Request for research proposals
The political economy of social protection systems

Background

UNU-WIDER has started a new project ‘The Economics and Politics of Taxation and Social Protection’ that aims to shed new light on the system-wide impacts of social protection and tax systems in developing countries. It involves research work that provides analytical tools for policy-makers and researchers alike to understand the current scope of tax-benefit systems and to be able to simulate impacts of policy changes. It also offers new evidence on the impacts of tax systems on economic efficiency; in particular, on tax collection efficacy. Political economy aspects are an important part of this research. Such an approach helps understand which features foster successful adoption of social protection reforms.

Offer and expectations

UNU-WIDER invites research proposals from qualified researchers working on, or interested in exploring political economy considerations of social protection systems in developing countries. The aim of these papers is to culminate as articles in a special issue of a journal.

The specific objectives of this request for research proposals are:

1. To shed light on how policy can generate sustained routes to develop social protection systems.
2. To analyse the taxonomy of social protection systems across regions and assess the implications of such configurations for global development efforts to tackle poverty, vulnerability, and other forms of wellbeing deprivation.
3. To advance our understanding of the types of political regimes or conditions that have facilitated (or limited) the expansion of social protection and their political legitimacy.
4. To analyse how fiscal institutions have evolved over time in developing countries, and examine how these developments are linked with parallel changes in the informal sector and social protection.
5. To analyse the incentives of incumbent governments to use natural resource rents, redistribution, or other forms of revenue mobilization to finance social protection, and examine the short-term and long-term implications of such decisions.

Research proposals are invited to cover any of the following areas:

• Theoretical models of political economy
• Conceptual analysis of social protection systems
• Country case studies of programmes and impacts
• Econometric analyses utilizing cross-country and panel data
• Regional comparative studies

Proposals from individuals (or groups of individuals) as well as non-profit organizations are welcome. Applications from suitably qualified women and developing country candidates are particularly encouraged.

Queries and responses

Queries and responses for the political economy of social protection system

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Request for research proposals - The political economy of social protection systems