Minimum-Income Benefits in OECD Countries: Policy Design, Effectiveness and Challenges

Herwig Immervoll

No 100, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers from OECD Publishing

Abstract: Almost all OECD countries operate comprehensive minimum-income programmes for working-age individuals, either as last-resort safety nets alongside primary income replacement benefits, or as the principal instrument for delivering social protection. Such safety-net benefits aim primarily at providing an acceptable standard of living for families unable to earn sufficient incomes from other sources. This paper provides an overview of social assistance and other minimum-income programmes in OECD countries, summarises their main features, and highlights a number of current policy challenges. Presque tous les pays de l’OCDE ont des programmes de revenu-minimum globaux envers les individus en âge de travailler, soit comme des filets de protection de dernier recours accompagnant des prestations principales de remplacement de revenu, soit comme instruments principaux pour apporter une protection sociale. De tels filets de protection ont pour but principalement d’apporter un standard de vie acceptable pour les familles incapables de gagner suffisamment de revenus d’autres sources. Ce document présente un aperçu de l’assistance sociale et d’autres programmes dans les pays de l’OCDE, résume leurs principales caractéristiques et met l’accent sur un nombre de défis politiques actuels.

Keywords: assistance sociale; impôt sur le revenu négatif; negative income tax; pauvreté; poverty; protection sociale à l’emploi; social assistance; welfare to work (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 H31 H53 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-01-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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Working Paper: Minimum-Income Benefits in OECD Countries: Policy Design, Effectiveness and Challenges (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oec:elsaab:100-en

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