Introduction to Social Protection Systems: Instruments

Abstract

While social transfers and social insurance are generally regarded as the main building blocks of social protection systems, labour market policies and social services are not always viewed as integral parts of it. Microinsurance tends to be equally overlooked, even though it comprises a viable alternative next to informal social protection, where formal mechanisms falter. The Handbook on Social Protection Systems does not view these instruments in isolation, but rather discusses their respective role in the wider social protection system. It gives newcomers to social protection a first introduction to the concept, the different design parameters, the evidence base and the challenges ahead, and points advanced readers to some of the contestations that merit a closer look.