Social risk management
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Social risk management (SRM) is a new conceptual framework assigned and designed by the World Bank [1]. The objective of SRM is to extend the traditional framework of social policy to the non-market based social protection of which its three primary strategies include prevention, mitigation, and coping. It is now well understood that social unrest is positively parallel to the poverty. Assisting individuals, households and communities to elevate living standard above the poverty level will harmonize global economy and strengthen the social security.
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[edit] Strategies
[edit] Prevention strategies
Prevention strategies are those implemented to avert a risk. Some typical measures could be:
- In the labor market, SRM intervention targets skill training or job function improvement to reduce the risk of un/under- employment or low wages which are probably man-made.
- In the financial market, SRM emphasize on optimizing macroeconomic policies to reduce the shocks of financial crisis, such as oil price surges, or unpredictable market moves on currencies, indices and blue chip stocks.
- For natural disasters and environment degradation, SRM are gear to deploy a networked warning system or sustainable, renewable and environmental friendly eco-system to minimize the impact of the consequences.
- In health care, SRM focuses on the prevention of pandemic illnesses by implementing vaccination and public health education programs. Setting up rehabilitation centers to help drug addicts.
- In the public social security, establishing a community-based insurance schemes to compensate pensioners, disability or chronic illness person's living expenses. Building up nursing homes for elderlies and setting up public housing for homelesses and orphans.
[edit] Mitigation strategies
Mitigation strategies focus on reducing the risk. Common practices are:
- In the financial market, diversifying portfolios or hedging stocks to decrease the exposure of the financial risks.
- Microfinance to the poor or jobless people.
[edit] Coping strategies
Coping strategies are designed to relieve the impact of the risk event once it has occurred. The typical examples are
- Issuing government relieve fund or publicly raising money.
- Setting up unemployment benefit schemes.
[edit] Source of social risks
The degree of social risks usually vary from idiosyncratic (micro), regional covariant (meso), to nation-wide covariant (macro). The following table lists the source of the risks that are being encompassed
| Micro (idiosyncratic) |
Meso <--------> |
Macro (covariate) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural | Rainfall Landslides Volcanic eruption |
Earthquakes Floods Drought Tornadoes Asteroid impacts |
|
| Health | Illness Injury Disability Food poisoning |
Pandemics Food poisoning |
Pandemics |
| Life-cycle | Birth Old age Death |
||
| Social | Crimes Domestic violences Drug addiction |
Terrorism Gangs |
Civil strife War Social upheaval Drug addiction Child abuses |
| Economic | Unemployment Harvest failure |
Unemployment Harvest failure Resettlement |
Blue chip company collapsing Financial or currency crisis Market trading shocks |
| Administrative & Political | Ethnic discrimination | Ethnic conflict Riots Chemical & biological mass destruction Administrative induced accidents & disasters |
Political induced malfunction on social programs Coup |
| Environmental | Pollution Deforestation Nuclear disasters Soil salinities Acid rains |
Global warming |
[edit] References
- ^ Holzmann, Robert; Lynne Sherburne-Benz and Emil Tesliuc. Social Risk Management: The World Bank Approach to Social Protection in a Globalizing World. World Bank. Retrieved on Nov 21, 2006.
- ^ Holzmann, Robert; Steen Jorgensen (2000). Social Risk Management: A new conceptual framework for Social Protection, and beyond. World Bank. Retrieved on Nov 21, 2006.
