February 2019

Using Behavioral Science to Increase Retirement Savings in Mexico A look at what we have learned over three years

By Andrew Fertig, Alissa Fishbane, Jaclyn Lefkowitz Acknowledgements We’ve been fortunate to work with many individuals who made this report possible. We are enormously grateful to MetLife Foundation for its support and partnership throughout our efforts, and especially to Evelyn Stark, Alison Jarrett, Gabriela Zapata, and Nalleli Garcia Gutierrez. We’d like to thank our team members Marcela Cheng Oviedo, David Munguía Gómez, and Juan David Robalino for their excellent research and design contributions as well as their dedication...

January 2019

Work for a brighter future

From Global Commission On The Future Of Work New forces are transforming the world of work. The transitions involved call for decisive action. Countless opportunities lie ahead to improve the quality of working lives, expand choice, close the gender gap, reverse the damages wreaked by global inequality, and much more. Yet none of this will happen by itself. Without decisive action we will be heading into a world that widens existing inequalities and uncertainties. Technological advances – artificial intelligence, automation and...

China’s High Savings: Drivers, Prospects, and Policies

By Longmei Zhang (International Monetary Fund), Ray Brooks (International Monetary Fund   - Asia and Pacific Department), Ding Ding (International Monetary Fund), Haiyan Ding (International Monetary Fund), Hui He (International Monetary Fund), Jing Lu (International Monetary Fund), Rui Mano (International Monetary Fund) China's high national savings rate-one of the highest in the world-is at the heart of its external/internal imbalances. High savings finance elevated investment when held domestically, or lead to large external imbalances when they flow abroad. Today, high savings mostly emanate from...

China's High Savings: Drivers, Prospects, and Policies

By Longmei Zhang (International Monetary Fund), Ray Brooks (International Monetary Fund   - Asia and Pacific Department), Ding Ding (International Monetary Fund), Haiyan Ding (International Monetary Fund), Hui He (International Monetary Fund), Jing Lu (International Monetary Fund), Rui Mano (International Monetary Fund) China's high national savings rate-one of the highest in the world-is at the heart of its external/internal imbalances. High savings finance elevated investment when held domestically, or lead to large external imbalances when they flow abroad. Today, high savings mostly emanate from...

Handbook of Sociology of Aging

By Richard A Settersten Jr,‎ Dr Jacqueline L Angel The Handbook of Sociology of Aging is the most comprehensive, engaging, and up-to-date treatment of developments within the field over the past 30 years. The volume represents an indispensable source of the freshest and highest standard scholarship for scholars, policy makers, and aging professionals alike. The Handbook of Sociology of Aging contains 45 far-reaching chapters, authored by nearly 80 of the most renowned experts, on the most pressing topics related to aging today. With its recurring...

The Impact of Brexit on Central and Eastern European Security

By Valentin Naumescu (Faculty of European Studies, Babeş-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca), Agnes Nicolescu (European Institute of Romania) This article examines the impact of the Brexit process on security policy and related political discourse in Central and Eastern Europe. Developments related to the Brexit process are considered in its two-fold dimensions: direct impact, on the European Union, and indirect effect, on UK’s contribution to NATO. In this context, the article proposes a qualitative analysis of foreign policy and security national strategy...

First report costs and past performance

By EIOPA (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) Executive Summary The report sets out aggregate data on the costs of insurance-based investment product (IBIPs) across the EU, and, to a limited extent, certain personal pension products (PPPs). The data also sets out net performance for the period between 2013-2017. It follows the European Commission request to the European Supervisory Authorities to periodically reporto on costs and past performance of retail investment products. It has been undertaken as a “pilot” exercise, reflecting an anticipated need for...

Systems Analysis in Public Policy: A Critique

By Ida R Hoos Systems analysis, which is also called cost/benefit analysis, the planning-programming-budgeting system, risk analysis, and technology assessment, has become the major planning and policy tool of government at all levels. Indeed, it is still gathering momentum in addressing the uncertainties associated with everything from the safety of nuclear energy to the effects of microelectronics. Examining this phenomenon critically, Ida R. Hoos reviews systems analytic techniques in their own circumscribed, simulated world and in the real one, drawing...

Reversing Pension Privatization: Rebuilding Public Pension Systems in Eastern European and Latin American Countries (2000-18)

By Isabel Ortiz (United Nations - International Labour Organization (ILO); Initiative for Policy Dialogue), Fabio Duran (International Labour Organization (ILO)), Stefan Urban (United Nations - International Labour Organization (ILO)), Veronika Wodsak (United Nations - International Labour Organization (ILO)), Zhiming Yu (International Labour Organization) From 1981 to 2014, thirty countries privatized fully or partially their public mandatory pensions; as of 2018, eighteen countries have reversed the privatization. This report: (i) analyses the failure of mandatory private pensions to improve old-age income...

Government Transfers, Work and Wellbeing: Evidence from the Russian Old-Age Pension

By Louise Grogan (University of Guelph - Department of Economics) & Fraser Summerfield (University of Aberdeen - Economics; CELMR; Rimini Center for Economic Analysis (RCEA)) This paper examines the impacts of a large and anticipated government transfer, the Russian old-age pension, on labor supply, home production and subjective wellbeing. The discontinuity in eligibility at pension age is exploited for inference. The 2006-2011 Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey is employed. Causal impacts differ across the sexes. Women reduce market work and appear...