Jochen Clasen
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199270712
- eISBN:
- 9780191603266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199270716.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The chapter discusses three periods of policy change in the field of pension policy. It explains basic parameters of public pension systems and the scope of private provision, comparing contemporary ...
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The chapter discusses three periods of policy change in the field of pension policy. It explains basic parameters of public pension systems and the scope of private provision, comparing contemporary systems with those which existed in the late 1970s. Using a number of indicators, it assess the scale and profile of change in each country. The different reform profiles are identified and their genesis discussed in the context of major legislative changes. It argues that the impact of policy legacies have played a major role in shaping policy profiles. The notion of ‘path dependence’ is a more instructive concept in pension than in unemployment or family policy, rendering radical policy change less likely in Germany than in the UK. However, changes in contextual conditions, not least due to German unification, have contributed to programmatic re-orientations and power relations within major political parties.Less
The chapter discusses three periods of policy change in the field of pension policy. It explains basic parameters of public pension systems and the scope of private provision, comparing contemporary systems with those which existed in the late 1970s. Using a number of indicators, it assess the scale and profile of change in each country. The different reform profiles are identified and their genesis discussed in the context of major legislative changes. It argues that the impact of policy legacies have played a major role in shaping policy profiles. The notion of ‘path dependence’ is a more instructive concept in pension than in unemployment or family policy, rendering radical policy change less likely in Germany than in the UK. However, changes in contextual conditions, not least due to German unification, have contributed to programmatic re-orientations and power relations within major political parties.
Jochen Clasen
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199270712
- eISBN:
- 9780191603266
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199270716.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The book investigates the processes of welfare state reform in the UK and Germany between the late 1970s and 2003. Adopting a programme-level perspective, it systematically compares processes of ...
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The book investigates the processes of welfare state reform in the UK and Germany between the late 1970s and 2003. Adopting a programme-level perspective, it systematically compares processes of retrenchment, expansion and restructuring in three core social policy domains. The book suggests that unemployment support and public pension programmes have been subjected to retrenchment and restructuring, while family policies have been extended in both countries. However, patterns of retrenchment and restructuring differ across countries and programmes. Arguing in favour of multi-causal explanations of reform processes and outcomes, the book stresses the relevance of three sets of explanatory factors: shifts in party policy preferences and power relations, three institutional variables and contingent factors impinging on policy direction and profiles. Within pension policy, the relevance of different institutional characteristics and the respective balance between private and public forms of retirement suggest that the concept of ‘path dependence’ is particularly instructive. By contrast, differences in programme structures and their role within national political economies prove to be most relevant for the understanding of changes in unemployment support policy. Less institutionally embedded and expanding, the trajectories of family policies have to be seen in the context of dynamic party policy preferences.Less
The book investigates the processes of welfare state reform in the UK and Germany between the late 1970s and 2003. Adopting a programme-level perspective, it systematically compares processes of retrenchment, expansion and restructuring in three core social policy domains. The book suggests that unemployment support and public pension programmes have been subjected to retrenchment and restructuring, while family policies have been extended in both countries. However, patterns of retrenchment and restructuring differ across countries and programmes. Arguing in favour of multi-causal explanations of reform processes and outcomes, the book stresses the relevance of three sets of explanatory factors: shifts in party policy preferences and power relations, three institutional variables and contingent factors impinging on policy direction and profiles. Within pension policy, the relevance of different institutional characteristics and the respective balance between private and public forms of retirement suggest that the concept of ‘path dependence’ is particularly instructive. By contrast, differences in programme structures and their role within national political economies prove to be most relevant for the understanding of changes in unemployment support policy. Less institutionally embedded and expanding, the trajectories of family policies have to be seen in the context of dynamic party policy preferences.
Edmund Cannon and Ian Tonks
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216994
- eISBN:
- 9780191711978
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216994.003.0003
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
This chapter documents the historical development of annuity markets and provides examples of annuities from classical times up to the present day. It summarizes the system of pension provision in ...
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This chapter documents the historical development of annuity markets and provides examples of annuities from classical times up to the present day. It summarizes the system of pension provision in the UK, and discusses the role of annuities in the UK's pension system and the changes introduced on A-day in 2006. The chapter concludes with a discussion of recent developments in UK financial markets, including the problems of Equitable Life.Less
This chapter documents the historical development of annuity markets and provides examples of annuities from classical times up to the present day. It summarizes the system of pension provision in the UK, and discusses the role of annuities in the UK's pension system and the changes introduced on A-day in 2006. The chapter concludes with a discussion of recent developments in UK financial markets, including the problems of Equitable Life.
Edmund Cannon and Ian Tonks
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216994
- eISBN:
- 9780191711978
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216994.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Pensions and Pension Management
This introductory chapter starts by examining the general approach of public policy towards pensions. It discusses the impending pensions crisis: the changing demographic profile in many economies, ...
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This introductory chapter starts by examining the general approach of public policy towards pensions. It discusses the impending pensions crisis: the changing demographic profile in many economies, with an increasing number of elderly persons supported by a shrinking younger population. The chapter goes on to examine pension structure within a selected group of countries and shows how that pension structure relates to the development of annuity markets in the same country. It also examines the size of the pensions annuity market in the UK.Less
This introductory chapter starts by examining the general approach of public policy towards pensions. It discusses the impending pensions crisis: the changing demographic profile in many economies, with an increasing number of elderly persons supported by a shrinking younger population. The chapter goes on to examine pension structure within a selected group of countries and shows how that pension structure relates to the development of annuity markets in the same country. It also examines the size of the pensions annuity market in the UK.
Karen Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199583188
- eISBN:
- 9780191594502
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199583188.003.0011
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law, EU Law
This chapter investigates the ways in which European integration is shaping the development of national pension systems in the EU. It begins with a brief discussion of the variable forms of ...
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This chapter investigates the ways in which European integration is shaping the development of national pension systems in the EU. It begins with a brief discussion of the variable forms of solidarity embedded in national pension systems. It then discusses the three core components of the EU's emerging pensions paradigm: the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) process as applied to pensions, the recently adopted Occupational Pension Fund Directive, and the proposed Directive on pension portability. This includes discussion of some of the consequences of EU pension policy in Germany and the Netherlands. The concluding section discusses the implications of the analysis for the future of social solidarity in the EU.Less
This chapter investigates the ways in which European integration is shaping the development of national pension systems in the EU. It begins with a brief discussion of the variable forms of solidarity embedded in national pension systems. It then discusses the three core components of the EU's emerging pensions paradigm: the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) process as applied to pensions, the recently adopted Occupational Pension Fund Directive, and the proposed Directive on pension portability. This includes discussion of some of the consequences of EU pension policy in Germany and the Netherlands. The concluding section discusses the implications of the analysis for the future of social solidarity in the EU.
M. Barton Waring
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199573349
- eISBN:
- 9780191721946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199573349.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Public Management, Pensions and Pension Management
Unless defined benefit pension plans are managed much better and more cost-effectively, they will be replaced by defined contribution plans. Benefit and contribution policies need to be carefully ...
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Unless defined benefit pension plans are managed much better and more cost-effectively, they will be replaced by defined contribution plans. Benefit and contribution policies need to be carefully evaluated to make sure that a reasonable level of ongoing contributions, together with investment income, are adequate to fund the defined benefit plan without unpleasant surprises. Unless valuation and contribution conventions change to market-valued economically based quantities, decision makers will lack the right information with which to make informed policy decisions.Less
Unless defined benefit pension plans are managed much better and more cost-effectively, they will be replaced by defined contribution plans. Benefit and contribution policies need to be carefully evaluated to make sure that a reasonable level of ongoing contributions, together with investment income, are adequate to fund the defined benefit plan without unpleasant surprises. Unless valuation and contribution conventions change to market-valued economically based quantities, decision makers will lack the right information with which to make informed policy decisions.
Olivia S. Mitchell and Kent Smetters
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199266913
- eISBN:
- 9780191601323
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266913.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter examines how public pension funds can be shielded from government inference in the investment process, and reviews initiatives developed in Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and ...
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This chapter examines how public pension funds can be shielded from government inference in the investment process, and reviews initiatives developed in Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and Sweden. It highlights a number of good practices not commonly observed in most public funds. These include explicit funding targets and mechanisms to trigger action in case of deviation from objective, commercial investment policies aimed at maximising risk-adjusted returns, and professional boards selected through process that maintain distance from government officials.Less
This chapter examines how public pension funds can be shielded from government inference in the investment process, and reviews initiatives developed in Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, and Sweden. It highlights a number of good practices not commonly observed in most public funds. These include explicit funding targets and mechanisms to trigger action in case of deviation from objective, commercial investment policies aimed at maximising risk-adjusted returns, and professional boards selected through process that maintain distance from government officials.
Gordon L. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261765
- eISBN:
- 9780191601248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261768.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter examines whether the Dutch pension system is prepared to meet the demands of changing labour markets and an aging population. The stock market crisis in 2002 exposed the vulnerability of ...
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This chapter examines whether the Dutch pension system is prepared to meet the demands of changing labour markets and an aging population. The stock market crisis in 2002 exposed the vulnerability of Dutch pension funds. As a result, higher premiums are necessary to compensate for falling pension coverage ratios. Moreover, the slowdown in economic growth draws attention to the political difficulty of maintaining a strategy of debt-redemption under a recession. Thus, the pressure for pension reform in the Netherlands is expected to increase in the first decade of the 21st century.Less
This chapter examines whether the Dutch pension system is prepared to meet the demands of changing labour markets and an aging population. The stock market crisis in 2002 exposed the vulnerability of Dutch pension funds. As a result, higher premiums are necessary to compensate for falling pension coverage ratios. Moreover, the slowdown in economic growth draws attention to the political difficulty of maintaining a strategy of debt-redemption under a recession. Thus, the pressure for pension reform in the Netherlands is expected to increase in the first decade of the 21st century.
Gordon L. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261765
- eISBN:
- 9780191601248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261768.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter explores pension reform in Germany. It begins with a brief overview of the institutional structure of the system of old age protection. Recent pension debates are discussed, and the ...
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This chapter explores pension reform in Germany. It begins with a brief overview of the institutional structure of the system of old age protection. Recent pension debates are discussed, and the major elements and effects of the 2001 pension reform are analysed. Pension reform has created a trend towards reducing the benefit level in social insurance. The issue of making private pensions mandatory is expected to be included in the political agenda.Less
This chapter explores pension reform in Germany. It begins with a brief overview of the institutional structure of the system of old age protection. Recent pension debates are discussed, and the major elements and effects of the 2001 pension reform are analysed. Pension reform has created a trend towards reducing the benefit level in social insurance. The issue of making private pensions mandatory is expected to be included in the political agenda.
James A. Klein
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199284603
- eISBN:
- 9780191603013
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199284601.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
In the future, the retirement paradigm will be reinvented because people and entities directly engaged in designing and sponsoring plans, as well as those benefiting from plans, will make countless ...
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In the future, the retirement paradigm will be reinvented because people and entities directly engaged in designing and sponsoring plans, as well as those benefiting from plans, will make countless decisions about their immediate and long-term needs. They will adjust retirement plan programs, and retirement practices themselves, to accommodate those needs. This chapter identifies four elements that may help in the development of a paradigm suitable for the next thirty years. These are the key role of trust in a regulatory scheme; the importance of balancing objectives in pension policy; the key importance of recognizing expectations; and the need for retirement policy champions.Less
In the future, the retirement paradigm will be reinvented because people and entities directly engaged in designing and sponsoring plans, as well as those benefiting from plans, will make countless decisions about their immediate and long-term needs. They will adjust retirement plan programs, and retirement practices themselves, to accommodate those needs. This chapter identifies four elements that may help in the development of a paradigm suitable for the next thirty years. These are the key role of trust in a regulatory scheme; the importance of balancing objectives in pension policy; the key importance of recognizing expectations; and the need for retirement policy champions.
Gordon L. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261765
- eISBN:
- 9780191601248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261768.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter examines the policy directions of pension reform in the EU. Discussions taking place at the European level propose incremental changes rather than radical reform, with attempts being ...
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This chapter examines the policy directions of pension reform in the EU. Discussions taking place at the European level propose incremental changes rather than radical reform, with attempts being made to reconcile apparently contradictory objectives (collective solidarity and market forces). This in turn, touches on the close link between the problem of pensions and employment strategies.Less
This chapter examines the policy directions of pension reform in the EU. Discussions taking place at the European level propose incremental changes rather than radical reform, with attempts being made to reconcile apparently contradictory objectives (collective solidarity and market forces). This in turn, touches on the close link between the problem of pensions and employment strategies.
Jay Ginn
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781861343383
- eISBN:
- 9781447302421
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781861343383.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
An emerging consensus sees British pension policy as unravelling. Yet the gender impact of expanding private pension provision and relying increasingly on means-testing has been largely overlooked. ...
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An emerging consensus sees British pension policy as unravelling. Yet the gender impact of expanding private pension provision and relying increasingly on means-testing has been largely overlooked. This book examines key issues such as: how pension choices over the lifecourse are structured by gender, class, and ethnicity; the impact of changing patterns of partnership and parenthood on pension building; the distributional impact of privatising pensions; questions about individualisation of rights, survivor benefits, a citizen's pension, and means-testing; and the EU dimension – comparing alternative strategies for improving gender equity.Less
An emerging consensus sees British pension policy as unravelling. Yet the gender impact of expanding private pension provision and relying increasingly on means-testing has been largely overlooked. This book examines key issues such as: how pension choices over the lifecourse are structured by gender, class, and ethnicity; the impact of changing patterns of partnership and parenthood on pension building; the distributional impact of privatising pensions; questions about individualisation of rights, survivor benefits, a citizen's pension, and means-testing; and the EU dimension – comparing alternative strategies for improving gender equity.
Gordon L. Clark
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261765
- eISBN:
- 9780191601248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261768.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter explores the impact of pension reform in Sweden. It begins with a description of the background of the reform and its elements, including the funded-component and its organisation. The ...
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This chapter explores the impact of pension reform in Sweden. It begins with a description of the background of the reform and its elements, including the funded-component and its organisation. The different forms of integration with international financial markets generated by the changes in the funding of the public system, and the public-private interplay in pension provision are discussed. The future of nation-based welfare state from a Swedish perspective is then presented.Less
This chapter explores the impact of pension reform in Sweden. It begins with a description of the background of the reform and its elements, including the funded-component and its organisation. The different forms of integration with international financial markets generated by the changes in the funding of the public system, and the public-private interplay in pension provision are discussed. The future of nation-based welfare state from a Swedish perspective is then presented.
Gordon L. Clark and Noel Whiteside (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261765
- eISBN:
- 9780191601248
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261768.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This book focuses on how Europe and the United States are dealing with the demographic, financial, and political pressures on pension security. It seeks to explore the links between two spheres often ...
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This book focuses on how Europe and the United States are dealing with the demographic, financial, and political pressures on pension security. It seeks to explore the links between two spheres often considered separately in literature: old age security and global finance, and compare continental European traditions with Anglo-American initiatives and institutions. It features nine chapters, dealing with pension reform issues in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United States.Less
This book focuses on how Europe and the United States are dealing with the demographic, financial, and political pressures on pension security. It seeks to explore the links between two spheres often considered separately in literature: old age security and global finance, and compare continental European traditions with Anglo-American initiatives and institutions. It features nine chapters, dealing with pension reform issues in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United States.
Markus Haverland
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197262955
- eISBN:
- 9780191734465
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197262955.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter analyses the Europeanization of German social policy, focusing on the sectors of old-age pensions and health care. It begins by establishing the specific properties of German social ...
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This chapter analyses the Europeanization of German social policy, focusing on the sectors of old-age pensions and health care. It begins by establishing the specific properties of German social policy from a cross-national perspective. This will be done for the mid-1970s, hence prior to any major potential direct or indirect EU effect. Next, the chapter reviews the potential European, global, and domestic pressures on old-age pension arrangements and health care. It contextualizes social policy development to isolate EU integration as a variable from other factors such as demographic change (‘greying’ of the society), individualization, technological change, German unification, and economic and financial globalization, which may point in similar directions. The major part of the discussion reviews the development of German pension and health care policy over the last decades, and analyses the extent to which these developments can be attributed to EU integration.Less
This chapter analyses the Europeanization of German social policy, focusing on the sectors of old-age pensions and health care. It begins by establishing the specific properties of German social policy from a cross-national perspective. This will be done for the mid-1970s, hence prior to any major potential direct or indirect EU effect. Next, the chapter reviews the potential European, global, and domestic pressures on old-age pension arrangements and health care. It contextualizes social policy development to isolate EU integration as a variable from other factors such as demographic change (‘greying’ of the society), individualization, technological change, German unification, and economic and financial globalization, which may point in similar directions. The major part of the discussion reviews the development of German pension and health care policy over the last decades, and analyses the extent to which these developments can be attributed to EU integration.
Sophie Schmitt
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199656646
- eISBN:
- 9780191746000
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656646.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Economy
This chapter seeks to shed light on the processes of active policy dismantling by focusing on the field of pension politics in Italy and Switzerland. Political decision makers in both countries have ...
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This chapter seeks to shed light on the processes of active policy dismantling by focusing on the field of pension politics in Italy and Switzerland. Political decision makers in both countries have faced constantly rising budgetary pressure in the public pension schemes over the last decades; as a response, governments have made various efforts actively to dismantle the pension schemes, but with divergent success. By analysing the sequences in these two countries over time and holding institutional and environmental variables (i.e. in particular problem pressure) approximately constant, it identifies the determinants of reactive sequences; that is, the necessary causes for reactive changes in policy dismantling over time. In particular, it considers the impact that policy framing, negotiation style, and previous events have on the content and calibration of future policy dismantling decisions.Less
This chapter seeks to shed light on the processes of active policy dismantling by focusing on the field of pension politics in Italy and Switzerland. Political decision makers in both countries have faced constantly rising budgetary pressure in the public pension schemes over the last decades; as a response, governments have made various efforts actively to dismantle the pension schemes, but with divergent success. By analysing the sequences in these two countries over time and holding institutional and environmental variables (i.e. in particular problem pressure) approximately constant, it identifies the determinants of reactive sequences; that is, the necessary causes for reactive changes in policy dismantling over time. In particular, it considers the impact that policy framing, negotiation style, and previous events have on the content and calibration of future policy dismantling decisions.
Jochen Clasen (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199584499
- eISBN:
- 9780191728792
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584499.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The book compares attitudes towards public and private welfare as well as developments in three social policy domains in the United Kingdom and Germany since the 1990s. Focusing on aspects such as ...
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The book compares attitudes towards public and private welfare as well as developments in three social policy domains in the United Kingdom and Germany since the 1990s. Focusing on aspects such as fairness and social justice, it investigates to what extent perceptions towards the welfare state and collective forms of solidarity have changed in the context of profound social and economic change. Reviewing developments in family, pensions, and labour market policies, and taking account of both public provision as well as the role of companies, it asks whether the two countries have become more similar to each other since the 1990s. The chapters illustrate a considerable degree of policy dynamics, including far-reaching change in some areas which challenges conventional depictions of traditional welfare models. However, despite some degree of convergence in areas such as family policy, important cross-national differences in the provision and role of social policy remain.Less
The book compares attitudes towards public and private welfare as well as developments in three social policy domains in the United Kingdom and Germany since the 1990s. Focusing on aspects such as fairness and social justice, it investigates to what extent perceptions towards the welfare state and collective forms of solidarity have changed in the context of profound social and economic change. Reviewing developments in family, pensions, and labour market policies, and taking account of both public provision as well as the role of companies, it asks whether the two countries have become more similar to each other since the 1990s. The chapters illustrate a considerable degree of policy dynamics, including far-reaching change in some areas which challenges conventional depictions of traditional welfare models. However, despite some degree of convergence in areas such as family policy, important cross-national differences in the provision and role of social policy remain.
August Baker, Dennis E. Logue, and Jack S. Rader
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195165906
- eISBN:
- 9780199835508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019516590X.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter discusses the key elements of investment policy as they relate to asset pools of pension plans and the goals of funding pension liabilities in a cost-efficient manner for defined benefit ...
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This chapter discusses the key elements of investment policy as they relate to asset pools of pension plans and the goals of funding pension liabilities in a cost-efficient manner for defined benefit plans, and of accumulation of wealth and providing retirement income for defined contribution plans. Pension investment policies should be put in writing to serve as guidelines for prudent decision-making. The most important policy that must be determined is the plan’s (or portfolio’s) tolerance for risk.Less
This chapter discusses the key elements of investment policy as they relate to asset pools of pension plans and the goals of funding pension liabilities in a cost-efficient manner for defined benefit plans, and of accumulation of wealth and providing retirement income for defined contribution plans. Pension investment policies should be put in writing to serve as guidelines for prudent decision-making. The most important policy that must be determined is the plan’s (or portfolio’s) tolerance for risk.
Tito Boeri, Agar Brugiavini, and Lars Calmfors (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246588
- eISBN:
- 9780191596001
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246580.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Current theories of unions are mainly theories of what unions were and did rather than theories of what unions will be and will do. Thus, the purpose of this book is to help make ...
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Current theories of unions are mainly theories of what unions were and did rather than theories of what unions will be and will do. Thus, the purpose of this book is to help make economic thinking about unions in Europe more forward‐looking and to discuss the role that unions are likely to play in the changed economic environment of the new century. The volume consists of two reports that are the results of coordinated efforts by some of the most authoritative scholars in the field. The first study addresses a number of issues related to the question of how the primary role of trade unions—collective bargaining over wages and work conditions—is likely to evolve in the early decades of the new millennium. Starting from the widespread impression of a trend toward weakening union power, the main aspects considered by the analysis are membership, wage effects, organization and presence of unions, bargaining structure, macroeconomic performance, future scenarios, and strategies. The second study investigates the interactions between trade unions, welfare systems, and welfare reforms. The overall theme is the policy dilemma created by the many different activities of trade unions in the field of welfare provision, notably pension policies and unemployment protection.Throughout the analysis, a tension emerges between the role of unions as voice of atomistic agents and insurance providers—that may contribute to increasing aggregate welfare by remedying market failures—and as rent‐seeking monopolist, underlying the intergenerational conflicts present within unions. The studies point to measures and strategies enhancing this second efficient role of the unions that draws mainly on their capacity to internalize to the employer–employee relationships costs that would otherwise fall on society at large.Less
Current theories of unions are mainly theories of what unions were and did rather than theories of what unions will be and will do. Thus, the purpose of this book is to help make economic thinking about unions in Europe more forward‐looking and to discuss the role that unions are likely to play in the changed economic environment of the new century. The volume consists of two reports that are the results of coordinated efforts by some of the most authoritative scholars in the field. The first study addresses a number of issues related to the question of how the primary role of trade unions—collective bargaining over wages and work conditions—is likely to evolve in the early decades of the new millennium. Starting from the widespread impression of a trend toward weakening union power, the main aspects considered by the analysis are membership, wage effects, organization and presence of unions, bargaining structure, macroeconomic performance, future scenarios, and strategies. The second study investigates the interactions between trade unions, welfare systems, and welfare reforms. The overall theme is the policy dilemma created by the many different activities of trade unions in the field of welfare provision, notably pension policies and unemployment protection.
Throughout the analysis, a tension emerges between the role of unions as voice of atomistic agents and insurance providers—that may contribute to increasing aggregate welfare by remedying market failures—and as rent‐seeking monopolist, underlying the intergenerational conflicts present within unions. The studies point to measures and strategies enhancing this second efficient role of the unions that draws mainly on their capacity to internalize to the employer–employee relationships costs that would otherwise fall on society at large.
Paul Bridgen and Traute Meyer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199584499
- eISBN:
- 9780191728792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584499.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter uses policy simulation to illustrate the scale and nature of the institutional changes made to the German and British pension systems by reforms undertaken in the first decade of the new ...
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This chapter uses policy simulation to illustrate the scale and nature of the institutional changes made to the German and British pension systems by reforms undertaken in the first decade of the new century. The projected outcomes of the new systems for a range of hypothetical biographies in both countries are compared with those of the systems they replaced. The chapter argues that the results of these simulations are consistent neither with the predictions of the globalization thesis nor regime theory. There is no evidence of institutional convergence on the basis of a ‘race to the bottom’, but neither have the two systems remained constrained by regime logic. In fact, Britain’s reform is strongly social democratic in orientation, with Germany’s strongly liberal. In the short term these developments might generate some convergence of pension levels as German citizens spend more of their working life under the new, less generous state system while Britain’s gradually gain the benefits of recent reforms. However, when analysis focuses purely on the nature of current public/private pension institutions as revealed by their projected outcomes, the German system is shown to be more consistent with an ideal typical liberal regime than Britain’s.Less
This chapter uses policy simulation to illustrate the scale and nature of the institutional changes made to the German and British pension systems by reforms undertaken in the first decade of the new century. The projected outcomes of the new systems for a range of hypothetical biographies in both countries are compared with those of the systems they replaced. The chapter argues that the results of these simulations are consistent neither with the predictions of the globalization thesis nor regime theory. There is no evidence of institutional convergence on the basis of a ‘race to the bottom’, but neither have the two systems remained constrained by regime logic. In fact, Britain’s reform is strongly social democratic in orientation, with Germany’s strongly liberal. In the short term these developments might generate some convergence of pension levels as German citizens spend more of their working life under the new, less generous state system while Britain’s gradually gain the benefits of recent reforms. However, when analysis focuses purely on the nature of current public/private pension institutions as revealed by their projected outcomes, the German system is shown to be more consistent with an ideal typical liberal regime than Britain’s.
