Building decent societies : rethinking the role of social security in development / edited by Peter Townsend.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Townsend, Peter, 1928-2009.

International Labour Organization.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Poverty--Prevention--International cooperation.

Poverty.

Poverty--Developing countries--Prevention.

Income maintenance programs--Developing countries.

Income maintenance programs.

Social policy.

Poverty--Prevention.

International cooperation.

Developing countries--Social policy.

Developing countries.

Physical Description:

xxii, 386 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] : Palgrave Macmillan ; Geneva [Switzerland] : International Labour Organization, 2009.

Summary:

The downturn of the global economy has worsened the problems of poverty and unemployment across the whole word. This book makes the case for a comprehensive social security system to be developed in all countries, including the poorest ones, in order to eliminate desperate conditions of poverty, to reverse growing inequality and to sustain economic growth.

The establishment of universal social security systems has been one of the cornerstones of OECD countries' successful economic and social development and has contributed to reducing poverty and fostering social inclusion in today's rich countries. It is increasingly understood that universal social security systems have an enormous potential for low income countries which has not yet been sufficiently explored. Recognizing that economic and social development are inextricably intertwined across countries, new international strategies are required to design appropriate social security policies which would effectively help to reduce poverty and productively contribute to economic and social development. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Introduction / Peter Townsend 1

Part I The Right to Social Security and National Development 27

2 Social Security and Human Rights / Peter Townsend 29

Part II Issues for the Global Society of the Twenty-first Century 61

3 Social Protection and Nation-Building: an Essay on Why and How Universalist Social Policy Contributes to Stable Nation-States / Chris de Neubourg 63

4 Social Security, Social Impact and Economic Performance: a Farewell to Three Famous Myths / Michael Cichon, Wolfgang Scholz 80

5 Can Low-Income Countries Afford Social Security? / Christina Behrendt, Krzysztof Hagemejer 99

6 The Impact of Social Transfers on Growth, Development, Poverty and Inequality in Developing Countries / Michael Samson 122

7 Investment in Social Security: a Possible UN Model for Child Benefit? / Peter Townsend 151

Part III Social Protection in Europe and the OECD 167

8 Three Models of Social Security in the History of the Industrialized Countries / Peter Townsend 169

9 Social Protection, the European Union and its Member States / Raymond Wagener 190

10 Can the European Welfare Model be Exported? / Peter H. Lindert 201

11 The Poverty Effects of Social Protection in Europe: EU Enlargement and its Lessons for Developing Countries / Bea Cantillon 220

Part IV Experiences from Low-Income Countries 243

12 Social Security in Developing Countries: a Brief Overview / Peter Townsend 245

13 Introducing Basic Social Protection in Low-Income Countries: Lessons from Existing Programmes / Armando Barrientos 253

14 Social Protection, Rural Livelihoods and Economic Growth: the Case of Cash Transfers in Malawi, Ethiopia and Bangladesh / Rachel Slater, John Farrington, Rebecca Holmes, Paul Harvey 274

15 Welfare, Development and Growth: Lessons from South Africa / Francie Lund 290

16 From Targeting to Universality: Lessons from the Health System in Thailand / Viroj Tangcharoensathien, Phusit Prakongsai, Supon Limwattananon, Walaiporn Patcharanarumol, Pongpisut Jongudomsuk 310

Part V Conclusions 323

17 Rethinking the Role of Social Security in Development / Christina Behrendt, Michael Cichon, Krzysztof Hagemejer, Stephen Kidd, Rüdiger Krech, Peter Townsend 325.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 338-365) and index.

ISBN:

9780230235250

0230235255

9789221219958

922121995X

OCLC:

317926868