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The European Report on Development (ERD) is the main outcome of the Mobilising European research for development policies, an initiative promoted and financed by the European Commission together with seven EU Member States: Germany, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The aim of this initiative is to help the European Union refine its vision of development and enrich its policies on the basis of knowledge, innovation, and the building of common ground between the European research community, policymakers, and a broad public. The ERD is aimed at stimulating debate and research on development issues and amplifying the EU's voice internationally. The ERD provides linkages and synergies between rich expertise in development-related issues in research and academic institutions and policymaking throughout Europe. It also serves as a focal point for researchers in European countries and various regions of the world, facilitates discussions with policymakers and civil society, and stimulates interaction between various European national agencies. ; The European Report on Development examines the need and potential for expanding social protection in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as its feasibility and likely development impact. In contrast with the view that Sub-Saharan Africa cannot aff ord social protection, innovative approaches to building broad-based social protection schemes and systems have been promoted by African countries, and implemented with success across the region. Global post-crises uncertainty reinforces the need for measures that shield Africa's population against risks and shocks, and that reduce poverty and promote human development. 'Social protection for inclusive development' is a timely topic: interest in social protection has been growing, both in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere. In the G20 'Seoul Development Consensus (2010)', growth with resilience was identifi ed as a key pillar, with specifi c emphasis on social protection mechanisms that support resilient and inclusive growth. More broadly, a consensus is emerging that social protection is not only a right, but also an indispensable instrument in supporting progress towards achieving inclusive growth and the Millennium Development Goals. This momentum stems largely from the growing recognition that social policy is a crucial piece of the development puzzle, as affi rmed in the African Union's 'Social Policy Framework for Africa (2008)' and 'Khartoum Declaration on Social Policy Action Towards Social Inclusion (2010)'. In this context, this report provides an opportunity to take stock, learn from experience and suggest priorities for the European Union (EU) and its Member States. Social protection, at the very heart of the European social model, should become an integral part of EU development policies and its commitment to the social dimension of globalisation.

The European Report on Development (ERD) is the main outcome of the Mobilising European research for development policies, an initiative promoted and financed by the European Commission together with seven EU Member States: Germany, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The aim of this initiative is to help the European Union refine its vision of development and enrich its policies on the basis of knowledge, innovation, and the building of common ground between the European research community, policymakers, and a broad public. The ERD is aimed at stimulating debate and research on development issues and amplifying the EU's voice internationally. The ERD provides linkages and synergies between rich expertise in development-related issues in research and academic institutions and policymaking throughout Europe. It also serves as a focal point for researchers in European countries and various regions of the world, facilitates discussions with policymakers and civil society, and stimulates interaction between various European national agencies. ; The European Report on Development will help the European Union to refine its vision on development, enrich its policies and influence the international debate. It will also complement other flagship reports on development, in an attempt to reflect the diversity of views that may coexist on various issues and – where relevant – the specific European approaches, based both on Europe's political and social values and its own history and experience. Indeed, we are convinced that there should not be any monopoly of thinking in a field as complex and rich as development policy. This year's first edition deals with the complex and multidimensional issue of 'fragility', with a specific focus on sub-Saharan Africa, where most fragile countries are located. Described as the "toughest development challenge of our era", dealing with situations of fragility is, rightly, a growing concern both for Europe and for the entire international community. An intensive participatory process, bringing on board a wide range of top scholars, policy-makers and civil society representatives, both from Europe and Africa, was at the heart of this ambitious policy research initiative. Through building common analytical ground on how better to grasp these difficult situations, this first edition of the ERD will help Europe fine tune its strategic approach to fragility and define more coherent policies in the future.

After more than two decades of trade liberalization, faced with deep structural problems which were exacerbated by the 2008 financial crisis and culminated in the 2011 Spring Revolution and government change, in 2016 Egypt started to protect some sectors from foreign competition. This paper assesses how tariff reforms during the 1998–2018 period affected the Egyptian labour market by focusing on real wages and job stability (i.e. having a permanent position). The empirical analysis is carried out on worker-level data from the available four waves of Egyptian Labour Market Panel Survey (ELMPS), including the recently released 2018 wave. We find that higher tariff protection tends to worsen labour market conditions, both lowering real wages and decreasing the probability of finding a stable job. Furthermore, tariff changes show remarkable asymmetries. There is a negative and significant correlation between tariffs increases and real wages, while the positive impact of tariff reductions turns out to be negligible and insignificant. Our findings support the view that in Egypt protectionism hampered working conditions, contributing to inequality, while liberalizations did not improve nor deteriorate them.