By Andrew L. Oringer (Dechert LLP) This article is adapted from testimony given by Andrew L. Oringer on March 24, 2009 before the House Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The testimony was given during the Subcommittee's hearings on the regulations of the US Department of Labor regarding exemptions for certain investment advice. (more…)
By Barry James, Estelle Kane & Che Friedman The authors discuss key choices policy makers face about China's pension system in the face of a rapidly aging population. They describe the problems the current pay-as-you-go system faces in the near and long term and simulate policy options for solving those problems. They find that simple design changes are necessary but not sufficient conditions for making the pension system sustainable. Partial funding is necessary to avoid large increases in future contribution...
By Claus Ghesla, Manuel Grieder & Jan Schmitz (ETH Zurich) Policy makers increasingly use choice defaults to promote 'good' causes by influencing socially relevant decisions in desirable ways, e.g., to increase retirement savings, charitable giving, or pro-environmental choices. Such default nudges are remarkably successful when judged by their effects on the targeted behaviors in isolation. However, there is scant knowledge about possible spillover effects of defaults on subsequent related choices. Theoretically, such behavioral spillover effects could amplify, eliminate or even...
By Richard Hinz, Robert Holzmann, David Tuesta, Noriyuki Takayama Establishing robust, equitable, and effective social protection is essential to reducing poverty and boosting prosperity at all levels of development. The demographic transition that has already transformed most high-income societies will exert similar and growing pressures on others, reinforcing the role of pensions and savings for old age as a central pillar of social protection systems. Despite this increasing imperative, achieving full coverage and adequate benefits within a financially sustainable pension system...
