Publication: Enhancing Coverage and Cost-effectiveness of Brazil’s Unemployment Protection System: Insights from International Experience
Date
2020-12
ISSN
Published
2020-12
Author(s)
Morgandi, Matteo
Fietz, Katharina Maria
Ed, Malin Linnea Sofia
De Farias, Alison Rocha
Weber, Michael
Abstract
The objective of the policy note is to
inform reforms of the unemployment protection system of
Brazil,through a comparison of its salient features with
international benchmarks, and by taking stock of employment
dynamics since the 2014 crisis. Recommendations include
varying degrees of ambition (and political complexity), from
parametric reforms of the unemployment insurance Seguro
Desemprego (SD) to more systemic reorganization of programs,
and the extension of coverage to growing shares of
nondependent workers. The note builds on prior analysis of
Brazil’s labor market programs undertaken as part of the
World Bank’s expenditure review for Brazil (published World
Bank 2018). The main novelties include a broader and deeper
international benchmarking, as well as analysis of the
unemployment dynamics since 2015, which are important to
inform the optimal redesign of unemployment programs. The
note was developed before the COVID-19 pandemic, and, while
it takes stock of recent trends, it is not meant to be an
assessment of Brazil’s emergency response or do justice to
the emerging literature and data on the matter. As Brazil
prepares for its economic recovery, the note aims to provide
valuable information for a national policy debate around the
much-needed modernization of the unemployment protection
system. The note is organized as follows. The first part of
the note takes stock of some of the key characteristics of
Brazil’s labor market and unemployment dynamics since the
2014 economic crisis using the National Household Sample
Survey Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios Contínua
(PNADc) survey data. The centerpiece of the analysis is the
comparison of the design features of SD to a range of
international programs of reference countries, through a
benchmarking exercise of its regulation, generosity,
activation measures, and effective coverage rate. The final
part of this note summarizes the key findings and provides recommendations.
Citation
“Morgandi, Matteo; Fietz, Katharina Maria; Ed, Malin Linnea Sofia; De Farias, Alison Rocha; Weber, Michael. 2020. Enhancing Coverage and Cost-effectiveness of Brazil’s Unemployment Protection System : Insights from International Experience. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35168 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”