February 2017

04Feb

International patterns of pension provision II: a worldwide overview of facts and figures

By Montserrat Pallares Miralles, Carolina Romero & Edward Whitehouse This paper presents and explains cross country data for mandatory publicly and privately managed pension systems around the world. This report is organized into three parts corresponding to three broad types of indicators. These indicators relate to: (i) the relevant contextual factors referred to here as environment; (ii) pension system design parameters; and (iii) indicators of performance. Part one of the report provides some information on the environment in which the...

February 4, 2017
Articles, Pension design, Regulation
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04Feb

Ageing and Poverty in Africa and the Role of Social Pensions

By Nanak Kakwani & Kalanidhi Subbarao In many low income African countries, three factors are placing an undue burden on the elderly. First, the burden on the elderly has enormously increased with the increase in mortality of prime age adults due to HIV AIDS pandemic and regional conflicts. Second, the traditional safety net of the extended family has become ineffective and unreliable for the elderly. Third, in a few countries, the elderly are called upon to shoulder the responsibility of...

February 4, 2017
Aging, Articles, Pension design, ,
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04Feb

Social Security in Theory and Practice (II): Efficiency Theories

By Casey B. Mulligan & Xavier Sala-i-Martin 166 countries have some kind of public old age pension.What economic forces create and sustain old age Social Security as a public program? Mulligan and Sala-i-Martin (1999b) document several of the internationally and historically common features of social security programs, and explore "political" theories of Social Security. This paper discusses the "efficiency theories", which view creation of the SS program as a full of partial solution to some market failure. Efficiency explanations of social...

February 4, 2017
Aging, Articles, Labor Market,
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04Feb

The Voluntary Contributions Model–Study Regarding The Completion Of The Length Of Service

By Constantin Anghelache & Ana CARP In this article we present the study on “Buying years of service (seniority)” which is a particular case of the voluntary contributions model proposed by the author in a previous work. In the case study presented in this article, we show the groups of people addressed by Law no.186 / 2016 for “buying years of service”, we quantify the results of applying this legislative measure and we estimate the implications on the evolution of...

February 4, 2017
Articles, Pension design, System Sustainability, ,
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04Feb

The ‘Crisis’ in Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Liabilities: Current Solutions and Future Prospects

By Gordon L. Clark & Ashby H. B. Monk Once an integral component of company-sponsored compensation schemes in many western economies, private defined benefit (DB) pensions are in decline. For many, DB schemes (and their related health care liabilities, depending on the jurisdiction) have hobbled the financial well-being of plan sponsors and even whole sectors of industry. If a constraint on shareholder value in the short-term, these schemes threaten long-term corporate survival in the emerging global economy. While there remains considerable debate...

February 4, 2017
Articles, Investing, Labor Market, ,
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04Feb

The 'Crisis' in Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Liabilities: Current Solutions and Future Prospects

By Gordon L. Clark & Ashby H. B. Monk Once an integral component of company-sponsored compensation schemes in many western economies, private defined benefit (DB) pensions are in decline. For many, DB schemes (and their related health care liabilities, depending on the jurisdiction) have hobbled the financial well-being of plan sponsors and even whole sectors of industry. If a constraint on shareholder value in the short-term, these schemes threaten long-term corporate survival in the emerging global economy. While there remains considerable debate...

February 4, 2017
Articles, Investing, Labor Market, ,
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04Feb

Finance and Labor: Perspectives on Risk, Inequality and Democracy

By Sanford M. Jacoby This paper considers the association between financial development and labor-market outcomes such as risk and inequality. The relationship is not straightforward, however. It is mediated by politics at the national and corporate levels. Politics spurs financial development, which sets in motion countervailing efforts to restrain the effect of finance on inequality and risk. The empirical analysis relies on historical, comparative, and contemporary evidence. Emphasis is given to recent events in the United States: the political origins...

February 4, 2017
Articles, Labor Market, Regulation, System Sustainability, , ,
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04Feb

Is Asia Prepared for an Aging Population?

By Peter Heller Many Asian countries (such as China, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines) will experience a significant aging of their populations during the next several decades. This paper explores how these aging Asian countries are addressing and anticipating the challenges of an aging society. It suggests that Asia's preparedness for an aging population is decidedly mixed. While growth policies have been successful, much work is still needed in many countries to establish an adequate and...

February 4, 2017
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, ,
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04Feb

The Future of Labor and Employment Law in the United States

By Katherine V.W. Stone There is a serious problem with the labor and employment law system in the United States today: Unions have declined to the point where they represent less than 8 per cent of the private sector workforce, employee wages have stagnated for more than three decades, employers are cutting back on workers' health insurance and pensions, and there is a dramatic growth in the numbers of the working poor. At the same time, there has been a...

February 4, 2017
Articles, Labor Market, Regulation, System Sustainability,
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04Feb

Taxing Kenya’s M-Pesa Picks the Pockets of the Poor

By Liliana Rojas-Suarez Kenya has instituted a new tax that affects users of M-Pesa -- a widely popular phone-based money transfer service used by more than half of Kenya’s adult population. The new 10 percent excise duty on fees charged for money transfer services applies to mobile phone providers, banks, and other money transfer agencies. Operated by Safaricom, the largest mobile network operator in Kenya, M-Pesa accounts for the largest share of users of money transfer services. Users of M-Pesa...

February 4, 2017
Adequacy, Articles,
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