STUDY LABOUR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE SOCIAL PROTECTION IN THE WESTERN BALKANS Responding to the Covid-19 Crisis In the Western Balkans, the COVID-19 pandemic has been met by already weak social pro­tection systems. The broader social impacts are likely to be both severe and long-lasting. Some positive lessons can be drawn from the initial social policy response by regional governments, including chang­es to non-contributory cash benefits and insurance-based schemes, which have contribut­ed to reducing income shocks. Gordana Matkovi ć and Paul Stubbs July 2020 At the same time, invest­m­ ents were overall modest, some especially vulnerable groups were not targeted, and the effect of one-off mea­sures must remain limited.