Challenges and strategies to increase social protection financing for workers in informal employment

This briefing note reviews the current debates about strategies to increase financing for social protection, which is essentially to enable the extension of coverage to workers in informal employment. The social protection financing gap is described and different approaches to close the gap are discussed, including the role of taxation, social security contributions and international aid. Challenges that governments face in raising sufficient financing to expand social protection to workers in informal employment in contexts of high informality are explored. The brief also looks at innovative approaches resulting from the demands of worker movements to gain financial contributions from those who benefit from workers in informal employment.