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New estimates show that just eight men own the same wealth as the poorest half of the world. As growth benefits the richest, the rest of society – especially the poorest – suffers. The very design of our economies and the principles of our economics have taken us to...

In recent years, the World Bank and IMF have played an influential role in shaping national social protection policies. Social protection comprises a significant share of World Bank loans, reaching almost 10 per cent of lending to low-income countries in 2017, while around 10 per cent of IMF loans...

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The human right to education is recognized in several instruments under international law. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights deals more comprehensively than any other instrument with this right. Pursuant to article 13 of the Covenant, States parties recognize “the right of everyone to education”. The...

This book assesses the catalogue of principles included in the ILO Recommendation on Social Protection Floors from a legal perspective. Despite the international community’s recognition of social protection as a human right, the vast majority of the world’s population still has no access to social protection. In a major effort...

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 asserts that social security is an inalienable human right. Realizing this human right is often considered, simply, as a matter of political will and of administrative aptitude. In these terms, the progressive realization of the human right to social...

There has been increasing recognition of the growth of informal employment in the global South and North. Most informal work is precarious and low paid, with workers having little or no access to social protection. It is sometimes suggested that an approach that moves away from productivism – the...

A key normative principle of transformative social policy is that it is rights-based. This implies that it be universal, as a right extended categorically to all persons in a defined situation, or to all citizens, or, in its most radical form, as applicable to all residents regardless of citizenship...

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 asserts that social security is an inalienable human right. Realizing this human right is often considered, simply, as a matter of political will and of administrative aptitude. In these terms, the progressive realization of the human right to social...

When countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) achieved independence, formal social protection schemes established by former colonial powers were, to varying degrees, assimilated or mimicked by the State, particularly pension systems for government and formal-sector workers. These systems, however, have proven to be highly subsidized and...

India was one of the first developing countries to introduce the Minimum Wages Act in 1948 and it is still considered to be an important piece of labour legislation. However, the Act is only applicable to a small proportion of workers. This has resulted in intense academic and policy...

In this edition of Social Panorama of Latin America, ECLAC has addressed the questions posed by the countries of the region in three major areas: income inequality between individuals and households and how these relate to labour market dynamics; the evolution of poverty and its determinants; and the effects...

The right to education appears in more than 40 standards —declarations and conventions— of the international system, under the aegises of the United Nations, UNESCO, and the International Labour Organization. The principle norms on the right to education are set by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural...

Ce recueil de normes internationales regroupe les dispositions figurant dans les normes sur le droit à l’éducation sous des concepts pris des instruments internationaux des Nations Unies, de l’UNESCO et de l’OIT. Cette étude concerne donc exclusivement le système universel. Il a pour finalité de donner une vision exhaustive...

This compilation of international standards contains the provisions which appear in the right to education norms under concepts taken from the international instruments of the United Nations, UNESCO and ILO. Thus, this study concerns exclusively the universal system. Its aim is to give an exhaustive vision of the international...

This paper presents the results of costing universal social protection floors in 34 lower middle-income, and 23 low-income countries, consisting of: (i) allowances for all children and all orphans; (ii) maternity benefits for all women with newborns; (iii) benefits for all persons with severe disabilities, and (iv) universal old-age...

Universal social protection is essential for realizing the human right to social security for all, advancing social justice and promoting inclusive growth, and accelerating progress towards achieving the globally agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ILO flagship report provides a global overview...

Universal social protection is essential for realizing the human right to social security for all, advancing social justice and promoting inclusive growth, and accelerating progress towards achieving the globally agreed 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This ILO flagship report provides a global overview...

Latin American and Caribbean region is facing a complex set of economic and social circumstances that threaten the conditions needed for further progress towards the goal of eradicating all forms of poverty and ensuring that no one is left behind, as required by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development....

The ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2017  takes stock of the current global labour market situation, assessing the most recent employment developments and forecasting unemployment levels in developed, emerging and developing countries. It also focuses on trends in job quality, paying particular attention to working poverty and vulnerable...

Ce premier rapport 2016 sur la situation des droits économiques, sociaux et culturels de 42 pays est une initiative de L’Observatoire international sur les droits économiques, sociaux et culturels (ObIDESC). Créé par le Collège Universitaire Henry Dunant, en collaboration avec l’OIDEL et la chaire UNESCO de l’Université de La...

The website makes the first comprehensive and transparent database of IMF-mandated policy reforms  freely available to interested researchers and civil society organizations. The database systematizes the 58,406 conditions applicable to IMF programmes over the 1980-2014 period. The data was extracted from countries’ loan agreements with the IMF. This resource enables...

The Sustainable Development Goals have set ambitious targets that apply to rich countries as well as poor. The most telling sign of a nation’s progress towards meeting those goals will be how well it meets the needs of its children. This Report Card offers an assessment of child well-being...

The focus of the present report is on the idea of replacing or supplementing existing social protection systems with a universal basic income (“basic income”). In recent months, this proposal has drawn increased attention from governments, scholars, and practitioners in a range of different fields, and four major books...