worldbank.org (17.01.2023) The informal business sector is a source of livelihood for millions of people around the world. Despite its size and importance, business-level data that provide an in-depth understanding and cross-country analysis of the sector are lacking. To fill this gap, the World Bank has collected comprehensive data based on a representative sample of informal businesses using an innovative survey methodology. A recent working paper provides insights on businesses that operate without formal registration.

EURACTIV.com (19.01.2023) French train drivers, teachers and refinery workers were among those who walked off their jobs on Thursday (19 January) in a nationwide day of strikes against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.

theigc.org (09.01.2023) When natural disasters displace households, impacts on welfare can last for years after the event and vary depending on the extent of response. Between 2008 and 2018, around 265 million people were displaced by natural disasters around the world. While climate change threatens to increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters, studying the impacts of displacement is very difficult for two main reasons.

ceps.eu (10.01.2023) Should we make SURE a permanent instrument? To answer this, one might look at whether SURE – as a loans-based financial instrument – has been effectively taken up by Member States and used to support Job Retention (JR) schemes and other similar measures.

The Japan Times (09.01.2023) Low fertility rates — in the absence of increased immigration — will reduce the working-age population, in turn lowering household consumption and economic growth

ScienceDirect (2023) Social protection, as a vulnerability response tool, is well-placed to equip climate-vulnerable populations with resources that de-risk livelihoods and smooth consumption. This systematic literature review of 28 studies identifies evidence for how social protection has influenced beneficiaries’ migration decisions, experiences, and outcomes in the context of a changing climate, through cash transfers, public work programs, insurance, and health care.

koreatimes.co.kr (08.01.2023) The government will take drastic measures to tackle Korea's demographic crisis of its falling birthrate and rapidly aging society, said Na Kyung-won, head of the presidential committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, who floated the idea of writing off loans for married couples who give birth to children.

European Commission (03.01.2023) Principle 17 of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) emphasises the right of people with disabilities to “income support that ensures living in dignity” as well as “services that enable them to participate in the labour market and in society”. This Synthesis Report prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) describes and analyses the conditions under which persons with disabilities aged 18 years and above have effective access to social protection.

strathprints.strath.ac.uk (2022) In 2017 the Scottish Government passed the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act with the commitment to significantly reduce the relative child poverty rate from the current prevailing level of around 25% to 10% by 2030/31. In response, the government introduced the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) that provides a direct transfer to households at a fixed rate per eligible child – currently £25 per week. In this paper we explore, using a micro to macro modelling approach, the effectiveness of using the SCP to achieve the Scottish child poverty targets.

La Tunisie est parvenue à un accord avec le Québec dans le domaine de la sécurité sociale, garantissant la couverture médicale et les pensions de vieillesse et d’invalidité au profit de la communauté tunisienne établie dans cette vile canadienne, a annoncé le ministère des Affaires sociales.