Williams, PennyLarrison, JennicaStrokova, VictoriaLindert, Kathy2012-08-132012-08-132012-04https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10049Social safety nets in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region responded to protect people's incomes during the global recession, especially in countries where systems were developed before the crisis. As population's age and labor forces shrink, the elderly will increasingly rely on general revenues to supplement contributory pensions, competing with assistance for other vulnerable groups. Social safety nets that link to employment and other services can help people transition from reliance on social transfers to employability. Countries should not wait to confront these challenges. To further strengthen social safety nets, governments in ECA should consolidate and harmonize benefits, invest in systems improvements for greater efficiency, link social assistance and employment services, and actively communicate these reforms to their populations.CC BY 3.0 IGOACTIVE LABORBENEFICIARIESBENEFICIARYCAREGIVERSCASH BENEFITSCASH TRANSFERCASH TRANSFERSCHILD ALLOWANCESCHILD CARECONTRIBUTORY PENSIONSCRISESDEMOGRAPHIC CHANGEDEMOGRAPHIC PROJECTIONSDEPENDENCYDISABILITYDISABILITY BENEFITSDISABILITY INSURANCEDISABLEDDRIVERSELDERLYELIGIBILITYEMPLOYABILITYEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIESEMPLOYMENT SERVICESENTITLEMENTENTITLEMENT PROGRAMSHOUSEHOLD INCOMEHOUSEHOLD SURVEYHOUSEHOLD SURVEYSHOUSING BENEFITSHUMAN DEVELOPMENTINCOME SUPPORTINFORMATION SYSTEMSINSURANCEJOB INFORMATIONLABOR FORCELABOR FORCE PARTICIPATIONLABOR FORCESLOCAL GOVERNMENTSMATERNITY LEAVEMINIMUM INCOMEPENSIONPERFORMANCE INDICATORSPOLICY GOALSPOLICY MAKERSPOORPRODUCTIVITYPROTECTION SYSTEMSPUBLIC EMPLOYMENTPUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SERVICESPUBLIC SPENDINGPUBLIC WORKSPUBLIC WORKS SCHEMESQUALITY OF LIFEREFERRAL SERVICESSAFETYSAFETY NETSAFETY NET PROGRAMSSAFETY NET SYSTEMSSERVICE DELIVERYSOCIAL ASSISTANCESOCIAL BENEFITSSOCIAL INSURANCESOCIAL PENSIONSSOCIAL POLICYSOCIAL PROGRAMSSOCIAL PROTECTIONSOCIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMSSOCIAL SAFETY NETSOCIAL SAFETY NETSSOCIAL SERVICESSOCIAL TRANSFERSSTAFFTARGETINGTARGETING MECHANISMSTECHNICAL TRAININGUNEMPLOYEDUNEMPLOYMENTUNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITUNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITSUNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCEUNIVERSAL BENEFITSVULNERABLE GROUPSWAGESWORK PROGRAMWORKERSWORKING-AGE POPULATIONWorld Bank10.1596/10049