worldbank.org (16.05.2024) During the recent Covid-19 shock (2020/21), most countries used cash transfers to protect the livelihoods of those affected by the pandemic or by restrictions on mobility or economic activities, including the poor and vulnerable. While a large majority of countries mobilized existing programs and/or administrative databases to expand support to new beneficiaries, countries without such programs or databases were severely limited in their capacity to respond.

ceps.eu (13.05.2024) As European labour markets become increasingly digitalised, concerns about inequality and poverty are increasing. This study, completed for the European Commission, seeks to investigate these concerns further. Part A focuses on how prepared EU Member States are to manage the digital transformation in a socially fair manner. It develops 27 country fiches assessing the current and future prospects of each EU Member State.

Cash Transfer (CT) programmes can improve maternal and child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. However, studies assessing the effectiveness of these programmes on maternal and child health outcomes (MCH), beyond nutritional outcomes and service utilisation, remain inconclusive. We synthesized current empirical evidence on the effectiveness of these programmes in improving MCH outcomes and suggested a framework for reporting such outcomes.

SPIAC-B (2024) This Implementation Guide is designed for professionals involved in developing, implementing, and expanding social protection systems, particularly non-contributory schemes, or 'social assistance'. Targeted at national and local government partners, policymakers, social protection authorities, programme managers, social workers, civil society organizations, donors, and the private sector, the guide is also valuable for development and humanitarian agency staff supporting these efforts.

wiego.org (February 2024) In this briefing note we review the current debates on strategies, challenges and opportunities regarding registration in the context of social protection. In the first part, we will present the key concepts, approaches and debates on registration and situating it in the overall social protection system. The second section highlights the basic registration strategies, including outreach and awareness. We examine on-demand, census sweeps and other methods using existing data.

ilo.org (04.04,2024) While Kenya has made significant strides towards achieving gender equality, the findings of the report shows that significant gaps remain in the realm of digital labour platforms. Women in most sectors earn less than men and have lower access to social security benefits. The existing regulation fails to recognize most of the women workers on location-based and online platform work as employees, as a result excluding women from basic labor rights and protections.

IZA - Institute of Labor Economics (April 2024) We use detailed, population-wide data from Finland to provide evidence of the impact of earnings disregard policies on part-time work during unemployment spells, and describe the longer-run trends in combining part-time work and social benefits. We find that part-time work while receiving unemployment benefits is strongly concentrated in the service and social and health care sectors, and that women participate in part-time work much more commonly than men (25% vs. 12% of benefit recipients).