April 2020
24Apr

Informal employment in Mexico: Current situation, policies and challenges

By ILO Informal employment is a persistent problem in Latin America and the Caribbean. Following a decade of economic growth and decline in unemployment rates, there are still 130 million workers holding informal jobs, deprived of social protection and labour rights. This does not mean, however, that there has not been any progress made on the issue of formalization. Formal employment, wage labour and social protection coverage have increased in Latin America and the Caribbean. Now, it is important...

April 24, 2020
Books, Labor Market, , , ,
Read more...
17Apr

The challenges of social security in the world: a Latin American polaroid

By Nelson Dionel Cardozo This essay seeks to discuss the diagnoses of the so-called "pension crisis". In the literature we find a hypothesis that population aging and changes in employment markets will make the payment of public pensions unsustainable in the future. This is explained by the decrease in the number of workers and the increase in the number of older adults in the population pyramid. Thus, the arguments critical of this vision, which has become hegemonic in the...

April 17, 2020
Articles, System Sustainability,
Read more...
16Apr

Chile gives pension funds more firepower as virus batters growth

Chile’s Central Bank agreed on Wednesday to increase the maximum investment limits on alternative assets for four of the country’s five public pension funds as it seeks to contain the impact of the coronavirus health crisis on the economy. The bank said in a statement that the move was designed to allow for “diversification of the pension fund portfolios ... to access better combinations of risk and return.” The potential to extend the funds’ investments could provide a welcome...

April 16, 2020
News, Slider, , , ,
Read more...
11Apr

Enlisting Employees In Improving Payroll-Tax Compliance: Evidence From Mexico

By Todd Kumler, Eric Verhoogen, Judith A. Frías A growing body of research suggests that difficulties in collecting taxes are an important constraint on economic performance in developing countries. Evidence from rich countries points to third- party reporting — in particular, employer reports of employees' wages — as a potential remedy. To what extent does the accuracy of third-party reporting carry over to developing countries, with their weaker enforcement regimes? In this paper, we compare two sources of wage information...

April 11, 2020
Articles, Labor Market, Operation, , ,
Read more...

March 2020

27Mar

Coronavirus and online solutions: Necessity the mother of invention

Contagion-control measures in Latin America have led to private companies and citizens heightening their dependence on, and increasing their use of, internet-powered solutions and apps. While many firms, including those in the financial services sector, have told staff to work from home, the bulk of people in the region simply cannot do this because of the nature of their work, which is often informal.  State agencies, meanwhile, are also tightening their embrace on technology and instructing regulated entities to do the same. Changes will...

March 27, 2020
News, Slider
Read more...
20Mar

Lessons from Latin America: Innovations in Politics, Culture, and Development

By Kirk Bowman, Felipe Arocena Since the early 1980s, Latin American countries have been innovative in a range of policy and cultural experiences, including health care, voting, pensions, and multiculturalism. And yet, their policy innovations are rarely found in textbooks. This book addresses that gap, providing a fascinating and wide-ranging exploration of both the history of "looking down" at Latin America and the political, economic, and cultural "lessons" (including successes, failures, and unintended consequences) that should inform important policy...

March 20, 2020
Books, Regulation,
Read more...
09Mar

Mexico. ‘Unsustainable’: Mexico’s Pemex Buckling Under Crushing Pension Debt

Straining under a massive debt load and at risk of a ratings downgrade, Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) was hit with a record jump in its pension liabilities last year as more workers retired on generous benefits. Pemex [PEMX.UL] is fighting to avoid having its bonds cut to "junk" or speculative grade, which would put pressure on Mexico's sovereign rating and deal a heavy blow to populist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has vowed to revive it. Read...

March 9, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
02Mar

Argentinean House of Deputies approves changes to privileged pensions

After a heated debate between the ruling party and the opposition, the Argentinean House of Deputies passed a draft bill to modify the pension system for judges and diplomats. Although the voting resulted in 129 votes in favor and none against, the legislative debates were heated. The bench of Juntos por el Cambio denounced 'irregularities' to gather the necessary quorum to debate the draft bill, due to the presence of lawmaker Daniel Scioli, who made it clear that he...

March 2, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...

February 2020

21Feb

Latin Americans Expect To Have ‘Gaps’ In Retirement Income: LIMRA

A new study finds that 64% of Latin American adults expect to have significant gaps in their retirement funds when they turn 60, and 52% don’t believe the income from their government-funded pension (Social Security) and their employer-sponsored pension will cover basic living expenses. Also Read Which countries’ workers spend the longest (and shortest) in retirement? The study was conducted by Secure Retirement Institute and the Society of Actuaries (SOA) Almost half of Latin American consumers consider it their...

February 21, 2020
News, Slider, ,
Read more...
10Feb

Deal reached to cut bankrupt Puerto Rico’s debt by $24 bln

Puerto Rico would shed about $24 billion of debt and move closer to exiting bankruptcy under an agreement with bondholders announced on Sunday by the U.S. commonwealth's federally created financial oversight board. The deal would cut $35 billion of bonds and claims to about $11 billion as it increases the ranks of general obligation (GO) and Public Buildings Authority (PBA) bondholders that signed onto a plan to restructure core government debt and more than $50 billion in pension obligations...

February 10, 2020
News, Slider, , ,
Read more...