July 2019

05Jul

Welfare Effects of a Non-Contributory Old Age Pension: Experimental Evidence for Ekiti State, Nigeria

By Maria Laura Alzua, Natalia Cantet, Ana Dammert, Damilola Olajide Many countries in the developing world have implemented non-contributory old-age pensions. Evidence of the impact of such policies on the elderly in Sub-Saharan Africa is scarce, however. In this paper, we provide the first evidence from a randomized evaluation of an unconditional, non-contributory pension scheme targeted at the elderly in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Our findings show that treated beneficiaries self-reported better quality of life, more stable mental health, and...

July 5, 2019
Articles, Labor Market, Pension design, , , , ,
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June 2019

28Jun

Trends in health and retirement in Latin America: Are older workers healthy enough to extend their working lives?

By Laeticia R.De SouzaaBernardo L.QueirozbVegard F.Skirbekkc To counter the problems of demographic ageing, Latin American countries, like many nations elsewhere, are considering raising the retirement age in order to maintain fiscal balance and sustain economic prosperity. In doing so, however, they must take into account not only the simultaneous decline in older adults’ labour force participation but also poor health among those potentially affected by the change. In this paper, we use country comparable census data for 1970–2010 to...

June 28, 2019
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, ,
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28Jun

Do Immigrants Delay Retirement and Social Security Claiming?

By Mary J. Lopez, Sita Slavov As the share of older immigrants residing in the U.S. begins to rise, it is important to understand how immigrants’ retirement behavior and security compare to that of natives. This question has implications for the impact of immigration on government finances and for the retirement security of immigrants. We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to examine how immigrants’ retirement and Social Security claiming patterns compare to those of natives....

June 28, 2019
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, ,
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21Jun

Social Programmes, Poverty Eradication and Labour Inclusion. Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean

By Lais Abramo, Simone Cecchini, Beatriz Morales Diverse social programmes — including conditional cash transfer programmes, labour and production inclusion programmes and social pensions — are being implemented in Latin American and Caribbean countries with the aim of ending poverty and reducing inequalities throughout the life cycle. This book offers an up-to-date analysis of these programmes and the way they relate to labour inclusion, and analyses ongoing debates regarding the possible incentives and disincentives they create in terms of...

June 21, 2019
Articles, Labor Market, , ,
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14Jun

Evolving Eldercare in Contemporary China: Two Generations, One Decision (Series in Asian Labor and Welfare Policies) (English Edition)

By Lin Chen With an increasing number of elders moving into nursing homes, the shift from family to nursing home care calls for an exploration of caregiving decision-making in urban China. This study examines how a rapidly growing aging population, the one-child policy, and economic reform in urban China pose unprecedented challenges to the country’s ingrained tradition of family caregiving. It presents interviews of matched elders and their children from a government-sponsored nursing home in Shanghai and analyzes...

June 14, 2019
Books, Labor Market, System Sustainability, , , ,
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14Jun

Social Security Coverage for State and Local Government Workers: A Reconsideration

By William G. Gale, David John, Sarah E. Holmes Since it was created in 1935, Social Security has grown from covering about half of the work force to covering nearly all workers. The largest remaining exempted group is a subset of state and local government workers (SLGWs). As of 2008, Social Security did not cover about 27 percent of the 23.8 million SLGWs (Congressional Research Service 2011). Non-coverage of SLGWs is concentrated in certain states scattered around the country...

June 14, 2019
Articles, Labor Market, System Sustainability, ,
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07Jun

Financial Literacy and Financial Education: Theory and Survey

By Beata Swiecka, Aleksandra Grzesiuk, Dieter Korczak It is a well-known saying that money does not buy happiness. But it certainly helps in life. It is important to have enough of it to satisfy our needs and to secure ourselves from emergency situations. That's what adults think. And what about the youth? What is their approach to money, what do they know about finances and how are their skills in everyday financial management coming along? What kind of...

June 7, 2019
Books, Labor Market, System Sustainability, ,
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07Jun

How Will Retirement Saving Change By 2050? Prospects for the Millennial Generation

By William G. Gale, Hilary Gelfond, Jason J. Fichtner We consider prospects for retirement saving for members of the millennial generation, who will be between ages 54 and 69 in 2050. Adequacy of retirement saving preparation among current and near-retirees is marked by significant heterogeneity, a characteristic that will likely hold for Millennials as well. In preparing for retirement, Millennials will have several advantages relative to previous generations, such as more education, longer working lives, and more flexible work arrangements,...

June 7, 2019
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Savings, ,
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May 2019

31May

Financial Inclusion

By World Bank Group Financial inclusion has become a major subject of interest among policymakers, researchers, and other financial sector stakeholders. Many countries, for example, have recently adopted explicit financial inclusion strategies with targets for financial inclusion. The interest reflects an increased recognition that financial inclusion can be a driver of economic growth and poverty alleviation, and that many individuals and firms are excluded unnecessarily from even basic financial services. About half of the world's adult population-- more than...

May 31, 2019
Books, Labor Market,
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20May

Three Economic Myths about Ageing: Participation, Immigration and Infrastructure

By Dr Cameron K. Murray, Leith van Onselen Population ageing due to longevity is one of the greatest successes of the modern era. However, it is widely thought to dramatically reduce workforce participation and overall output resulting in significant economic costs. This widely held view is wrong. Ageing countries have higher economic growth and the improved health and longevity of older people increases their economic contributions. High immigration is also thought to combat population ageing and be a remedy...

May 20, 2019
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