Fostering social cohesion in North Macedonia

Abstract

Over the past decades, North Macedonia has achieved great progress in building a socially cohesive society. With income per capita almost doubling in real terms between 1995 and 2020, extreme poverty was reduced and living standards increased. In recent years, North Macedonia has undertaken important social protection reforms. To sustain this progress, this chapter provides key policy priorities to foster social cohesion through labour market and social protection policies. As creating more jobs is a top priority, growth-enhancing policies need to be complemented by solid active labour market policies that boost participation of many unemployed and vulnerable citizens. This requires solid capacities in the Employment Service Agency (ESA) and broad-based collaboration among the ESA, the private sector, education institutions, social care services and non-governmental organisations. While the social protection system in North Macedonia has benefited from various recent reforms, including the introduction of guaranteed minimum assistance in 2019, existing gaps in adequacy and coverage still need to be addressed. A shift towards community-integrated social services, provided locally, can create pathways by which people in need integrate into society and the labour market.