Europa (13.11.2018) The study, which includes country reports and a synthesis report, provides an overview of inequality in access to healthcare in 35 European countries - EU Member States as well as EFTA and enlarging countries - showing that important inequalities persist, both between and within countries.

ILO (16.11.2018) Working poverty, informality and vulnerable employment are amongst the persistent challenges of Asia-Pacific labour markets according to a new ILO report. The report calls for coordinated policies to promote decent work as the link to translate economic growth into sustainable development in the region.

oecd.org (07.11.2018) Social protection systems are often still designed for the archetypical full-time dependent employee. Work patterns deviating from this model – be it self-employment or online "gig work" – can lead to gaps in social protection coverage. Globalisation and digitalisation are likely to exacerbate this discrepancy as new technologies make it easier and cheaper to offer and find work online, and online work platforms have experienced spectacular growth in recent years.

socialprotection (Nov.2018) This brief discusses the relationship between resilience, preparedness, humanitarian assistance and social protection for children in the Europe and Central Asia region. Its objective is to provide ideas and suggestions for UNICEF’s work to support social protection systems to better prepare, prevent, respond to and recover from crisis and emergencies affecting children and their families. The brief is intended as a resource for UNICEF staff of the Europe and Central Asia region.

FULL text - 

http://pombo.free.fr/colinhedge.pdf

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For three decades we’ve been living through a paradigm shift. Our world is moving from the fading Fordist age to the ever-strengthening digital age. This shift is as unstoppable as the one that once brought us from railroads and steel mills to Fordist factories. And its impact on our lives is just as radical.

Alan Turing Institute (24.10.2018)  In this document, we offer a review of recent literature on the future of work. Using a critical review method, the report synthesises key findings about the future of work focusing on three main areas: broad research findings, emerging research directions, and innovative data science research directions.

The volumes on “Social Protection Floors” present best practices and experiences from countries that are useful for South-South learning, for practitioners and to provide the basis for more informed policy-making.

From 1981 to 2014, thirty countries privatized fully or partially their public mandatory pensions; as of 2018, eighteen countries have reversed the privatization.

Annual review 2018 

This issue of Policy in Focus gathers articles from leading scholars, researchers and practitioners to discuss these challenges from different perspectives. They examine the current state of non-contributory social protection in the MENA region as a whole and in specific countries and explore how these countries have been coping with and learning from the recent economic and humanitarian crises.