Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Specialists from the Institute of Macroeconomic and Regional Research (ISMI) studied the importance of a social contract (agreement) in protecting low-income groups based on foreign experience.

According to a report published in collaboration between UNDP and the Oxford Center for Poverty Reduction and Human Development Initiatives, in 2022, 1.2 billion people worldwide will live in multidimensional poverty and the majority of them will earn less than US$2.15 per day.

In international experience, there are social agreement programs, which are defined as a conditional cash transfer, usually used to reduce poverty based on the needs of the low-income population.

Social agreements act as a “social lift” for the future generation through the development of human capital in support of the poor. In addition, social contracts can help reduce gender poverty gaps.

In Brazil, the Bolsa Família program has been in place since the 1990s. According to it, children from poor families (aged 6 to 15 years) will be able to attend regular school and receive benefits if they are vaccinated before the age of 6 years.

In Turkiye, the fields of medicine and education are given priority in the mechanisms of social agreement. For example, low-income mothers are provided with free medical and financial assistance (benefits) for 9 months, provided that they undergo regular medical examinations.

In addition, parents are provided with medical and financial assistance, subject to regular examination of children under 5 years of age. Families who cannot afford to send their children to school due to poverty receive benefits if they ensure full attendance.

According to the statistics service of the Russian Federation, during 2022, 981.2 thousand citizens were covered by social contracts in the country and 281.8 thousand contracts were concluded. At the end of the year, the incomes of those who received assistance under a social contract increased by an average of 1.6 times.

In Uzbekistan, low-income families are provided with more than 70 types of social assistance and services. However, this process does not define the specific responsibilities and obligations of users of social assistance and services, and not all services are provided entirely electronically.

The new development strategy of Uzbekistan for 2022-2026 sets goals for “ensuring mandatory social guarantees for the population, strengthening social protection for those in need, expanding the possibility of using mandatory social guarantees, including types of social protection through digitalization of the sphere, introducing the principles of openness and transparency in these processes."

As conclusion, it is advisable to create a system of social contracts that fully covers all mechanisms in the field of social protection, defines the rights and responsibilities of the parties and is concluded individually with each low-income family (or citizen). It is recommended to draw up contracts in the following areas:

in the field of employment with a low-income family or citizen;

on the formation of professional and entrepreneurial skills, learning a foreign language;

on the provision of social assistance and services.