Session 1: Economic Crisis and Beyond: Social Policies for the Recovery

 

 

 

 

Well-functioning social protection is especially important during times like these. Maintaining and strengthening income transfers and employment-oriented measures in the immediate aftermath of the crisis has helped to smooth family incomes and supported aggregate demand and employment. As economies emerge from recession, such policies remain relevant: they can help deliver a sustained, job-rich and equitable recovery.

 

Nevertheless, social-protection systems are under pressure. The majority of governments are embarking on fiscal consolidation in an attempt to halt spiralling public debt. Curbing social expenditures, accounting for about half of total public spending in OECD countries, must play a role in the fiscal consolidation process. But this is difficult in the context of elevated need for government support and will have consequences for poverty and inequality. Moreover, the economic crisis and slow recovery have added further urgency to meeting the structural challenges facing welfare states.

Documentation

 

Budget deficits: changes in public transfers and government revenues
Expenditure and revenue changes 2007-10, real terms, per cent of 2010 GDP

Download the underlying data in Excel

 

Related OECD publications