First published in 1948, the International Social Security Review is the principal international quarterly publication in the field of social security.
Introduction: Social security, social cohesion and inclusive growth
Authors:
Roddy McKinnon
Issue:
Volume 73 (2020), Issue 3 (Special issue)
This special issue selectively addresses the relationship linking social security systems, inclusive growth and social cohesion. Inclusive growth and social cohesion are viewed as political expedient and necessary goals for national economies. The desirability of their attainment reflects political pragmatism, the “social contract”, as much as it does a commitment to the wider emancipative goal of social justice. The International Social Security Association (ISSA) has often paraphrased these assertions to argue that there can be “no social justice without social security”. Of course, progress achieved towards the realization of the goals of inclusive growth and social cohesion should be equally beneficial for the adequacy, sustainability and coverage of social security systems. The aim of this special issue is to unpack and better understand the nature of this relationship.
Topics:
Social policies & programmes
Keywords:
social security schemes
social development
economic development
social cohesion
economic growth
social contract
Regions:
International
Reinvigorating the social contract and strengthening social cohesion: Social protection responses to COVID-19
Authors:
Shahra Razavi
Christina Behrendt
Mira Bierbaum
Ian Orton
Lou Tessier
Issue:
Volume 73 (2020), Issue 3 (Special issue)
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of those who are inadequately covered by social protection in more and less developed countries alike, and has exacerbated the fragility of a social contract that was already under strain in many countries. A weak social contract in the context of an exceptional crisis poses a very real risk to social cohesion. Nevertheless, many States have reasserted themselves as the guarantor of rights by protecting public health and incomes. By sustaining these measures, economic recovery will be supported which will help minimize risks that may weaken social cohesion. However, this is a fast-moving, inherently unstable and protracted crisis. Social protection stands at a critical juncture. Decisive policy action will be required to strengthen social protection systems, including floors, as one of the cornerstones of a reinvigorated social contract.