February 2020

28Feb

The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality

By Angus Deaton The world is a better place than it used to be. People are healthier, wealthier, and live longer. Yet the escapes from destitution by so many has left gaping inequalities between people and nations. In The Great Escape, Nobel Prize–winning economist Angus Deaton—one of the foremost experts on economic development and on poverty—tells the remarkable story of how, beginning 250 years ago, some parts of the world experienced sustained progress, opening up gaps and setting the...

February 28, 2020
Books, Sustainability, , ,
Read more...
21Feb

Staff in 74 UK universities start 2-week strike over pensions

Up to 50,000 staff members in 74 universities across Britain started a 14-day strike on Thursday over disputes on pension, pay and working conditions. Members of the University and College Union (UCU), including lecturers, technicians, librarians and other academic and support staff, are joining the industrial action between Feb. 20 and March 13, potentially affecting 1.2 million students. The UCU said 50,000 of its members will take the action over workloads, pay, a 15 percent gender pay gap,...

February 21, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
13Feb

World Bank economic report urges Uganda to step up social protection

The World Bank has today released the 14th Uganda Economic Update which has focused on social protection systems in Uganda and proposes a more effective approach to reduce vulnerability and to support more inclusive growth. The report indicates that the coverage and design of social protection programs are currently insufficient to meaningfully address the range and scope of vulnerabilities to shocks in Uganda. It indicates that the existing direct income support programs in Uganda have low coverage, with...

February 13, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

January 2020

17Jan

Japan supports IDB’s social projects in Caribbean

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it has partnered with Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) in promoting and developing “socially responsible capital markets” through investments in IDB social bonds focused on education-youth-employment (EYE) in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Washington-based financial institution on Wednesday said that its social (EYE) bonds “foster human capital development from the classroom to the workplace”. “The funds raised through them will finance projects in Latin America and the Caribbean that promote effective...

January 17, 2020
News, Slider, , , , ,
Read more...
02Jan

Mongolia to write off loans of all pensioners

The National Security Council of Mongolia led by the country's president has decided to write off the loans of all pensioners in the country. President Khaltmaa Battulga announced the decision on Tuesday night while extending New Year greetings to his people via media. "I am happy to announce that the National Security Council of Mongolia has decided to pay off the loans of all pensioners ... with the aim to help them get out of debt," he said. It...

January 2, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

December 2019

23Dec

Japan, European Development Bank Launch Social Bond Initiative

Japan’s $1.48 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) have launched a partnership to promote and develop sustainable capital markets. Their focus will be on social bonds, and the incorporation of ESG assessments in fixed-income investments. “GPIF requires all asset managers to integrate ESG into their investment analysis and decision-making,” Hiro Mizuno, CIO of GPIF, said in a statement. “We regard the purchase of green, social and sustainability bonds as one of...

December 23, 2019
News, Slider, , , , , ,
Read more...
20Dec

Tanzania: Universal Pension Scheme Transforms Lives of Elders in Zanzibar

THE Zanzibar's Universal Social Pension scheme (ZUPS) has improved the lives of older people in Zanzibar and made a positive impact on their wider households, according to a new report released on Wednesday. The Impact Evaluation of the Zanzibar Universal Pension Scheme delivers a positive assessment on how east Africa's first ever universal pension scheme, which entitles all Zanzibari residents, aged 70 and over to a monthly social pension, has positively affected the lives of its recipients. Produced by...

December 20, 2019
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
19Dec

African Development Bank to Fund Morocco’s Social Protection Program

The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved funding of $204 million to improve social protection in Morocco, on Wednesday, December 18. The main objective of the program is to broaden social protection in Morocco to include people with disabilities, children, and vulnerable women, the AfDB said in a press release. The program also aims to promote a regional approach to developing more integrated and inclusive social policies. Meanwhile, the fund will enable the creation of 144 units specialized in...

December 19, 2019
News, Slider,
Read more...
16Dec

The Old-Age Security Motive for Fertility: Evidence from the Extension of Social Pensions in Namibia

By Pauline Rossi (University of Amsterdam), Mathilde Godard (GATE-LSE, Lyon) The old-age security motive for fertility postulates that people's needs for old-age support raise the demand for children. We test this widespread idea using the extension of social pensions in Namibia during the nineties. The reform eliminated inequalities in pension coverage and benefit across regions and ethnic groups. Combining differences in pre-reform pensions and differences in exposure across cohorts, we show that pensions substantially reduce fertility, especially in late...

December 16, 2019
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, , ,
Read more...
09Dec

France pensions overhaul to go ahead despite huge protests

The French government has vowed to press ahead with its overhaul of the pensions system despite a hardening nationwide strike that will keep transport at a standstill next week amid another round of planned massive street protests. Four days after at least 800,000 people took part in one of the biggest demonstrations of trade union strength in a decade on Thursday, transport remained virtually at a halt over the weekend as the president, Emmanuel Macron, held talks with ministers...

December 9, 2019
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...