Social Policies

Social policies affect people at different stages of their lives and have to address a range of issues: child-development, combining family and work responsibilitiessocial benefits  and disability policies  for periods out of work, spells of poverty (more generally income distribution), and pension policies for today's workers. In all areas, taking a gender  perspective is an important for policy design.

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Making the most of income-support policies in a downturn

17-Sep-2009

The current downturn is severely testing the adequacy of unemployment benefit systems as the primary safety net for job-losers and their families. This section of chapter 1 of OECD Employment Outlook 2009 considers the scope and generosity of existing income-support policies and asks whether, and how, support measures should be adapted to deal with the challenges occasioned by a severe recession.

Spend early on children, says OECD

01-Sep-2009

Governments should invest more money on children in the first six years of their lives to reduce social inequality and help all children, especially the most vulnerable, have happier lives, according to the OECD.

OECD reveals evolving social trends in Asia-Pacific

13-Aug-2009

Society at a Glance - Asia/Pacific Edition 2009 shows that in terms of income inequality in Asia, China stands out with the poorest 10% sharing only 1.6% of national income, while the top 10% on the income scale own almost 35% of the country’s wealth. This special edition of Society at a Glance looks at social trends and policy developments in Asia-Pacific countries.

Crisis highlights the need for sweeping pension reforms, says OECD

23-Jun-2009

Governments must continue reforms to ensure that public and private retirement income provision is socially as well as financially sustainable, according to the 2009 edition of the OECD’s biennial Pensions at a Glance.

Governments must do more to help most vulnerable amid rising unemployment, urges OECD

15-May-2009

Governments must urgently adapt their labour market policies to help their most vulnerable citizens in the economic crisis, as was concluded at the High-Level Forum on Sickness, Disability and Work in May 2009. Key to this will be avoiding that the crisis further strengthens a disability benefit culture that pushes many people with disability onto benefit schemes and out of work for the rest of their lives.

Society at a Glance reveals evolving social trends in OECD countries

04-May-2009

The French spend more time sleeping than anyone else in OECD countries. They also devote more time to eating than anyone else and nearly double that of Americans, Canadians or Mexicans. These are some of the insights into the differing ways in which OECD countries use that most fundamental of resources, time, in the latest edition of Society at a Glance.

Chile should create more and better jobs to cut poverty and inequality, says OECD

06-Apr-2009

Chile should invest more in employment and active social policies in order to reduce its high levels of income inequality and poverty, according to a new OECD report.

Asian countries should reform their pension systems

07-Jan-2009

Many Asian countries will need to reform their pension systems in order to deliver sustainable and adequate retirement incomes for today’s workers, according to a new OECD report.

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