Is Social Protection a Luxury Good ? (English)

20.500.12592/9dk52x

Is Social Protection a Luxury Good ? (English)

13 Sep 2022

The claim that social protection is a luxury good-with a national income elasticity exceeding unity-has been influential. The paper tests the œluxury good hypothesis using newly-assembled data on social protection spending across countries since 1995, treating the pandemic period separately, as it entailed a large expansion in social protection efforts. While the mean income share devoted to social protection rises with income, this is attributable to multiple confounders, including relative prices, weak governance in low-income countries and access to information-communication technologies. Controlling for these, social protection is not a luxury good. This was also true during the pandemic.
social assistance social insurance world social protection and labor social protection and growth

Authors

Lokshin,Michael M., Ravallion,Martin, Torre,Ivan

DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10174
Disclosure Date
2022/09/13
Disclosure Status
Disclosed
Doc Name
Is Social Protection a Luxury Good ?
Published in
United States of America
Series Name
Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 10174;
Unit Owning
Office of the Chief Economist (ECACE)
Version Type
Final
Volume No
1