worldbank.org (nov 2020) The unprecedented and ongoing scale-up of social protection responses to the COVID-19 pandemic dwarf the response to the Great Recession. But how are countries financing such scale-up efforts? This note lays out ten stylized findings from a rapid review of social protection financing sources in thirty-one countries, including in terms of composition between external and domestic resources, and specific modalities within each.

NBER (October 2020) This working paper examine trends in employment, earnings, and incomes over the last two decades in the United States, and how the safety net has responded to changing fortunes, including the shutdown of the economy in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The U.S. safety net is a patchwork of different programs providing in-kind as well as cash benefits and had many holes prior to the Pandemic. In addition, few of the programs are designed explicitly as automatic stabilizers.

European Commission (09.11.2020) The report analyses the progress towards the Europe 2020 target on reducing poverty and social exclusion, together with the latest social trends to watch, and presents the key structural social challenges in each Member State. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept across Europe in 2020, the report also focuses on the decisive action taken by Member States to protect employment, income and access to services through a variety of measures.

ILO (21.10.2020) This paper provides updated regional and global estimates of the costs and financing gaps for targets 1.3 and 3.8 of the SDGs relating to social protection and health care in 2020 and projections of incremental financial needs for reaching universal coverage in 2030. The paper analyses options for filling social protection financing gaps in developing countries during the crisis and beyond using domestic and external resources, including the strengthening and expansion of contributory systems. The analysis incorporates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

cabri-sbo.org (25.03.2020)

To promote the use of electronic payment tools the Western Africa Central Bank (BCEAO) is providing more flexible measures to open a mobile money and making transfers between people backed by electronic money free.

This publication describes a voluntary risk management framework ("the Framework") that consists of standards, guidelines, and best practices to manage cybersecurity-related risk. The Framework's prioritized, flexible, and cost-effective approach helps to promote the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure and other sectors important to the economy and national security.

This volume describes the health care and long-term care systems of all EU Member States on a country basis and presents the related policy challenges.

Social Security Agency (18.04.2020) On April 18 and May 15, Poland's government amended its Anti-Crisis Shield (Tarcza Antykryzysowa) program to expand eligibility for temporary social security contribution reductions. Under the amended program, employers with 10 to 49 employees as of February 29 can receive a 50-percent reduction in the contributions they owe for March, April, and May.

cgdev.org (Sept 2020) Many countries have launched unprecedented relief packages to cushion the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This short review considers some initial lessons emerging from selected countries around the use of digital technology to implement these government-to-people (G2P) social transfer programs. Information is still limited on how well the programs have functioned; in particular, there is a dearth of rapid demand-side survey evidence on the experience of beneficiaries receiving transfers and the likely magnitudes of inclusion and exclusion errors.

socialprotection.org (September 2020) This document provides information and guidance on social protection and older people, with a focus on pensions to cushion the economic impacts of COVID-19. It is intended as an advisory for people involved in planning and delivering social protection support for older people across a range of contexts. The document briefly describes the specific impact of COVID-19 on older people’s health and wellbeing, as well as the socio-economic impacts.