worldbank.org (2022) As we move into an increasingly digital world, governments across the globe are leveraging new technologies to deliver services better, faster, and more transparently. Globally, over a quarter of adults are receiving payments from the government whether through public sector wages, pensions, sectoral subsidies, or social protection programs, an increase of 400 million from just four years earlier. The increasing scale of these government-to-person (G2P) payments offers a huge opportunity to advance financial inclusion, advance women’s economic empowerment, and promote the development of the digital ecosystem. This report is a reference document to be consulted by governments and those advising policy makers when considering, designing and implementing digital government-to-person (G2P) payments. It provides a framework for a modern G2P architecture which can support long-term development outcomes through the digitalization of G2P payments.

The OECD Forum Network (13.12.2021) How can workers in the gig economy be better protected against severe shocks and adverse working conditions?

worldbank.org (28.09.2020) The economic impact of COVID-19 is unprecedented in size and scope. It has quickly evolved from a health emergency into an employment crisis. It also has far-reaching implications for workers beyond the immediate employment effects, as it most likely has accelerated the transformation process of jobs that had already started in the region and the world. This book focuses on three important pre-pandemic trends observed in the region—namely, premature deindustrialization, servicification of the economy, and task automation—that were significantly changing the labor market landscape in the region and that have been accelerated by the crisis.

ILO report (Sept 2018) The report offers one of the first comparative studies of working conditions at five of the major, global, online micro-task platforms

ILO Research Paper Series (Oct 2018) The current wave of technological change based on advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) has created widespread fear of job losses and further rises in inequality. This paper discusses the rationale for these fears, highlighting the specific nature of AI and comparing previous waves of automation and robotization with the current advancements made possible by a wide-spread adoption of AI.

OECD (25.04.2019) The 2019 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook presents new evidence on changes in job stability, underemployment and the share of well-paid jobs, and discusses the policy implications of these changes with respect to how technology, globalisation, population ageing, and other megatrends are transforming the labour market in OECD countries. The report also assesses challenges for social protection policies, presenting evidence on the support gaps affecting different types of worker, and discussing reform avenues for preserving and strengthening the key stabilising role of social protection systems.

Asian Development Bank (January 2019) This study considers how technology is likely to change labor markets in Africa; Developing Asia; Emerging Europe, Central Asia, and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean; and Latin American and the Caribbean in the coming years.

oecd.org (07.11.2018) Social protection systems are often still designed for the archetypical full-time dependent employee. Work patterns deviating from this model – be it self-employment or online "gig work" – can lead to gaps in social protection coverage. Globalisation and digitalisation are likely to exacerbate this discrepancy as new technologies make it easier and cheaper to offer and find work online, and online work platforms have experienced spectacular growth in recent years. While new technologies and the new forms of work they create bring the incomplete social protection of non-standard workers to the forefront of the international policy debate, non-standard work and policies to address such workers’ situation are not new: across the OECD on average, one in six workers is self-employed, and a further one in eight employees is on a temporary contract. Thus, there are lessons to be learned from country experiences of providing social protection to non-standard workers. This report presents seven policy examples from OECD countries, including the "artists’ insurance system" in Germany or voluntary unemployment insurance for self-employed workers in Sweden. It draws on these studies to suggest policy options for providing social protection for non-standard workers, and for increasing the income security of on-call workers and those on flexible hours contracts.

Alan Turing Institute (24.10.2018)  In this document, we offer a review of recent literature on the future of work. Using a critical review method, the report synthesises key findings about the future of work focusing on three main areas: broad research findings, emerging research directions, and innovative data science research directions. The first part of the review summarises and discusses changes in the nature and creation of jobs, assignments, and tasks; changing organisation of work and production; varying impacts of the changing nature of work on society; and the governance of these changes through politics, policy and institutions. The second section addresses potential drivers of the changing nature of work; disparate impacts of technology on different tasks; challenges for young people to boost employability; impacts of the changing nature of work on the disenfranchised; and proposals for policies and governance models to manage the transitions related to the future of work. The third section discusses research approaches and findings around the susceptibility of tasks and assignments to computerisation; industrial diversification and data-driven policy tools; and development of online labour markets.

Eurofound (24.09.2018) Platform work is a form of employment that uses an online platform to match the supply of and demand for paid labour. In Europe, platform work is still small in scale but is rapidly developing. The types of work offered through platforms are ever-increasing, as are the challenges for existing regulatory frameworks. This report explores the working and employment conditions of three of the most common types of platform work in Europe. For each of these types, Eurofound assesses the physical and social environment, autonomy, employment status and access to social protection, and earnings and taxation based on interviews with platform workers. A comparative analysis of the regulatory frameworks applying to platform work in 18 EU Member States accompanies this review. This looks into workers’ employment status, the formal relationships between clients, workers and platforms, and the organisation and representation of workers and platforms.

ilo.org (30.09.2018) Platform work is increasing worldwide, leaving a serious lack of social protection. In spite of the international and flexible character of platform work, extending social security is feasible – if one is ready to explore new avenues. This article is on setting out for Digital Social Security.

World Economic Forum (17.08.2018) New categories of jobs will emerge, partly or wholly displacing others. The skill sets required in both old and new occupations will change in most industries and transform how and where people work. The Future of Jobs Report aims to unpack and provide specific information on the relative magnitude of these trends by industry and geography, and on the expected time horizon for their impact to be felt on job functions, employment levels and skills.

SAP Institute for Digital Government (May 2018) This series examines two areas of interest to members of the International Social Security Association (ISSA):  contemporary applications of big data analytics within the context of Social Security; and the opportunity for emerging technologies to extend and enhance current analytical techniques to deliver better social and economic outcomes.

SAP Institute for Digital Government (May 2018) This series examines areas of interest to members of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) related to emerging technologies enabling data-driven policy and practice. All modern governments have rich stores of customer and case data, but most government agencies struggle to convert this data into meaningful information and actionable insights. The reasons for this include: government data fragmentation, data quality, difficulties to identify pivotal events and emerging trends, regulatory constraints, and performance issues on analytical processing. This article analyses such challenges for taking advantage of Big Data and discusses how Real-Time Computing could contribute to overcome them.

europa (27.06.2018) The Commission is publishing today a report on digital platform workers in Europe. The report provides evidence on this emerging phenomenon based on a survey of over 32 000 people across 14 Member States. This helps to estimate the size of platform work, outline the main characteristics of platform workers, learn about their working conditions and motivations, and describe the type of services provided through digital labour platforms.

ITU(2017) This report is composed of a number of best practice reports on different aspects of cybersecurity. An analysis of an ITU’s cybersecurity awareness survey demonstrates that while a number of countries have to improve cybersecurity awareness, some do not, and those that do often do not target key segments of society. Strong attention is often paid to child online protection as a priority. Information related to the ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) conducted is also provided.

ITU (2017) The report is a practical tool aiming at assisting administrations in implementing ICT accessibility for persons with disabilities in their respective countries. It also provides resources and addresses a series of questions, including: What changes must be made to existing legislation to promote ICT accessibility? How to promote accessibility in public ICT spaces, such as telecentres and public pay phones? Which requirements for public procurement, including commercial best practices relating to telecommunications/ICT, should apply to persons with disabilities? What are the requirements for mobile phone accessibility? What are the requirements for TV and video programming accessibility? What are the requirements for web accessibility? How can accessibility tools be used by people with difficulties mastering reading and writing? What are the best strategies, policies, and projects on accessibility that are already implemented? What commercial solutions exist in the global ICT marketplace? What potential practical applications can be identified to promote accessible e-Education?

OECD (2015) Recently, large-scale digital security incidents with potential economic consequences have increased in frequency and sophistication, in a context where the digital environment has become essential to the functioning of the economy and a key enabler for growth, well-being and inclusiveness.

To reap the benefits associated with the digital environment, stakeholders need to depart from approaching digital security risk solely from a technical perspective in isolation from broader economic and social considerations. It is urgent that they integrate digital security risk management in their economic and social decision making process. Public policy makers also need to ponder the complexity of digital security risk through its multiple dimensions from economic and social prosperity to law enforcement (“cybercrime”) to warfare to national security and international security.

This OECD Recommendation and its companion document provide guidance for all stakeholders on these aspects.

European Parliament (Dec 2017)  This study investigates the social protection of workers in the platform economy at the request of the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee. The report reviews literature and previous research on the platform economy with the aims of defining it and developing a typology for understanding its nature. It discusses the growth and drivers of the platform economy, as well as benefits and challenges for workers, reporting findings from 50 interviews conducted with expert stakeholders in eight European countries and from an original survey of 1,200 platform workers. It dissects the different normative layers that need to be considered when looking at the challenges of social protection of platform workers from a legal perspective. Finally, the report draws conclusions and makes recommendations concerning arrangements for the provision of social protection for workers in this growing sector of the economy.

ILO (15.06.2018) Social protection systems around the world face challenges to provide full and effective coverage for workers in all forms of employment, including those in “new” forms of employment. This paper provides a review of innovative approaches that countries have undertaken to close coverage and adequacy gaps, and to adapt social protection systems to changing circumstances and demands through a combination of contributory and non-contributory mechanisms.