The World Bank has said that social protection policies in the Middle East and North Africa region can play a crucial role in reducing labor market exclusion by facilitating access to productive employment, protecting workers, and providing a safety net for people that are left behind.
However, according to the report published on Wednesday, social protection policies in countries across MENA are falling short of that role.
The report identifies reform priorities to make social protection systems in MENA more inclusive and efficient. The first order of priority is to build a shock-responsive system to deliver income support and opportunities to the poor, which some MENA countries are already making good progress on.
The next priority should be to expand the coverage of social insurance among vulnerable informal workers. That should be accompanied by expanded support to enhance the productivity of informal workers and to increase the employability of youth and women — along with the elimination of barriers to women’s employment. This will require more resources, but not at any cost.
In a tight fiscal environment, MENA countries need to tackle the reform of generalized energy and food subsidies, said the report. They also need to re-design their pension systems to support active ageing, including by eliminating incentives for early retirement, the report added.
