Global Credit Research - 17 May 2017 New York, May 17, 2017 -- The accelerating adoption of robotics in manufacturing in some of the worlds' more advanced economies could pose challenges to emerging market exporters that have benefited from their comparative advantage of lower cost, high skilled labor, says Moody's Investors Service in a report.

worldbank.org (may 2017) This WBG report analyzes recent trends and composition of public spending in the social sectors - Education, Health, and Social Protection & Labor -  between 2007 and 2014. It also reviews the quality of selected institutions and sector governance arrangements that influence public social spending.

A promise of equal opportunity

“Basic income” would be an amount sufficient to secure basic needs as a permanent earnings floor no one could fall beneath, and would replace many of today’s temporary benefits, which are given only in case of emergency, and/or only to those who successfully pass the applied qualification tests. UBI would be a promise of equal opportunity, not equal outcome, a new starting line set above the poverty line.

Antigua Observer (16.09.2016) Guyana will host a one-day regional consultation on the establishment of a regional tripartite social dialogue mechanism and a regional social protection floor.

The New York Times (08.03.2017) The teachers’ pension fund in Puerto Rico looks very much like a legalized Ponzi scheme — one that might hold a warning for teachers across America.

Curaçao Chronicle (15.03.2017) Representatives from 16 Caribbean countries are in Trinidad and Tobago (14-17 March 2017) to discuss the extension of social protection in the context of formalization policies.

Social Security Administration is committed to providing benefits quickly to claimants whose medical conditions are so serious that they clearly meet our disability standards.  Our two fast-track processes, Quick Disability Determination (QDD) and Compassionate Allowances (CAL), use technology to identify claimants with the most severe disabilities and allow us to expedite our decisions on those cases while maintaining accuracy.  These initiatives have been two of our greatest successes in recent years. We can approve some cases in a matter of days instead of months.