Social Policy and Employment: Rebuilding the Connections (Research and Policy Brief)

With concerns continuing to mount about the persistently high levels of unemployment and informal/nonstandard employment stemming from the global economic crisis, recent debates on the social protection floor suggest that social policies remain high on the global agenda. But what are the connections between social policy and employment? This brief argues that over the past three decades these links have been weakened in both policy formulation and actual outcomes. It is high time that their connections are recognized for policy purposes. The post-2015 development agenda provides an opportune moment to reconnect social policy and employment.

This brief was written by James Heintz, Research Professor, PERI, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and Shahra Razavi, Research Coordinator, UNRISD.

UNRISD Research and Policy Briefs aim to improve the quality of development dialogue. They situate the Institute’s research within wider social development debates, synthesize its findings and draw out issues for consideration in decision-making processes. They provide this information in a concise format that should be of use to policy makers, scholars, activists, journalists and others.