Social protection Theoretical framework: Social protection,

10 Can productivity in SMEs be increased by investing in workers’ health? We employ here a simple and necessarily reductionist framework that tries to combine the “common-sense” view with the more elaborate approach that informed the study of Croucher and colleagues. As depicted in figure 1, a number of defined and potentially measurable aspects would affect working conditions in a company. These working conditions would in turn affect key aspects of why people can and will be productive. This model focuses only on those aspects of work that can be influenced by government regulatory action and does not take into consideration management and motivation or “social capital” and “company-as-community”. It also leaves out those aspects that might be affected by government action but are not considered regulatory, such as “capabilities” and “lifelong learning”. The inherent “non-productive” aspects of good health which are crucial for the well-being of workers and their families are reflected in the “health and family” aspect of the benefits. Although there is descriptive evidence on the relation between working conditions and enterprise performance 6 , there is a clear lack of empirical evidence using enterprise- level data. It would be highly desirable to have country-based studies that analyse longitudinal survey data for SMEs, in order to establish the relation between working conditions and performance at the enterprise level. Conversely, if social protection positively influences productivity, gaps in social protection have a negative impact on it. Absenteeism, high staff turnover, costs of accidents, lack of motivation − all these factors influence quality and quantity of output. Again, the empirical basis for this claim at the level of SMEs is lacking. Figure 1. The influence of regulation on working conditions and productivity seen as investments which yield benefits This model forms the basis of further analysis and recommendations in this literature review. In what follows, the elements contributing to social protection will be discussed in 6 Subramony 2009 provides a meta-analysis of 65 empirical studies linking bundles of human resource management practices to enterprise performance.