CRC 1342: Global Dynamics of Social Policy

Social Policy Response in the Global South: Evidence from 36 countries

Prof. Dr. Tim Dorlach

Tim Dorlach has done a meta-analysis of the 36 reports of our CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series. He has found that during the early phase of the pandemic, most countries have focussed on temporary and targeted benefits supporting the labour market and offering social assistance. Developing economies often used cash transfers and food relief and relied heavily on external funding, whereas emerging economies applied a broad range of measures and were acting more independently.

Indonesia: Targeted social protection with international financial support

For the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Mulyadi Sumarto and Fery Ferdiansyah analysed how Indonesia had to stretch its limited federal budget to fund social safety nets and to help the economy recover.

China's pragmatic adjustment of existing welfare institutions

In the 25th issue of the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Tobias ten Brink, Yuxin Li and Tao Liu take a look at China's social and economic countermeasures during the pandemic. The government, that could rely on the basic safety net that had been expanded over the last two decades, invested 2 % of the GDP to support the vulnerable and to release the financial burden on enterprises.

Argentina' struggle to protect income and employment

The economic situation was already difficult before the pandemic, yet Argentina managed to invest a considerable part of the state budget in measures to protect the labour market and the basic income of the vulnerable population from the effects of the pandemic. Camila Arza (Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Public Policy, Buenos Aires) analyses the measures in detail in her report for the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series.

Singapore: Tapping the reserves to safeguard employment

Jun Jie Woo (National University of Singapore) wrote the 16th report of the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series. He explains how the city-state channelled close to 100 billion Singapore Dollars into four Covid-19 budgets in order to cushion the economic and social impact of the pandemic.

Ecuador’s targeting problem

In her report for the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Maria Gabriela Palacio (Leiden University) highlights the difficulties Ecuador was facing in 2020 when it was trying to reach informal workers with a new social protection programme.

Turkey: Protecting the formal labour market was paramount

In another issue of the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Kerem Öktem looks at the policy bundle that the Turkish government has applied in order to tackle the pandemic's ripple effects on the economy and livelihoods.

Uruguay relied on the strong base of its social security system

In the latest issue of the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Cecilia Rossel and María Gutiérrez examine which measures Uruguay has taken to mitigate the side effects of the pandemic and the restrictions of public life.

Peru is boosting its economy while jeopardizing old-age security

For the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Javier Olivera (Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru) analyzes Peru's answers to surging poverty rates and plummeting GDP as the country is severely hit by the pandemic.

"Pandemic has the potential to lead to a consolidation of South Korea’s welfare state"

For the 7th edition of the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Jaemin Shim reviews South Korea’s social policy interventions that have been adopted to mitigate the side effects of the pandemic. Shim characterizes the response as quick and bipartisan.

Azerbaijan: Shrinking oil revenues, rising number of people in need

Farid Guliyev examines how Azerbaijan has dealt with the social and economic impact of the pandemic on the Central Asian country. The social policy response, Guliyev writes, was swift but insufficient.

Zambia’s emergency support scheme highly dependent on international donors

In volume 9 of the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Kate Pruce analyses Zambia’s efforts to curb the pandemic’s side effects on the most vulnerable groups while facing severe financial challenges. The government introduced an emergency cash transfer programme in July 2020, but it was mainly funded by international donors.

Costa Rica: Short-term social assistance scheme, equalling 3% of GDP

In the latest volume of the CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, Koen Voorend and Daniel Alvarado examine Costa Rica's swift actions to mitigate the pandemic's social and economic side effects. The Cental American country has implemented pension and labour market reforms as well as an emergency social assistance scheme. But the costs did pile up and the future of the programmes seems uncertain, given the financial crisis the country is facing by now.