Extending social protection in times of crisis: The data revolution

This working paper analyses the adaptation of social protection systems to changes in economic conditions and discusses how these can be made more responsive and inclusive during crises by leveraging newly available data systems. In examining data for 106 countries from the 1980s onwards, it transpires that social protection is the most countercyclical type of public expenditure and that social assistance spending has typically been more responsive during economic contractions.