Financing Universal Social Protection to promote Inclusive Development and Reduce Inequality

Panel session at Civil Society Policy Forum World Bank/IMF Spring meetings 2018
Financing Universal Social Protection to promote inclusive development and reduce inquality

This event wishes to offer insights into how international financial institutions and other global initiatives can support universal social protection systems and floors (SDG 1.3):

What type of social protection policies and systems could countries adopt in order to fast-track universal coverage, sustainably reduce economic inequality and ensure inclusive development in a long-term perspective?

How have IMF and World Bank policies impacted the development of social protection systems in Latin America?

How can governments ensure adequate national fiscal resources to sustainably deliver appropriate social protection systems, including floors?

How might the International Financial Institutions support universal social protection coverage, establishing and deepening Social Protection Floors around the world? How will the World Bank and IMF support SDG 1.3 and universal social protection?

The side event will be held next 18 April 2018, 4:00 – 5:30 pm, IMF HQ2, 03B-838B.

Speakers include:

Isabel Ortiz is Director of Social Protection at the International Labour Organization (ILO). Earlier she was the Director of the Global Social Justice Program at Joseph Stiglitz’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University, Associate Director of Policy at UNICEF, and senior official at the United Nations DESA and at the Asian Development Bank. She has worked in more than 50 countries, providing advisory services to governments and development institutions. Isabel Ortiz has a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, and has written more than 50 publications translated in several languages.

Stephen Kidd is a Senior Social Protection Specialist at Development Pathways with more than 30 years experience of engaging on social development and social protection across Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. He was previously Director of Policy at HelpAge International, led DFID’s Social Protection Team. Stephen earned a Ph.D from the University of St. Andrews and spent two years as a lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh.

Carolina Dantas works as Social Protection Officer for the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) since 2014. She is a social scientist, graduated in Sociology, Political Science and Anthropology by the University of São Paulo (USP - Brazil). She is specialist in social protection programs in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

David Coady is Division Chief of the Expenditure Policy Division at the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) of the IMF. Prior to that, he was Lead Social Spending Expert in FAD, Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, and a lecturer in the Departments of Economics at University College London and Queen Mary College London. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics. He has worked extensively on policy issues related to the efficiency and distributional implications of public policies including indirect taxes, public sector pricing, social spending, and the evaluation of safety net programs.

Anush Bezhanyan is Practice Manager for Strategy, Operations, Knowledge, Learning and Partnerships in Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank Group. The unit she is heading covers broad spectrum of social protection and labor issues, including social assistance, social safety nets, pensions and social insurance issues. Prior to this position she was a Lead Social Protection Specialist and Cluster Leader for 15 countries in South and East Africa. She holds a Master's degree in Economics and Project Management from the State Technical University in Yerevan. Moderator: Peter Bakvis, Director ITUC/Global Unions – Washington Office, International Trade Union Confederation.

Moderator: Peter Bakvis, Director ITUC/Global Unions – Washington Office, International Trade Union Confederation

Download here the flyer of the event.