February 2025
14Feb

The Economic History of American Inequality: New Evidence and Perspectives

By Martha J. Bailey, Leah Platt Boustan & William J. Collins This volume refines and extends the economic history literature on economic inequality in the United States. Economic inequality manifests itself on various dimensions, including access to resources and to economic security, as well as access to education and opportunities for migration, marriage and other important life decisions. Measuring inequality and studying its variation over time and in response to economic shocks such as recessions and wars deepen our understanding of how the...

February 14, 2025
Books, Books, Labor Market, Reports, , ,
Read more...

January 2025
27Jan

Iran Protests: Nationwide Demonstrations Highlight Economic Injustice and Suppression

Today, January 27, 2025, protests erupted across multiple cities in Iran today, as retirees, farmers, workers, and defrauded citizens rallied against the regime’s economic mismanagement, systemic corruption, and oppressive tactics. Demonstrations highlighted a variety of grievances, from pensions and wages to access to water rights and freedom from arbitrary arrests. In Zanjan, northwest Iran, retirees from the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) resumed their protests, calling for higher pensions and an end to mismanagement. Similar protests were held in Ahvaz, southwest Iran,...

January 27, 2025
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
17Jan

Pension reform and wealth inequality: Theory and evidence

By Torben M. Andersen, Joydeep Bhattacharya, Anna Grodecka-Messi & Katja Mann A growing literature explores reasons for rising wealth inequality, but is mostly silent on the role of pension systems despite their well-understood influence on life-cycle savings. This paper develops a simple life-cycle model to lay bare the primary theoretical mechanisms connecting pension systems, asset accumulation, and the wealth distribution. Mandated fully-funded plans transform individuals with lower incomes, often characterized as low savers, into asset owners, and may also imply...

January 17, 2025
Articles, System Sustainability, , , , ,
Read more...
10Jan

Collective Bargaining, Unions, and the Wage Structure: An International Perspective

By Simon Jäger, Suresh Naidu & Benjamin Schoefer In this paper, we assess the recent economics literature on collective bargaining. Despite a declining trend in the OECD in coverage and especially union membership, a large share of formal workers around the world are still covered by collective bargaining agreements. We describe the substantial institutional variation across a variety of countries, highlighting research done with modern research designs and recently available administrative datasets. We then estimate a canonical empirical model of individual-level coverage effects...

January 10, 2025
Articles, Labor Market, , ,
Read more...

December 2024
10Dec

Belgium. Staggering Pension Gap Revealed: Shocking Differences Between Civil Servants and Workers

The ongoing formation of a new federal government in Belgium, led by Bart De Wever, is facing significant challenges. A key issue at the forefront is the pension reform aimed at achieving substantial savings. As Stijn Baert highlighted on ‘De tafel van Gert’, the disparity between public and private sector pensions raises questions. How can this gap be addressed effectively? Fast Answer: Belgium’s pension reform discussions reveal a stark contrast between public and private sector pensions, with civil servants earning significantly more. This...

December 10, 2024
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
09Dec

How widening inequalities signal a warning for the UK pension system

The government has made a commitment to “tackle all the inequalities that pervade our society” in “a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer”. But what does inequality mean for pensions and, ultimately, for living standards in later life? That’s the question that underpins a report we published last month. For many people, income inequality is the first thing that comes to mind when we talk about inequality in the UK, and for good reason. The UK has had higher income inequality...

December 9, 2024
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...
03Dec

Strong action is needed to make retirement systems more inclusive, resilient and innovative

The design and governance of asset-backed pensions should be enhanced to foster more inclusive and resilient systems, secure better outcomes for individuals and contribute to sustainable economic growth and innovation, according to new analysis from the OECD. Pension assets in OECD countries grew by 10% in 2023, reaching over USD 56 trillion, more than triple the level seen two decades ago. Total assets hit USD 63 trillion after adding pension reserve funds held by governments. The 2023 total is 5%...

December 3, 2024
News, , , ,
Read more...
03Dec

The widening gender wage gap in the gig economy in China: the impact of digitalisation

The gig economy, fundamentally relying on the digital economy, is often celebrated for its potential to expand employment opportunities and close gender wage gaps. However, research on its gender impacts in China, the largest developing country with a rapidly expanding gig sector, is notably lacking. Employing discrimination theory, the findings challenge the prevailing optimistic view on the role of the gig economy. Utilising the China Labour Dynamics Survey data from 2014, 2016, and 2018, and applying the Bourguignon, Fournier,...

December 3, 2024
News, , ,
Read more...

November 2024
15Nov

Pension’s Resource-Time Trade-Off: The Role of Inequalities in the Design of Retirement Schemes

By Renaud Bourlès & Santiago Lopez-Cantor Public pension schemes serve as mechanisms for inter-temporal income smoothing and within-cohort redistribution. This paper examines the influence of income and lifespan inequalities on the structure of a democratically chosen pension scheme. We use a probabilistic voting model where agents vote on the size and the degree of redistribution (i.e. the Beveridgean factor) of pension and can supplement it with voluntary contributions. Our analysis reveals that when all agents can supplement the public scheme...

November 15, 2024
Articles, Pension design, , ,
Read more...
08Nov

Journal of Labor Economics

By Peter Kuhn This is volume 42 issue 4 of Journal of Labor Economics. Founded in 1983 as the first journal devoted specifically to labor economics, the Journal of Labor Economics (JOLE) presents international research on issues affecting social and private behavior, and the economy. JOLE’s contributors investigate various aspects of labor economics, including supply and demand of labor services, personnel economics, distribution of income, unions and collective bargaining, applied and policy issues in labor economics, and labor markets and...

November 8, 2024
Books, Books, Labor Market, Reports, , , ,
Read more...