February 2017

04Feb

Can Low Income Countries Afford Basic Social Protection? First Results of a Modelling Exercise

By Karuna Pal, Christina Behrendt, Florian Leger, Michael Cichon & Krysztof Hagemejer This report presents the methodology and the results of a modelling exercise that demonstrates that basic social protection benefits are not out of reach for low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, even though some international assistance would be necessary for a transitory period. The Social Protection Sector of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has estimated the cost of basic social protection benefits education, health, pensions) for a selected number...

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

The Rise of Pension Fund Capitalism in Europe: An Unseen Revolution?

By Adam Dixon In recent years European countries have begun to reform their pension systems favouring funded to pay-as-you-go (PAYG) social security systems and supporting the creation of more 2nd and 3rd pillar funded retirement schemes. Though funded pensions remain small in most European countries, they are growing significantly and may limit the persistence of strong 'varieties of capitalism' by providing an endogenous source of change to economic organisation and corporate governance. To explore this scenario this article examines recent...

February 4, 2017
Articles, Corporate Governance, Investing, System Sustainability, ,
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03Feb

The FinTech Opportunity

By Thomas Philippon This paper assesses the potential impact of FinTech on the finance industry, focusing on financial stability and access to services. I document first that financial services remain surprisingly expensive, which explains the emergence of new entrants. I then argue that the current regulatory approach is subject to significant political economy and coordination costs, and therefore unlikely to deliver much structural change. FinTech, on the other hand, can bring deep changes but is likely to create significant regulatory...

February 3, 2017
Articles, Labor Market, System Sustainability, ,
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03Feb

Austerity, ageing and the financialisation of pensions policy in the UK

By Craig Berry This article offers a detailed analysis of the recent history of pensions policy in the United Kingdom, culminating in two apparent `revolutions' in policy now underway: the introduction of `automatic enrolment' into private pensions, and proposals for a new `single-tier' state pension. These reforms are considered exemplary of the `financialisation' of UK welfare provision -- typified in pensions policy by the notion that individuals must take personal responsibility for their own long-term financial security, and engage intimately...

February 3, 2017
Articles, Pension design, Regulation, System Sustainability,
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03Feb

Defined ambition pensions – Have the Dutch found the golden mean for retirement savings?

By Erik Schouten & Thurstan Robinson In February 2012, the UK minister for pensions proposed that companies should perhaps be able to provide a new type of pension – Defi ned Aspiration pensions or Defi ned Ambition (DA) pensions, as they are called in the Netherlands. In this article, we take a closer look at DA pensions, examining the Dutch experiences to date with the introduction of DA pensions . We look at what DA pensions have to offer employers...

February 3, 2017
Articles, Savings, System Sustainability, ,
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03Feb

Shrouded costs of government: The political economy of state and local public pensions

By Edward L. Glaeser, Giacomo A M Ponzetto Why do public-sector workers receive so much of their compensation in the form of pensions and other benefits? This paper presents a political economy model in which politicians compete for taxpayers' and government employees' votes by promising compensation packages, but some voters cannot evaluate every aspect of promised compensation. If pension packages are "shrouded," so that public-sector workers better understand their value than ordinary taxpayers, then compensation will be highly back-loaded. In...

February 3, 2017
Adequacy, Regulation, System Sustainability,
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03Feb

Beyond Contributory Pensions : Fourteen Experiences with Coverage Expansion in Latin America

By Rafael Rofman, Ignacio Apella and Evelyn Vezza Latin America's population is aging, and many among the growing elderly population are not protected by traditional pension schemes. In response, policy makers have been reevaluating their income protection systems so that between 2000 and 2013, the majority of Latin American countries reformed their social pension schemes to provide near-universal coverage for the elderly. Before this unprecedented wave of reform, most income protection in Latin America was provided through contributory pensions available...

February 3, 2017
Savings, System Sustainability
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03Feb

Building Voluntary Pension Schemes in Emerging Economies

By Rodolph Heinz After the financial crisis, some Central and Eastern Europe countries partially or totally reversed the pension reforms they had initiated in the previous two decades. In the presence of an aging population in the region, reductions in replacement rates will be the most likely adjustment mechanism for the social security systems to remain fiscally sustainable. In some other emerging economies, mandatory funded schemes are operating with low contribution rates, and policy makers have not been able to...

February 3, 2017
Labor Market, System Sustainability
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03Feb

Outcome Based Assessments for Private Pensions : A Handbook

By William Price, John Ashcroft and Michael Hafeman This report illustrates a new methodology to develop an Outcomes and Risk Based Supervision (ORBS) framework for funded pensions with a case study of Costa Rica. The approach was used in a FIRST funded project in Costa Rica with the regulator and supervisor of pensions SUPEN. The intention is to highlight an approach that may be useful in the region, and globally, to help agencies responsible for private pensions to focus on...

February 3, 2017
Adequacy, System Sustainability
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03Feb

OECD Institutional Investors Statistics

By OECD Institutional investors (investment funds, insurance companies and pension funds) are major collectors of savings and suppliers of funds to financial markets. Their role as financial intermediaries and their impact on investment strategies have grown significantly over recent years along with deregulation and globalisation of financial markets. This series provides a unique set of statistics that reflect the level and structure of the financial assets of institutional investors. Data include outstanding amounts of financial assets such as currency and deposits,...

February 3, 2017
Investing, System Sustainability
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