Although the social protection system is advanced in most OECD countries compared to non-OECD countries, the Risks that Matter survey shows that satisfaction with some areas of social protection is relatively low, on average. In addition, the survey reveals that respondents in most countries are dissatisfied with their government’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many respondents are dissatisfied with their governments’ actions during the COVID‑19 pandemic (Figure 3.3). On average across countries, under half (45%) think that government did enough, while 33% think government did too much, and 14% think government did too little. In eight countries a (slight) majority thinks governments did enough, with rates highest in Ireland and Portugal, at 64%. By contrast, the satisfied share is comparably small in Latvia (30%) and Poland (29%). Poland also has the largest share of respondents (55%) who do not think that government did enough. Respondents in only two countries (Denmark and Finland) are more likely to say that governments did too much rather than too little to deal with the pandemic overall. Of course, in both of these countries, overall satisfaction levels with social protection and government are historically relatively high.
Looking more generally, when questioned about general social benefit accessibility after the lockdowns during COVID-19, respondents do not perceive benefits access as straightforward (Figure 3.4). Close to half (46%) of respondents report that they don’t think they could easily receive public benefits if they needed them, and about one-quarter (26%) say that they are ambivalent about whether they could receive benefits if needed. Accessing benefits is seen as particularly hard in countries like Israel and Portugal, while this is less so in countries like the Netherlands and Norway.
When asked about their satisfaction with social protection in specific policy areas, respondents are relatively dissatisfied (Figure 3.5). Fewer than half of respondents think that they would have access to good-quality and affordable public services in any of these areas: education, public safety, health, employment, family support, long-term care for older people, disability/incapacity-related needs, and housing.
Satisfaction with the quality and affordability of public services tends to be highest in the areas of education, public safety, and health across countries, which is consistent with findings from the 2020 wave of Risks that Matter. A majority of respondents are satisfied with their access to good-quality and affordable education in 11 countries (in descending order of satisfaction): Finland, Canada, Estonia, Switzerland, Austria, the United States, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Slovenia and Spain (Figure 3.5). Some countries stand out in terms of certain policy areas, such as relatively high satisfaction with public health services in Belgium (55%), the Netherlands and Switzerland (both at 53%).
By contrast, respondents are less satisfied with public housing, disability and incapacity-related services, and long-term care services for older people. For instance, very few respondents feel that they have access to good-quality and affordable public housing services in Portugal and Ireland (both at 17%). Portugal and Ireland also have among the lowest satisfaction with public disability, incapacity- and long-term care services, along with Greece (Figure 3.5).
Facing current challenges after a period of structural problems with supply shortages and underinvestment, governments will need to take some concrete action to ensure sustainability of housing security for more households.
