This paper proposes two measures for assessing the impact of interventions on the lives of disabled people, the Activity Limitation Score (ALS) and the Participation restriction Score (PRS). These measures are closely linked to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) International Classification...

This paper gives an overview on current demographic trends and projected population change in Europe and neighboring regions. The main focus of the analysis is on Western and Central Europe. Today this world region has a total population of 500 million. Available forecasts until the year 2050...

To what extent have macro and structural reforms in many developing countries affected the labor market? Are current policy settings in the labor market adequate to cope with the current challenges of a more dynamic but also more risky economic environment? Are there examples of successful labor...

There is a wide agreement on the fact that a large informal economy leaves many individuals without social protection and reduces government's tax revenue and social security contributions. However, it remains an open question what really drives informality, namely whether workers are simply...

The aim of this paper on the social assimilation of immigrants is to take a close look at migrants'social integration into the host country. The authors rely on the European Community Household panel (ECHP), which devotes a full module to the role and relevance of social relations for both...

This Youth Employment Inventory (YEI) is based on available documentation of current and past programs and includes evidence from 289 studies of interventions from 84 countries in all regions of the world. The interventions included in the YEI have been analyzed in order to (i) document the...

A number of trends are changing the nature of social risks and increase the importance of human capital, adaptability and flexibility. This paper discusses the usefulness of a life-course perspective in developing proactive social policies that better fit the changing life cycles of individuals...

The objective of this paper is to review and compare the performance of social assistance non-contributory income support programs for the poor within the context of the Social Protection (SP) systems in European and other advanced economies. The performance and design of targeted income support...

In typical pension systems, individuals are asked to make contributions and based on the number of contributions made and the level of those contributions, a pension is awarded. Contributions from workers generally finance these pensions. Since higher income individuals tend to make more...

This paper compares the different approaches of Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China with respect to how they manage their respective defined contribution, individual retirement account systems. The four cases illustrate important differences in terms of some of the key issues in design of...