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Understanding ageism at the intersections: learning to inform future research, programming and advocacy (2024–25) pmassetti helpage.org (05.11.2025) HelpAge International’s 2024–25 Learning Report explores how ageism interacts with other forms of discrimination such as ableism and sexism, and how social factors like displacement, poverty, and gender shape older people’s experiences of exclusion. Old-age pensions
Jordan explores global models to extend social security coverage through contribution subsidies pmassetti ilo.org (13.11.2025) Organized under the framework of the Estidama++ programme, implemented by the SSC with technical support from the ILO and funding from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Norway, the workshop aimed at fostering dialogue dialogue and knowledge exchange international experiences and mechanisms for contribution subsidies across different national contexts. It also highlighted the Jordanian experience through the Estidama++ programme as a national model for developing contribution subsidy mechanisms to include workers in the informal economy. Extension of coverage jordan
From Reform to Reality: Understanding Perceptions of Iraq’s New Social Security Law pmassetti ilo.org (11.11.2025) A new ILO report, From Reform to Reality: Understanding Perceptions of Iraq’s New Social Security Law, presents evidence from a rapid survey of 121 formal enterprises and 300 workers in Baghdad and Basra. The findings show strong support for the objectives of the 2023 social security reform, but also reveal persistent gaps in awareness, enrolment and access to benefits. While most employers report registering their workers, many workers are unaware of their coverage, and only a small share have attempted to claim benefits. Both employers and workers point to administrative complexity, limited information, and low digital readiness as key barriers. The study underscores the need for simpler procedures, stronger enforcement, improved communication, and digital service expansion to ensure that Iraq’s private sector workforce can fully benefit from the law’s protections. managing reforms iraq
Spain: EU gig-workers still exploited, despite landmark laws pmassetti euobserver.com (11.11.2025) In Spain, there are three main food delivery platforms operating in the market: Glovo (by far the largest in the country, headquartered in Barcelona), Just Eat, and Uber Eats - each of them have reacted differently to the country's 2021 Rider Law. digital platforms Platform workers spain
Caring for the Future: Redefining development through care politics pmassetti ilo.org (03.11.2025) This document analyzes how Chile, Morocco, the Philippines and Spain are advancing in the design and implementation of public care policies, highlighting their progress, challenges and lessons learned. The report demonstrates that investing in care systems can create jobs, reduce inequalities and strengthen social protection. Health
People’s Republic of China: The Social Insurance Public Service Platform pmassetti ilo.org (05.11.2025) Since the 2000s, China has made significant progress towards the extension of social insurance coverage to its entire population. Alongside this progress, growing demand for convenient and high-quality social insurance services has driven efforts to establish a nationwide service platform. The Unified Social Insurance Public Service Platform, launched in 2019, integrates national and local platforms, social security cards and service windows to provide comprehensive and seamless services. Looking ahead, China aims to further standardise social insurance processes, enhance service quality, integrate online and offline channels, adopt advanced technologies and expand the role of social security cards across public services.  Information and communication technology, Extension of coverage china
Workers have a say on digital rules through collective bargaining pmassetti manilatimes.net (11.03.2025) A nationwide initiative led by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions has made strides this year, using a "centralized collective bargaining" campaign between platform companies and their workers. The campaign brings platform companies - businesses that coordinate work through digital apps - to the table to negotiate the algorithms managing their workforce, granting workers a say in their work rules. To date, 15 out of 16 targeted major platform companies have completed negotiations, with outcomes expected to benefit over 20 million workers in new forms of employment. Platform workers china
Expanding Social Protection and Addressing Informality in Latin America pmassetti oecd.org (30.10.2025) Informality is one of Latin America’s most persistent challenges, shaping the lives of millions of workers and their families. Nearly half of the region’s labour force works outside formal arrangements, without secure contracts, stable incomes, or access to social protection. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of these workers with stark clarity: while formal employees often retained coverage and income support, informal workers were left among the hardest hit by job losses, poverty, and exclusion. This book takes stock of the evolution of informality in Latin America, tracing long-term trends and exploring the many faces of informality — from self-employed street vendors and domestic workers to employees in small enterprises. It places particular emphasis on the fragmentation of current employment-based social protection systems, which not only leave large gaps in coverage but also perpetuate inequality of opportunities and limit productivity. Bringing together new evidence and in-depth country studies from across the region, the book makes a compelling case for reform. It explores policy options to expand social protection in fiscally sustainable ways, increase incentives for formalisation, and strengthen resilience against future shocks. For policymakers, researchers, and practitioners alike, this volume offers timely guidance to deliver better social protection for more workers in Latin America. Extension of coverage latin america
Building a Comprehensive Social Security System Fit for a Modern Jordan - Development Pathways pmassetti Building a Comprehensive Social Security System Fit for a Modern Jordan highlights how inclusive lifecycle benefits can close critical gaps in the country’s current system. Today, many children, persons with disabilities, older people and informal workers remain excluded from protection. The paper sets out how Jordan can expand coverage through benefits that support citizens across all stages of life, helping to reduce poverty, strengthen resilience and extend security to the majority of Jordanians in the coming years.
Germany greenlights €2,000 tax-free earnings for pensioners pmassetti Euronews (15.10.2025) Germany will introduce an “active pension” from 1 January 2026 that lets people who choose to work past the statutory retirement age earn up to €2,000 per month tax-free. Labour Minister Bärbel Bas framed the Aktivrente as a straightforward incentive intended to keep experienced workers in the labour market. Pensions germany
The formation of a National Unemployment Benefit Fund in Eswatini pmassetti ilo.org (02.09.2025) The report assesses options as regards the management and operation of a new Unemployment Benefit Fund (UBF) in Eswatini. Two institutions have been proposed by the Government as potential operators – the Public Sector Pension Fund (PSPF) and the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF). Based on an analysis of the UBF business processes and its purpose: the fact that it presents a range of new challenges and requirements, as well as its nature as a short-term social insurance scheme, the report concludes that the best solution is for UBF to be an independent entity allowed – but not required – to let its operation or parts thereof be undertaken on a contractual basis by one or more other public entities. The second-best solution is to have the UBF operated by an existing entity, in which case the ENPF stands out as the best choice as it has key elements of the required infrastructure and competences in place already. However, the ENPF will need to be adapted to a new and broader role to ensure good and adequate governance and the necessary integrity and transparency for the exercise. Employment
Europe's aging burden far less than US or China pmassetti The Jakarta Post (10.10.2025) Graying Europe has long been considered an outlier in global demographics – but the rising cost to its governments in terms of bills for pensions and health care are more manageable than assumed and less than in rival economies in the United States and China. In a detailed report on the rising cost to the public purse from Europe's aging population, Brussels-based think Breugel this week outlined the trajectory through 2070 using the latest country-by-country data from the European Commission. Pensions Europe
Are we on track when it comes to healthy ageing? pmassetti World Economic Forum (01.10.2025) By 2030, 1.4 billion people will be aged over 60, with low- and middle-income countries hosting 80% of older populations, highlighting urgent disparities in health, care and social support. The UN Decade of Healthy Ageing was launched by WHO to focus on age-friendly environments, combating ageism, integrated care and long-term care. Critical gaps remain as awareness is still low; accelerated action is therefore, needed to scale community-based programmes, strengthen intergenerational linkages and integrate initiatives. Old-age pensions
US: Lack of a retirement system for gig workers will be a crisis pmassetti postandcourier.com (29.09.2025) America is fast approaching a historic milestone. By 2027, freelancers will make up more than 50 percent of the workforce, marking a fundamental shift in the U.S. labor market. Yet many of these workers will have no retirement plan. According to the Pew Research Center, only 13 percent of single-person business owners are saving for retirement compared to almost three-fourths of Americans in traditional jobs. That leaves tens of millions of freelancers and independent workers at risk, just as other forms of retirement security begin to falter. Freelancers, contractors, creators and small-business owners are set to become the backbone of our economy. When they do, they’ll be working without a retirement system that supports their earnings. That’s a national crisis in the making. digital platforms Pensions, Platform workers United States
Aging in the U.S. and Korea: Same Sphere, Different Realities pmassetti civilreporter.co.kr (22.09.2025) Both the United States and South Korea are experiencing rapid population aging, but the patterns and social responses differ greatly. The U.S., already moving beyond an “aged society” into a “super-aged society,” is turning this change into a field of opportunity. Korea, meanwhile, is aging at the fastest pace in the world, but its institutions and perceptions still lag behind. In particular, when we look at five areas where the U.S. has shown distinctive developments—△labor market △long-term care & healthcare △finance & consumption patterns △culture & entertainment △politics & society—the contrasts become even clearer. Let us first examine the U.S. reality. Population ageing korea, Republic of, United States
Publication: Measuring Welfare When It Matters Most: Learning from Country Applications pmassetti In 2023, the Poverty Global Department launched an initiative to take stock of this growing body of knowledge. What did we know about which real-time monitoring (RTM) approaches worked best in different settings? A key milestone in this agenda was the publication of Measuring Welfare When It Matters Most: A typology of approaches for real-time monitoring. That publication mapped out the broader landscape of existing RTM approaches, reflecting on relevant use cases and caveats and providing a summary of key methodological resources. The aim was to guide practitioners in choosing the most context-appropriate tools to answer their questions. This edited volume was prepared as a complement to that publication, aimed at those readers interested in learning more about how RTM approaches have been practically applied on the ground. Measuring Welfare When it Matters Most: Learning from Country Applications delves deeper into selected examples, offering a more detailed look at how to design and implement high-frequency monitoring systems in different types of country settings and in response to different types of policy questions. The chapters walk the reader through these case studies and reflect on methodological best practices, practical challenges, and lessons learned.
Rethinking social safety nets in a changing society pmassetti Historically, India’s approach to social safety nets has involved identifying the poor and providing them with priority access to social protection. Analysing data from the India Human Development Survey, collected in three waves across 2004-05, 2011-12 and 2022-24, this article finds that households face considerable transition in and out of poverty as the economy grows, making it difficult to identify and target the poor in a precise manner. 
Publication: Exploring the Impacts of Social Protection on Social Cohesion in the Sahel pmassetti worldbank.org (24.09.2025) In the Sahel, vulnerability, poverty, competition over natural resources, and limited economic opportunities have weakened social bonds and fueled conflict, dynamics further exacerbated by climate change. Within this context, social protection emerges as a key tool to strengthen social cohesion by fostering institutional trust, community cooperation, and the relationship between citizens and the state. However, evidence on its impacts in the region remains limited and fragmented, particularly regarding different dimensions of cohesion (intra- and inter-community, as well as citizen–state relations). To address these gaps, UNICEF, the World Bank, and the World Food Programme are jointly implementing a research project that combines quantitative and qualitative methods to identify the causal links between social protection and social cohesion, while analyzing program design, implementation, and contextual factors that shape these outcomes in the Sahel. Policy analysis Africa
China’s 200m gig workers are a warning for the world pmassetti economist.com (18.09.2025) The biggest workforce in the world has undergone an extraordinary transformation. China’s farm labourers and industrial proletariat have been joined by an army of gig workers. Tens of millions now use tech platforms to find jobs for fleeting periods; fully 200m, or 40% of the urban labour force, depend on some kind of flexible work. The fortunes of these precarious workers, many of whom struggle to buy property and gain access to public services and benefits, will shape China’s economy and society for years to come. As technology remakes labour markets, China’s gig workers offer lessons for countries everywhere. digital platforms Platform workers china
Accelerating the uptake of digital solutions by the health and care workforce in the WHO European Region pmassetti who.int (01.09.2025) Digital health technologies (‎DHTs)‎ are becoming an integral part of successful and sustainable health service delivery in every Member State of the WHO European Region. Despite increasing evidence of their impact in optimizing the capability of the health and care workforce, enabling access to health services, and improving patient empowerment and quality of care, the adoption of DHTs by the workforce has been slow and faces significant challenges. Research indicates that multifaceted barriers to increasing DHT use by the workforce are related to infrastructure, training, time, workload, ethics, and legal and technical factors. These barriers were consistently identified, irrespective of the level of care or type of technology employed. Medical care Europe
Setting the foundation for quality management in facility-based long-term care in Greece pmassetti who.int (28.08.2025) In support of Greece’s ongoing long-term care (‎LTC)‎ reforms, this technical brief identifies key gaps in the current quality management system for facility-based/residential care and proposes key pathways for addressing these challenges and driving transformative change in quality management. Drawing on international evidence and national and regional case studies from Europe, the brief outlines key quality standards and proposes indicators for monitoring progress. It additionally proposes targeted policy pathways for expanding and strengthening quality assurance mechanisms, as well as incentivizing continuous quality improvement for residential care. While focusing on μονάδεσ φροντίδασ ηλικιωμένων [‎older people’s care units]‎ – the primary category of LTC residential facilities in Greece – the recommendations are applicable to a broader range of residential care settings and offer insights for other countries seeking to establish or improve quality management systems in facility-based LTC. Long-term care greece
Publication: How Scale-Up Happens: Financing, Political Economy, and Delivery in Social Assistance Expansion pmassetti worldbank.org (15.09.2025) Scaling up has become a rallying cry of social protection initiatives. The rationale for it is clear: with glaring coverage gaps globally and regionally, including nearly 2 billion people with no access to social protection in low- and middle-income countries, the extension of coverage is a key priority enshrined in an array of national and global commitments. Yet relatively little work has been devoted to examining how scale up happens. Understanding such an expansion process calls for examining the forces preventing it: these include, among others, fiscal constraints, possible political resistance, and limited delivery capabilities. A rich thematic literature has examined those constraints convincingly, including pointing out an array of compelling strategic, policy and operational implications for each theme. Yet, those factors taken individually can seldom offer a theory of change reconciling the forces shaping scale up processes. Some contexts with relatively adequate fiscal revenues may opt for high coverage of cash transfers (e.g., Indonesia), while others at comparatively similar or even more favorable financial positions may settle for lower levels of cash transfers coverage (e.g., Botswana); delivery systems can facilitate scale-up in some settings (e.g., Kenya), but there are cases where high scale-up was attained at relatively low levels of delivery capabilities (e.g., Yemen). This report aims to fill such a gap by emphasizing the interdependence of fiscal, political economy and delivery in explaining scale-up of cash transfer programs. Extension of coverage
How trade policy can help create a fairer digital economy pmassetti World Economic Forum (15.09.2025) The digital economy is transforming livelihoods at an unprecedented pace, with digital services accounting for over half of global services exports. As digital labour becomes a key export for many developing countries, questions of trade policy and standards lie alongside those about jobs. The priority should be building a digital economy that delivers innovation and growth, as well as dignity, fairness and security for workers worldwide. digital platforms Platform workers
Mexico’s Politics Of Pensions pmassetti eurasiareview.com (08.09.2025) Like many countries with an aging population, Mexico is facing a pension crisis. In just the last five years, the universal pension for older adults quadrupled its budget. Coupled with low growth, the ever-rising cash transfers and subsidies have become a major drag on the country’s economy. Welfare payments to individuals—such as the universal pension for older adults, disability pensions, and student stipends—have grown at a pace that outstripped investment in infrastructure, education, and security. These programs are politically attractive: beneficiaries can clearly see where the money goes, while the returns of better public infrastructure, or of a more effective police force, are harder to measure. The result is a fiscal structure that privileges visible redistribution over the less glamorous but essential foundations of long-term growth. Pensions mexico
Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in Italy pmassetti who.int (05.09.2025) This review is part of a series of country-based studies generating new evidence on affordable access to health care (‎financial protection)‎ in health systems in Europe. Financial protection is central to universal health coverage and a core dimension of health system performance. Catastrophic health spending is higher in Italy than in many other European Union countries. It is heavily concentrated in households with low incomes, households in the southern region and households headed by pensioners. It is mainly driven by outpatient medicines and outpatient care in poorer households and by dental care in richer households. There is also a significant gap in unmet need for care between the richest and poorest people. Efforts to improve financial protection should focus on addressing long waiting times; reducing co-payments; expanding coverage of dental care and medical products; reviewing the equity and efficiency of the 19% tax rebate on out-of-pocket payments; reducing regional inequalities in access to health care; and extending entitlement to adult undocumented migrants. To meet equity and efficiency goals now and in the future (‎particularly in the context of population ageing)‎ the Government should ensure that levels of public spending on health are sufficient and carefully targeted to reduce financial hardship and unmet need for households with low incomes and find ways to improve equity across regions. Health italy