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US: Biden Unveils Massive Family Aid Plan Funded by Taxing Rich

Submitted by pmassetti on

Bloomberg (28.04.2021) President Joe Biden will unveil on Wednesday a sweeping $1.8 trillion plan to expand educational opportunities and child care for families, funded in part by the largest tax increases on wealthy Americans in decades -- the centerpiece of his first address to a joint session of Congress. Called the American Families Plan, Biden’s third major legislative proposal combines $1 trillion in spending with $800 billion in tax cuts and credits for middle- and lower-income families.

Regions / Country
United States
Topics
Family benefits
Document Type

Social protection for all in need: Lessons from the COVID-19 response in MENA

Submitted by pmassetti on

blogs.worldbank.org (26.04.2021) In the months after the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), countries across the region acted quickly to limit the spread of the virus. Lockdowns, curfews, and social distancing undoubtedly saved lives, but these necessary actions also constrained businesses and economies. Communities suffered from the loss of jobs and livelihoods, the closure of schools and markets, and the damage to businesses, many of which may never recover.

Regions / Country
Africa

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Philippines: Bill proposing to give financial subsidy to small fishermen filed – Manila Bulletin

Submitted by pmassetti on

A bill seeking to distribute financial and production support amounting to P15,000 to at least one million small fisherfolks in the country has been filed in Congress. This, as the income of small fishermen already went down to as low as P150 per fishing trip more than a year into the pandemic. In a statement, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) backed the said bill, which aims to “pump-prime the wheels of production” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regions / Country
philippines, the
Topics
Cash transfers

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Estonia - GovChain

Submitted by rruggia on

Estonia may perhaps be the earliest adopter of distributed ledger technology at a governmental level. As early as 2007, even before the publication of the Bitcoin white paper, the Estonian government was already testing blockchain applications as part of a resolution to be resilient to outsider cyberattacks. e-Estonia, a government policy to facilitate citizen interactions with the state through the use of electronic solutions, has been testing and implementing blockchain in relation to public services for many years.

Regions / Country
estonia
Topics
Blockchain
Document Type

‘Old’ rules and protections for the ‘new’ world of work

Submitted by pmassetti on

socialeurope.eu (20.04.2021) The labour status of people working in the online platform economy is key to their socio-economic protection. But it has proven a difficult issue for courts and regulators. The European Union is considering introducing a ‘rebuttable presumption of employment’ to help address this problem. What could this entail exactly? 

Regions / Country
european union
Topics
Extension of coverage
Digital Economy Topical Cluster
Digital Platforms
Document Type

Maroc : la couverture sociale généralisée mise en œuvre

Submitted by pmassetti on

Le Maroc a annoncé avoir lancé auprès de 9 millions de bénéficiaires son plan de généralisation de la couverture sociale destiné à terme à couvrir 22 millions de personnes actuellement dépourvues d'assurance maladie. Les agriculteurs, les artisans, les commerçants, les professionnels indépendants et leurs familles seront les premiers inclus dans le régime de l'assurance maladie obligatoire (AMO) en 2021 et 2022.

Regions / Country
morocco
Topics
Extension of coverage
Document Type

Landmark study shows how child grants empower women in Brazil and South Africa

Submitted by pmassetti on

theconversation.com (29.03.2021) Since the mid-1990s, new approaches to poverty reduction have been introduced in countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Some have involved income transfer programmes that target poorer citizens based on various means tests. Most have targeted female caregivers, primarily mothers. The most expansive child and family grants are in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and South Africa, which has put in place the biggest social provision net in Africa.

Regions / Country
south africa
brazil
Topics
Family benefits
Document Type

Oman restructures pension and social protection system

Submitted by pmassetti on

Reuters (07.04.2020) Oman on Wednesday restructured its pension and social protections systems, part of a reform push by the Gulf Arab state wrestling with an economy battered by low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.

Regions / Country
oman

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Blog: Developing countries introduced an unprecedented social protection and jobs policy response to mitigate the effects of the pandemic

Submitted by pmassetti on

blogs.worldbank.org (30:03.2021) Developing countries have introduced an unprecedented number of social protection and jobs policies to mitigate the effects of the crisis.  Over the past year, developing countries have introduced more than 1,300 crisis-related social protection and jobs (SPJ) policies. That figure is based on data from the COVID-19 SPJ Policy Inventory for 55 countries, representing 80 percent of the population in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

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Extension of coverage

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