891 research outputs found
Welfare state dynamics
No full textThe goal in the present paper is twofold, to shed some light on endogenous dynamic of the welfare states, and to provide a procedure to select among several equilibria. To this end, a dynamic model is presented, in which private agents are assumed to be "locked" to current decisions for a while. If "frictions" are large enough, the economy might exhibit more than one stable Paretorankable stationary state. Equilibrium paths would then be determined by history. The economy might become "stuck" at an inferior stationary state, with too much insurance and too little effort.
Assessing Redistribution in the Uruguayan Social Security System
No full textWe assess redistribution in the Uruguayan main pension and unemployment insurance programs on a lifetime basis. Using administrative records from social security, we simulate lifetime declared labor income and flows of contributions and benefits of affiliates to the programs. Expected present values of income and net flows are also computed. Equipped with these estimations we construct standard measures of distribution and redistribution of lifetime labor income through the social security system. Our findings suggest that these programs reduce income inequality. In particular, social Security reduces the Gini coefficient of expected lifetime formal labor income by almost 2 percentage points.Redistribution; Social Security; Uruguay
Understanding Reform in Latin America
No full textFil: Forteza, Alvaro. Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía; Argentina.Fil: Tommasi, Mariano. Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía; Argentina.Fil: Herrera, Germán. Universidad de San Andrés. Departamento de Economía; Argentina
Assessing Redistribution within Social Insurance Systems.The cases of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay
No full textThis paper summarizes the main findings in a series of coordinated studies conducted to assess the impact of social security programs on the distribution of lifetime labor income in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay. The country-case studies find varying degrees of redistribution, with PAYG-DB and mixed programs redistributing more than individual savings accounts programs. Notwithstanding, it is the Chilean individual savings accounts program, combined with the recently reformed solidarity pillar, the one that contributes more to reducing inequality in this group of countries.Redistribution, Social Security
The portability of pension rights : general principals and the Caribbean case
No full textThe portability of pension rights is an increasingly important issue in the Caribbean. The large and increasing flows of migrant workers, including both permanent and temporary migrants, the small size of the domestic economies and the process of regional integration and economic openness call for effective means to make pensions portable. This document presents a select survey of the literature on pension portability and reviews the progress made by the Caribbean countries as well as some remaining challenges in the light of the international experience.Pensions&Retirement Systems,Debt Markets,Emerging Markets,Gender and Law,Labor Markets
Multiple Equilibria in the Welfare State
No full textExcess distortions in the welfare state might be the consequence of the government's lack of ability to commit not to help "unlucky" agents. Incentive considerations that are crucial in standard insurance in the presence of moral hazard, plays no role in this case. As a consequence, the government might provide too much insurance. Still, equilibria with incomplete insurance and above-minimum effort might arise. Two possible reasons for multiple equilibria are explored in the paper, namely that marginal utility of consumption is positively associated with effort and that economic policy is costly. It is shown that the equilibria can be Pareto rankable. Borrowing analytical tools from recent developments in dynamic games (Matsui and Matsuyama, 1995), stability conditions of different equilibria are analyzed.
Voluntary pension system challenge of expanding coverage
No full textSince 1947, the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) has provided social insurance to public servants and armed forces personnel in Vietnam. In 1995, the Government merged the social insurance unit of the Ministry of labour, invalids and social affairs with that of the Vietnam General Confederation of labor. At the same time the system became mandatory to the employees of the newly developing private sector. The consolidated system is publicly managed by the VSS administration. VSS collects contributions and pay social insurance benefits (in case of sickness and sick leaves, maternity and family planning related leaves, work injury and professional disease, survivorship and to people that reached pension ages). This paper investigates this issue by reviewing the characteristics of employment in Vietnam. It concludes that the risk that social coverage remains limited for many years is high and, presents accordingly some policy options to augment VSS's chances to reach universal coverage in the future.Pensions&Retirement Systems,Emerging Markets,Labor Markets,Debt Markets,Labor Policies
Uruguay, Options for Pensions Reform
No full textWe simulate the budget of the main pension institution of the country, the Banco de Previsión Social (BPS), from 1995, the year the reform was passed, to 2050, when the new system should be mature. We perform several sensitivity analyses to evaluate which are the key exogenous variables and parameters determining the financial performance of the BPS in the medium to long run. According to our simulations, the budget of the BPS will be highly sensitive to the ages of retirement and to the ability and willingness of the institution to control the fulfilment of the required conditions to receive a contributory pension. The flexibility with which the BPS granted these benefits in the past had significant effects on its financial performance, according to these simulations. In recent years, the BPS has tightened the controls, with potentially significant effects on both the budget and the number of individuals excluded from the contributory programs. We study the contingent fiscal liabilities that are associated to the risk that the number of applications to the assistance programs grows because of the tougher conditions in the contributory programs. We also evaluate some alternatives to reform the non-contributory programs that, among other things, would extend their current coverage.Pensions, Social Security
Uruguay, Pensions and Fiscal Sustainability.
No full textWe simulate the budget of the main pension institution of the country, the Banco de Previsión Social (BPS), from 1995, the year the reform was passed, to 2050, when the new system should be mature. We perform several sensitivity analyses to evaluate which are the key exogenous variables and parameters determining the financial performance of the BPS in the medium to long run. According to our simulations, the budget of the BPS will be highly sensitive to the ages of retirement and to the ability and willingness of the institution to control the fulfilment of the required conditions to receive a contributory pension. The flexibility with which the BPS granted these benefits in the past had significant effects on its financial performance, according to these simulations. In recent years, the BPS has tightened the controls, with potentially significant effects on both the budget and the number of individuals excluded from the contributory programs. We study the contingent fiscal liabilities that are associated to the risk that the number of applications to the assistance programs grows because of the tougher conditions in the contributory programs. We also evaluate some alternatives to reform the non-contributory programs that, among other things, would extend their current coverage.
Rethinking survivor benefits
No full textThis paper provides a framework for analyzing the efficiency and equity of survivor benefit programs. These programs were originally designed to support families when the main wage-earner died, in an era where women rarely worked, fertility rates were high, and widows were unable to support themselves and their children. Yet, voluntary saving and insurance were often insufficient due to myopia. Mandatory survivor benefits helped to achieve lifetime consumption smoothing for the family and to prevent poverty among elderly widows the group where old age poverty is concentrated. The question is these programs still needed in an era when most women work and fertility rates have fallen and, if so, how should they be designed? The author argues that, even in a world of perfect gender equality, mandatory family co-insurance may still be justified because couples are unlikely to plan adequately for household economies of scale. This leads the cost of living of a widow(er) to be much more than half that of a couple. In addition, some disparity in work and wage patterns of men and women remains in every country. While such programs may benefit both spouses, women are the greatest recipients because they outlive their husbands. However, as currently designed, many survivor benefit programs entail work disincentives and perverse redistributions from women who work in the market to those who do not, from singles and dual career couples to single-earner couples and sometimes from low- to high-earning families. These cross-subsidies penalize women who work in the market and therefore may discourage such work, decrease their income and increase their old-age poverty rates. The insurance goal can be achieved without these negative incentives and redistributions by internalizing the cost within the family rather than passing it on to the common pool and by allowing widow(ers) to keep their own pensions in addition to the survivor benefits.Gender and Law,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Finance,Population Policies,Debt Markets
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