Publication: Do Social Benefits Respond to Crises? Evidence from Europe and Central Asia during the Global Crisis
Date
2012-11
ISSN
Published
2012-11
Author(s)
Isik-Dikmelik, Aylin
Abstract
Social benefits can potentially play an
important role in protecting the poor and minimizing the
impacts of an economic crisis. While many studies estimate
the impacts of a crisis, there is little evidence of the
actual response of social safety nets to systematic shocks.
This study traces the response of social benefits during the
2008-10 global crisis for 14 countries in Europe and Central
Asia (ECA). The study first sets out a framework for
defining the 'expected' response of social
benefits covering an assessment of pre-crisis preparedness
of social benefits and the severity of the crisis for all
countries in the ECA region to provide the context; and then
develops a typology of all countries categorized by expected
response. Using this typology the study analyzes the monthly
administrative data on the observed patterns within social
benefit programs. Main findings indicate that actual
responses were largely in line with expectations. Pre-crisis
preparedness clearly influenced the ability of social
benefits to respond to the crisis. Unemployment benefits
were generally the first line of response in countries that
have them, while social assistance programs also expanded
coverage during the crisis. Lessons learned from the
2008?2010 global crisis (such as the importance of
structural reform, design, and implementation which affect
the success of social benefits programs in crisis response)
are also presented. The study concludes with some policy
recommendations to help ECA countries prepare for future crises.
Citation
“Isik-Dikmelik, Aylin. 2012. Do Social Benefits Respond to Crises? Evidence from Europe and Central Asia during the Global Crisis. Social Protection and Labor Discussion Paper;No. 1219. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/b949f1c2-883c-5069-833a-c6b8b5f9a7a8 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”