Topic Retirement and Pension Provision

Private Savings in Eastern European EU-Accession Countries: Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Data Model

After the collapse in early transition years, saving rates in Eastern European EUaccession countries have recovered strongly. Is private saving in these countries now driven by the same forces as in the EU? A GMM estimator is applied to analyze the determinants of private saving in both country groups. Main results are: saving rates are persistent; income growth increases saving, whereas public saving ...

Back on Track? Savings Puzzles in EU Accession Countries

Imputed Rent and Income Inequality: A Decomposition Analysis for Great Britain, West Germany and the U.S.

This article deals with income advantages derived from owner-occupied housing and their impact on the personal income distribution. Using micro-data from the British Household Panel Study (BHPS), the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), and the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) we find distinct cross-national differences in terms of the prevalence and extent of imputed rent. Results from inequality ...

The 2001 Reform of Old Age Security in Germany: An Example of Security through Diversity

Back on Track? Savings Puzzles in EU-Accession Countries

After the collapse in the early years of transition, saving rates in many EU-accession countries have recovered and remained stable during recent years. This may indicate that the transformation process has come to an end with regard to savings. Is saving behaviour in EU-accession countries now driven by the same forces as it is in market economies? We use a panel data set covering the years 1990 to ...

Reform of the Public Pension System in Germany

Japanese Welfare State Reforms in the 1990s and Beyond: How Japan is Similar to and Different from Germany

Beginning with a review of Japanese welfare state reform in 1990s, we discuss similarities and differences between Japan and Germany in the implementation of three major reforms: public pension reform, health care reform and introduction of long-term care insurance. The latest public pension reform in both countries has the same aim: to establish middle- and long-term stability of the system against ...

Kazakstan 1993 - 2000: Independent Advisors and the IMF

Why Funding Is not a Solution to the "Social Security Crisis"

Es ist heute unbestritten, dass die umlagefinanzierten staatlichen Rentensysteme in den meisten OECD.Ländern in den kommenden Jahrzehnten wegen der dramatisch steigenden Alterslastquote schwerwiegende finanzielle Probleme bekommen werden. Dennoch gibt es eine intensive Debatte über die angemessene Therapie. Gerade in den letzten Jahren haben Vorschläge zugenommen, die auf einen (teilweisen) Übergang ...

Long-Term Labor Force Exit and Economic Well-Being: A Cross-National Comparison of Public and Private Income Support

This paper examines how the economic well-being of households changes after a male household member exits the labor force. We examine, in four countries, labor force exits at various ages and present evidence on household income from various sources before and after the exit occurs. We focus on the rate at which household income is replaced through public and private means after labor force exit. We ...