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Social protection, the COVID-19 crisis, and the informal economy: Lessons from relief for comprehensive social protection

Author

Listed:
  • Laura Alfers
  • Florian Juergens-Grant

Abstract

This paper considers the implications of COVID-19 relief measures for the building and extension of comprehensive and universal social protection systems. It highlights three key areas emerging from the crisis, which are likely to affect the shape of social protection systems moving forward. These include the contested meaning of universality, the digitization of social protection systems, and the possibilities for informal worker participation in building a more inclusive social protection.

Suggested Citation

  • Laura Alfers & Florian Juergens-Grant, 2023. "Social protection, the COVID-19 crisis, and the informal economy: Lessons from relief for comprehensive social protection," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-93, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2023-93
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp2023-93-social-protection-COVID-19-crisis-informal-economy.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mariano Bosch & Raymundo M. Campos-Vazquez, 2014. "The Trade-Offs of Welfare Policies in Labor Markets with Informal Jobs: The Case of the "Seguro Popular" Program in Mexico," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(4), pages 71-99, November.
    2. Kate Meagher, 2021. "Informality and the Infrastructures of Inclusion: An Introduction," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(4), pages 729-755, July.
    3. Stephanie Barrientos & Uma Kothari & Nicola Phillips, 2013. "Dynamics of Unfree Labour in the Contemporary Global Economy," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(8), pages 1037-1041, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Informal work; Universalism; Social protection; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

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