Description
Book SynopsisThis book analyses the viability of unfunded pension systems in the presence of the projected demographic evolution and looks at: efficiency considerations and the possibility of welfare improvements; political economy aspects and the feasibility of reforms; and the process of European integration and its influence on national pension systems.
Trade ReviewExplores the crisis that publicly provided unfunded pension systems in industrialized countries are facing due to population aging and labor mobility, paying special attention to EU memeber countires and particularly Germany. Journal of Economic Literature, 2005.
Table of ContentsAbbreviated. Preface. 1. Introduction. 1.1 Focus of the analysis. 1.2 Structure and overview. 2. Unfunded Pension Systems. 2.1 Mechanisms of unfunded and funded pension systems. 2.2 The concept of implicit taxes and implicit debt. 2.3 Conclusion. 3.Projected development of fundamental factors. 3.1 Determinants of the population growth. 3.2 Development of the total population. 3.3 Conclusion. 4. Country studies. 4.1 Characteristics of pension systems. 4.2 Recent reforms of pension systems. 4.3 Conclusion. 5. Welfare analysis of pension reforms. 5.1 Intergenerationally efficient reforms. 5.2 Intrapersonally efficient reforms. 6. Political feasibility of pension reforms. 6.1 Intergenerational redistribution. 6.2 Voting model. 6.3 Feasibility of pension reforms. 6.4 Conclusion. 7. Mobility as a counterforce to gerontocracy. 7.1 Voting model with mobility. 7.2 Mobility as a commitment device. 8. Qualitative aspects of migration. 8.1 Description of the data. 8.2 Estimation of the intention to migrate. 8.3 Conclusion. 9. Sustainability of pension systems with systems competition. 9.1 Status Quo. 9.2 Theoretical results when pension systems are similar. 9.3 Institutional distribution of competence between the national and the European level. 9.4 Comparison of the theoretical and institutional results. 9.5 Alternative options when pension systems are different. 9.6 Conclusion. 10. Conclusion. References. Symbol glossary. Subject index.
