National Dialogue on the Social Protection System in Tunisia

FromOct 31, 2022 To Oct 31, 2022

Hybrid Event

Tunisia is considered among the countries with the most comprehensive social protection system in the MENA region, with its large contributory and non-contributory schemes. Tunisia has historically been a leader in the region in social protection for women, labor protections, and more recently pluralistic democracy. However more than 44% of the  working population were still outside the social protection systems in 2019 and there remain entrenched geographic inequalities between the coast and the interior, as well as ill-targeted social spending.

Moreover, the health crisis of COVID-19 has exposed the current limitations of the social protection system despite the government deployment since the beginning of the crisis of eight urgent measures (2 contributory and 6 non-contributory) to mitigate the socio- economic and health impacts of the crisis.

With the adoption of the new constitution of 2014 Tunisia had embarked on reforms to better extend the coverage of programs especially to categories not yet covered and, more specifically, to active people in the informal economy. The country must also account for the challenges faced by the social protection system such as the performance and the targeting quality of non-contributory programs, inequality of access to care services, the problem of financial imbalance of funds and the exclusion of some vulnerable categories from the social protection system.

As part of the project “Reimagining Social Protection in Jordan and Tunisia” two national consultations were organized in January and September 2021, and in January 2022, around the social protection system in Tunisia. These events brought together social protection experts, academics and civil society actors to discuss the different schemes and programs, the limitations of this system especially in the face of the health crisis, identify key challenges and suggest practical recommendations.

This conference is intended as an opportunity for dialogue between  the various actors of civil society, policy makers, politicians and experts, to disseminate and discuss the policy recommendations and the key messages of six papers on the system of social protection in Tunisia.

 

OBJECTIVES

The conference will be an opportunity for experts, civil society representatives and policy makers to:

  1. Exchange on the outputs of the different papers on the current state of social protection system in Tunisia
  2. Discuss the main challenges of the current social protection system in general and more specifically regarding health insurance and outcomes, social protection extension strategies for informal workers, minimum and living wages, health insurance, and targeting cash assistance
  3. Discuss the role of civil society in promoting social protection reforms based ona comparative analysis between Tunisia and Jordan.
  4. Discuss the main policy recommendations
  5. Determine the main priorities in terms of reforms for a more inclusive social protection system in Tunisia.

 

DIALOGUE ORGANIZATION

This conference will center on providing space for various stakeholders to discuss policy implications of research findings. Three thematic sessions will take place in which the policy implications of each paper within this series will be presented and discussed by a panel of experts. Panel discussion will be followed by open discussion:

  • Presentation of Policy Findings – 10 minutes per paper.
  • Discussants – 10 minutes.
  • Open discussion – 10 minutes.

 

Register here!

 

Download the agenda

Agenda

Welcome Remarks

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 1:00 pm To 1:15 pm

Speakers

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Research Fellows

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Managing Director, Economic Research Forum

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Research Fellows

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Associate Professor, Université Paris1-Panthéon-Sorbonne

Asma Ben Hassen

Speakers

Asma Ben Hassen

Founder and President, Tunisia Inclusive Labor Institute...

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 1:15 pm To 1:45 pm

Speakers

Mohamed Amara

Research Fellows

Mohamed Amara

Associate Professor, Higher School of Economic and...

Khaled Nasri

Research Associates

Khaled Nasri

Researcher, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management...

Mouna Ben Othman

Speakers

Mouna Ben Othman

Teacher-Researcher, Higher School of Economics and Business...

Nidhal Ben Cheikh

Research Associates

Nidhal Ben Cheikh

Independent Consultant & University of Paris

Papers

Working Papers
The Landscape of Social Protection in Tunisia

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the social protection system in Tunisia... Read More

Policy Briefs
The Tunisian Social Protection System: Key Strengths and Challenges

In a nutshell Tunisia’s social protection system is well designed and features contributory schemes for... Read More

Videos

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 1:45 pm To 2:15 pm

Speakers

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Research Fellows

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Associate Professor, Université Paris1-Panthéon-Sorbonne

Nidhal Ben Cheikh

Research Associates

Nidhal Ben Cheikh

Independent Consultant & University of Paris

Phuong Minh Le

Authors

Phuong Minh Le

Research Intern, Centre for Analysis and Forecast...

Asma Ben Hassen

Speakers

Asma Ben Hassen

Founder and President, Tunisia Inclusive Labor Institute...

Ines Ayadi

Speakers

Ines Ayadi

Professor of Health Economy, Sfax University

Papers

Policy Briefs
Do Social Protection Programs Improve Health-related Outcomes of the Poor in Tunisia?

In a nutshell The Tunisian social protection main program (PNAFN) reduces the risks of incur-... Read More

Working Papers
Do Social Protection Programs Improve Health Related Outcomes of the Poor in Tunisia?

In this study, we analyze the impact of the PNAFN, a Tunisian social protection program... Read More

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 2:30 pm To 3:00 pm

Speakers

Najat El Mekkaoui

Research Fellows

Najat El Mekkaoui

Professor of Economics, University Paris-Dauphine

Yeganeh Forouheshfar

Authors

Yeganeh Forouheshfar

Economist and Researcher, The Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association

Asma Ben Hassen

Speakers

Asma Ben Hassen

Founder and President, Tunisia Inclusive Labor Institute...

Jacob Emont

Authors

Jacob Emont

Robertson Fellow at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School...

Nidhal Ben Cheikh

Research Associates

Nidhal Ben Cheikh

Independent Consultant & University of Paris

Abdeljalil Bedoui

Speakers

Abdeljalil Bedoui

Specialist in Development Economics

Imen Mouaddeb

Speakers

Imen Mouaddeb

Researcher, Center for Research and Social Studies...

Papers

Working Papers
Social Security Coverage and Informal Workers in Tunisia

Informality is prevalent in Tunisia, limiting the access of a large share of the population... Read More

Policy Briefs
Extending Social Protections to Tunisia’s Informal Workers

In a nutshell: Despite Tunisia’s advanced social protection system, a substantial portion of the workforce... Read More

Videos

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 3:00 pm To 3:30 pm

Speakers

Mohamed Amara

Research Fellows

Mohamed Amara

Associate Professor, Higher School of Economic and...

Khaled Nasri

Research Associates

Khaled Nasri

Researcher, Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management...

Mahmoud Ben Romdhane

Speakers

Mahmoud Ben Romdhane

President of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences...

Mehdi Ben Braham

Speakers

Mehdi Ben Braham

Lecturer, Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques de...

Papers

Working Papers
Social Safety Nets in Tunisia: Comparison of Different Targeting Methods

This paper proposes two new approaches for targeting the beneficiaries of social benefit programs in... Read More

Policy Briefs
Alternative Targeting Mechanisms for Social Safety Nets in Tunisia

In a nutshell Institutional weaknesses, poor coordination between different government services, and the increase in... Read More

Videos

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 4:30 pm To 5:00 pm

Speakers

Caroline Krafft

Authors

Caroline Krafft

Associate Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs,...

Cyrine Hannafi

Research Associates

Cyrine Hannafi

Post-Doctoral Researcher, University Paris-Est Créteil

Samir Ghazouani

Research Fellows

Samir Ghazouani

Full Professor of Econometrics, Business School of...

AbdelRahmen El Lahga

Research Fellows

AbdelRahmen El Lahga

Associate Professor, Institut superieur de Gestion de...

Papers

Policy Briefs
Minimum and Living Wages in Jordan and Tunisia: Implications for Social Protection Floors

In a nutshell While the majority of workers in Jordan and Tunisia earn at least... Read More

Working Papers
Minimum and Living Wages in Jordan and Tunisia

Countries around the world are working to develop social protection floors to help reduce poverty.... Read More

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 5:30 pm To 6:00 pm

Speakers

Ahmad Awad

Speakers

Ahmad Awad

General Director, Phenix Center for Economic and...

Courtney Geary

Speakers

Courtney Geary

Researcher, Phenix Center

Asma Ben Hassen

Speakers

Asma Ben Hassen

Founder and President, Tunisia Inclusive Labor Institute...

Arbia Saleh

Speakers

Arbia Saleh

Head, Research Department, Tunisia Inclusive Labor Institute

Mongi Boughzala

Research Fellows

Mongi Boughzala

Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Tunis...

Mouna Ben Othman

Speakers

Mouna Ben Othman

Teacher-Researcher, Higher School of Economics and Business...

Papers

Working Papers
The Role of Civil Society in Promoting Social Protection Reforms: A Comparative Study of Jordan and Tunisia

In the Arab region, social protection systems have historically suffered from several shortcomings, including high... Read More

Policy Briefs
National Social Dialogue on Social Protection Reform in Jordan and Tunisia

In a nutshell Historically, civil society organizations in both Jordan and Tunisia have experienced periods... Read More

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 6:15 pm To 7:15 pm

Speakers

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Research Fellows

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Associate Professor, Université Paris1-Panthéon-Sorbonne

Abdeljalil Bedoui

Speakers

Abdeljalil Bedoui

Specialist in Development Economics

Mahmoud Ben Romdhane

Speakers

Mahmoud Ben Romdhane

President of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences...

Ines Ayadi

Speakers

Ines Ayadi

Professor of Health Economy, Sfax University

Mehdi Ben Braham

Speakers

Mehdi Ben Braham

Lecturer, Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Economiques de...

Aziz Ben Ghachem

Speakers

Aziz Ben Ghachem

Social Protection Specialist, Social Protection and Jobs...

Date

31/10/2022

Location

Hybrid Event

Time

From 7:15 pm To 7:30 pm

Speakers

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Research Fellows

Mohamed Ali Marouani

Associate Professor, Université Paris1-Panthéon-Sorbonne

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Research Fellows

Ibrahim Elbadawi

Managing Director, Economic Research Forum