Publication: Minimum Income and Social Inclusion Pathways – A review of selected European Union programs
Loading...
Published
2024-08-26
ISSN
Date
2024-08-26
Editor(s)
Abstract
Across European Union (EU) countries, the institutional design of Minimum Income (MI) programs varies widely in terms of the benefits and services provided to recipients, despite significant convergence toward a similar MI model and shared common approaches. This discussion paper investigates the delivery of social inclusion pathways, i.e., non-monetary support components to foster MI recipients’ social inclusion and highlights common challenges and good practices across eight EU case study countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden). The paper shows that while some countries prioritize labor activation for workforce reintegration of MI recipients, others aim for broader social inclusion, recognizing the challenges in integrating such recipients into the labor market due to their complex needs. Moreover, the paper examines how the social inclusion pathway and case management interventions in MI programs affect recipient’s welfare within poverty-targeted programs. It notes the lack of evidence on the effectiveness and impact of social inclusion pathways within MIs and mentions ongoing evaluations in Spain, Italy, and France to address this gap.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Marzi, Marta; Marini, Alessandra; Cherchi, Ludovica; Cenedese, Francesco. 2024. Minimum Income and Social Inclusion Pathways – A review of selected European Union programs. Social Protection & Jobs Discussion Paper; No. 2408. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42088 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Advancing Crisis-Resilient Social Protection Through a Hybrid Social Protection Scheme in Pakistan(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-21)The objective of this paper is to summarize analysis conducted to provide inputs to the Hybrid Social Protection Scheme (HSPS) pilot. Following the analysis conducted, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) launched the HSPS in December 2023. Eligible households for the scheme include existing beneficiary households (with a BISP unconditional cash transfer program cut-off score of 32) and those with a PMT score of up to 40. It is expected that a significant portion of households participating in the HSPS pilot consist of households with one or more members engaged in informal sector employment. The focus of the analysis was on gaining insights into saving behaviors, perceptions, and aspirations among potential participants in the HSPS through a survey. The research employed both quantitative and qualitative analysis to gather insights from a representative sample of BISP beneficiaries who exited the program due to improvements in their welfare status, making them ineligible for continued support. This study covered 12 districts across four provinces in Pakistan. The empirical findings suggest that financial literacy, digital inclusion, and family support are key drivers of saving demand. Conversely, taking loans, money transfer methods, and a lack of self-control in spending are observed to have adverse effects on the saving behavior. The multinomial logit analysis indicates a preference for monthly saving frequency and a rationality toward saving with the expectation of lucrative profits and matching contributions from the government. Moreover, the qualitative results underscore the feasibility of implementing HSPS tailored to the savings behavior of BISP beneficiaries contingent upon their willingness to open bank accounts. The study emphasizes the need to enhance literacy skills, promote digital access, and provide customized training and awareness initiatives to successfully implement the HSPS.Publication Displaced Persons from Ukraine in Moldova(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-13)As the number of forcibly displaced persons around the world reached a record 120 million in June 2024, the World Bank continues to deepen its efforts to understand and respond to the unique needs of these vulnerable populations. In recognition of the level of priority this issue has taken on in The World Bank, the 2023 edition of the annual World Development Report (WDR) focused on the topic of Migrants, Refugees and Societies. This WDR includes a specific call for a medium-term perspective that addresses the needs of refugees and prioritizes clear global and national responsibility sharing. The World Bank’s support for people displaced outside of their home countries is underpinned by its adherence to the Global Compact on Refugees, adopted by the United Nations in 2018. Most recently, The World Bank adopted a new corporate scorecard which includes the provision of services and livelihoods to displaced persons and host communities as one of the organizations’ 15 main results indicators.4 This study aims to identify the key impacts, needs of refugees and their host communities in Moldova and recommendations for addressing these needs. It builds on previous and ongoing assessments by various agencies, including UN agencies, to better understand the current and future implications of refugee movements and settlements in Moldova, especially in terms of service delivery, infrastructure, household livelihoods and local government capacity. This report’s survey focused on LPAs because these local officials are the primary government points of contact for displaced population in their communities as well as the interlocutors between displaced persons and national government departments. This study focuses on the perspectives of LPAs and the open-ended expressed needs and experiences of displaced persons.Publication Scaling up Social Assistance Where Data is Scarce(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-15)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. Leveraging the Covid-19 shock as an opportunity to leapfrog and innovate, various low-income countries used new sources of data and computational methods to rapidly develop -level welfare-targeted programs. This paper reviews both crisis-time programs and regular social protection operations to distill lessons that could be applicable for both contexts. It examines three programs from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, and Nigeria that used geospatial and mobile phone usage data and/or artificial intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning methods to estimate the welfare of applicants for individual-level welfare targeting and deliver emergency cash transfers in response to the pandemic. Additionally, it reviews two post-pandemic programs, in Lomé, Togo and in rural Lilongwe, Malawi, that incorporated those innovations into the more traditional delivery infrastructure and expanded their monitoring and evaluation framework. The rationale, key achievements, and main challenges of the various approaches are considered, and cases from other countries, as well as innovations beyond targeting, are taken into account. The paper concludes with policy recommendations and promising research topics to inform the discourse on leveraging novel data sources and estimation methods for improved social assistance in and beyond emergency settings.Publication Inclusion Matters : The Foundation for Shared Prosperity(Washington, DC, 2013-10-18)Today, the world is at a conjuncture where issues of exclusion and inclusion are assuming new significance for both developed and developing countries. The imperative for social inclusion has blurred the distinction between these two stylized poles of development. Countries that used to be referred to as developed are grappling with issues of exclusion and inclusion perhaps more intensely today than they did a decade ago. And countries previously called developing are grappling with both old issues and new forms of exclusion thrown up by growth. Nonlinear demographic transitions, global economic volatility, shifts in the international balance of power, and local political movements have had a large part to play in these shifting sands. These changes make social inclusion more urgent than it was even a decade ago. This report tries to put boundaries around the abstraction that is "social inclusion." Placing the discussion of social inclusion within such global transitions and transformations, the report argues that social inclusion is an evolving agenda. It offers two easy-to-use definitions and a framework to assist practitioners in asking, outlining, and developing some of the right questions that can help advance the agenda of inclusion in different contexts. This report builds on previous analytical work, especially by the World Bank, on themes that touch upon social inclusion, including multidimensional poverty, inequality, equity, social cohesion, and empowerment. There are seven main messages in this report: (1) excluded groups exist in all countries; (2) excluded groups are consistently denied opportunities; (3) intense global transitions are leading to social transformations that create new opportunities for inclusion as well as exacerbating existing forms of exclusion; (4) people take part in society through markets, services, and spaces; (5) social and economic transformations affect the attitudes and perceptions of people. As people act on the basis of how they feel, it is important to pay attention to their attitudes and perceptions; (6) exclusion is not immutable. Abundant evidence demonstrates that social inclusion can be planned and achieved; and (7) moving ahead will require a broader and deeper knowledge of exclusion and its impacts as well as taking concerted action. The report is divided into three parts. Part one is framing the issues. Part two focuses on transitions, transformations, and perceptions. Part three is change is possible.Publication Social Protection and Youth(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-07-01)This paper provides a narrative review of social protection policies for youth (ages 15–24) in low- and middle-income countries; assesses the state of the evidence on their impacts; and provides recommendations for policy and future research. It summarizes the findings by three groups of policies: transfers and scholarships, active labor market policies, and life skills programs. While social protection policies serve their primary purpose as safety nets, they do not have transformative effects for youth, overall. The paper highlights the tradeoffs that arise from using social protection programs to address particular market failures: many beneficiaries of popular programs are inframarginal. The impacts of social protection programs targeted to youth are likely to improve if there is higher human capital accumulation earlier in life and the programs account for age and gender, are of sufficient length and intensity, and are intentionally designed to address the underlying constraints and goals, including an understanding of important social norms in the settings in which they operate.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-01)Middle-income countries are in a race against time. Many of them have done well since the 1990s to escape low-income levels and eradicate extreme poverty, leading to the perception that the last three decades have been great for development. But the ambition of the more than 100 economies with incomes per capita between US$1,100 and US$14,000 is to reach high-income status within the next generation. When assessed against this goal, their record is discouraging. Since the 1970s, income per capita in the median middle-income country has stagnated at less than a tenth of the US level. With aging populations, growing protectionism, and escalating pressures to speed up the energy transition, today’s middle-income economies face ever more daunting odds. To become advanced economies despite the growing headwinds, they will have to make miracles. Drawing on the development experience and advances in economic analysis since the 1950s, World Development Report 2024 identifies pathways for developing economies to avoid the “middle-income trap.” It points to the need for not one but two transitions for those at the middle-income level: the first from investment to infusion and the second from infusion to innovation. Governments in lower-middle-income countries must drop the habit of repeating the same investment-driven strategies and work instead to infuse modern technologies and successful business processes from around the world into their economies. This requires reshaping large swaths of those economies into globally competitive suppliers of goods and services. Upper-middle-income countries that have mastered infusion can accelerate the shift to innovation—not just borrowing ideas from the global frontiers of technology but also beginning to push the frontiers outward. This requires restructuring enterprise, work, and energy use once again, with an even greater emphasis on economic freedom, social mobility, and political contestability. Neither transition is automatic. The handful of economies that made speedy transitions from middle- to high-income status have encouraged enterprise by disciplining powerful incumbents, developed talent by rewarding merit, and capitalized on crises to alter policies and institutions that no longer suit the purposes they were once designed to serve. Today’s middle-income countries will have to do the same.Publication Women, Business and the Law 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-04)Women, Business and the Law 2024 is the 10th in a series of annual studies measuring the enabling conditions that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies. To present a more complete picture of the global environment that enables women’s socioeconomic participation, this year Women, Business and the Law introduces two new indicators—Safety and Childcare—and presents findings on the implementation gap between laws (de jure) and how they function in practice (de facto). This study presents three indexes: (1) legal frameworks, (2) supportive frameworks (policies, institutions, services, data, budget, and access to justice), and (3) expert opinions on women’s rights in practice in the areas measured. The study’s 10 indicators—Safety, Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Childcare, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension—are structured around the different stages of a woman’s working life. Findings from this new research can inform policy discussions to ensure women’s full and equal participation in the economy. The indicators build evidence of the critical relationship between legal gender equality and women’s employment and entrepreneurship. Data in Women, Business and the Law 2024 are current as of October 1, 2023.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-10)The global economy is facing another substantial headwind, emanating largely from an increase in trade tensions and heightened global policy uncertainty. For emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), the ability to boost job creation and reduce extreme poverty has declined. Key downside risks include a further escalation of trade barriers and continued policy uncertainty. These challenges are exacerbated by subdued foreign direct investment into EMDEs. Global cooperation is needed to restore a more stable international trade environment and scale up support for vulnerable countries grappling with conflict, debt burdens, and climate change. Domestic policy action is also critical to contain inflation risks and strengthen fiscal resilience. To accelerate job creation and long-term growth, structural reforms must focus on raising institutional quality, attracting private investment, and strengthening human capital and labor markets. Countries in fragile and conflict situations face daunting development challenges that will require tailored domestic policy reforms and well-coordinated multilateral support.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.