LSE Business Review (05.02.2020) Older women are more likely to be rejected for jobs than older men, and less likely to be called for another interview than women under 45, writes Allyson Zimmermann

The concept of nudge theory, from the fields of behavioural science, political theory and behavioural economics, has sparked government initiatives yielding significant public value. A nudge is a method for predictably altering behaviour without restricting consumer choice options or significantly changing incentives. Nudges work by leveraging default human behaviour such as the tendency to take the path of least resistance when exercising choice. Government agencies have run many successful trials with simple textual nudges designed to positively influence behaviours such as tax compliance, voter registration and student attrition. This article develops the concept of the digital nudge in social security administration. The digital nudge leverages predictive analytics technology within a digital government framework to support a social investment policy approach. Based on a literature review of nudges within a digital government context, the article identifies examples of innovation within social security administration where nudges are contributing to better social outcomes. At the same time, concerns regarding ethics and privacy are identified as nudges are applied at the individual rather than the population level. The use of data and personal information to drive the nudge process has to be managed in such a way that individual rights are protected. This requirement has to be reconciled with the broader interests of society in achieving affordable outcomes, the parameters of which are determined through the political process.

Governments in many countries are redefining policies and strategies in order to respond to the profound and growing social security needs of their citizens. Good governance in social security administration is indispensable to achieve the desired results because new policies and strategies can only be as good as their implementation. The article focuses on good governance at two levels of authority: i) the social security organization, and ii) national Government. At the level of a social security organization, we discuss a stylized governance framework that provides an overview of what is involved in the implementation of a social security programme. The discussion is elevated to the national level in order to focus on the governance of a social security system. From a governance point of view, this article underscores the primary role of governments to facilitate national consensus on the overall objectives of the country's social security system. It argues for the designation of a national authority on social security to ensure the coherent implementation and development of the various programmes that comprise the country's social security system. Greater synchronization of social security policy with employment and labour market policies is important to ensure positive synergies and joint effectiveness in providing access to work opportunities in the formal sectors of the economy, which is key to tackling poverty and social exclusion and to enabling the poor greater access to more comprehensive forms of social security protection. Good governance will better ensure the sustained and lasting contribution of social security to national economic growth and development.

The Local (30.01.2020) Companies are increasingly outsourcing services, and as a result the number of self-employed workers in Germany has risen sharply. Many are learning that working one job is just not enough.

socialprotection.org (23.01.2020) Social protection systems in Latin America have experienced deep structural change in the last two decades. Policies, programmes and institutions directed at population groups characterised by low incomes and informal employment have emerged across the region.

Overseas Development Institute (ODI)  Dec 2019 . This paper aims to understand why and how countries provide health coverage, particularly to left-behind groups. To address these questions, we identified 49 geographically, economically and culturally diverse countries that have either achieved universal health coverage (UHC) or have made good progress towards it.

 BBC News (15.01.2020) Russia has promised greater support for parents as the country continues to struggle with a low birth rate.

Pierre Mayeur, directeur de l'organisme commun des institutions de rente et de prévoyance (OCIRP) et ancien directeur de la Caisse nationale d'assurance vieillesse, donne sa lecture "personnelle et objective" des avant-projets de loi réformant les retraites.

C'est un arrêt à haut risque pour les finances de l'Etat. La Cour de Cassation doit se prononcer sur la minoration systématique des pensions de retraites par la caisse de retraites des autoentrepreneurs, la CIPAV. L'Etat a laissé faire et pourrait se voir demander de rembourser une note salée.

lemonde.fr (21.01.2020) L’analyse des « cas types » par le gouvernement montre que la réforme pénaliserait les départs avant l’âge pivot et profiterait à ceux qui travailleraient plus tard.

yourstory.com (17.01.2020) Lack of literacy and complicated documents often hamper financially dependent elderly from accessing government welfare schemes and benefits.

EastRussia (15.01.2020)  The maternity capital program will be expanded in Russia. It will begin to be issued in full to families after the birth of the first child. This was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his annual address to the Federal Assembly.

 BBC News (15.01.2020) President Vladimir Putin has announced a series of plans to increase the number of children being born in Russia from an average birth rate of under 1.5 per woman to 1.7 within four years.

 EURACTIV.com (18.12.2019) A stress test of pension schemes across the European Union wiped out €270 billion or almost a quarter of investments at funds that took part, the EU’s insurance and pensions watchdog said on Tuesday (17 December).

December 12 each year is Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day. The tradition dates back to 2012 when the United Nations General Assembly unanimously endorsed a resolution urging countries to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage

Euronews (11.12.2019) France's prime minister has vowed to push ahead with controversial reforms to the country's pension system despite crippling strikes

Development Pathways (Nov 2019) The report focuses on the Inua Jamii Senior Citizens’ Programme which is a tax-financed benefit-tested social pension that is provided to Kenyans when they reach 70 years of age. By ensuring a universal income guarantee to all of Kenya citizens in old age, the programme represents Kenya’s largest tax-financed social security programme and its first entitlement scheme.

la-croix.com (01.12.2019) Retour sur les grandes questions qui irriguent le débat sur les retraites.

brookings.edu (04.12.2019) the countries of the Sahel are particularly vulnerable to climate change, undermining their long-term development prospects and the chances of the next generation.

Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion - European Commission (28.10.2019) This Synthesis Report produced by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) examines the changes which occurred in expenditure on social protection and the sources of its financing over the period 2005-2016.

Equal Times (21.11.2019) During the week of 25 November, senior government officials, social partners, civil society organisations and representatives of the international community will gather in Geneva to take part in the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Global Social Protection Week.

Reuters (01.11.2019) As over a million people streamed through Santiago’s streets in a series of protest marches last week, one elderly couple stood out from the largely youthful crowd.

Biometric Update (18.10.2019) The potential of biometric ID systems for abuse in some countries is a major threat to individuals, and current practices risk the world “stumbling zombie-like into a digital welfare dystopia,” according UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Professor Philip Alston.

World Economic Forum (23.09.2019) Debates about the gig economy tend to focus on transportation network companies (TNCs) and other locally provided services. Less discussed but of growing importance in the world of work are cross-border, web-based, digital labour platforms.

euractiv.com (19.08.2019) Working towards a more inclusive economic growth in Europe is one of the Finnish presidency’s main priorities. Finnish minister Aino-Kaisa Pekonen lays out her vision for “the economy of well-being”.