. Muchas mujeres abandonan el mercado de trabajo formal a pesar de haber cotizado anteriormente, por lo que no cumplen la