The labor participation rate in Slovenia has been lower than in the EU-15 (the members states prior to May 2004), particularly for the low-income and older individuals. Using simulations of tax and social benefits and public pensions, the paper shows how the current tax, welfare, and pension...

This paper presents key findings of Norway’s Financial System Stability Assessment, including Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Banking Supervision, Insurance Regulation, and Payment Systems. Norway’s financial system appears sound and well managed. Short-term...

This paper examines Colombia’s 2002 Article IV Consultation and Request for Stand-By Arrangement. The economic situation worsened in the first half of 2002. Economic activity has remained sluggish, and the fiscal consolidation has gone off-track. Exacerbated by increased contagion from...

Why are Bismarckian social security systems associated with larger public pension expenditures, a smaller fraction of private pension and lower income in-equality than Beveridgean systems? These facts are puzzling for political economy theories of social security which predict that Beveridgean...

The level of pensions in Romania represents a topic of passionate debates within the political class, beginning with 1990 until nowadays. The alarming increase of the number of pensioners that has surpassed the number of employees in the economy correlated with the level of economical and social...

Low fertility rates combined with increases in early retirement pose a serious challenge to the sustainability of social security systems in most industrialized countries. Therefore, it is important for policy makers to understand the determinants of early retirement and especially the role that...

This Selected Issues paper examines the long-term issues with pension expenditures in the Netherlands. The paper highlights that the public pension for a single person is equal to 70 percent of the (statutory) minimum wage. The minimum wage and public pensions thus move in lock-step; they are...

. The need for long-term fiscal projections is self evident. Of these projections, pension expenditure is one of the most important since firstly it represents a large share of total expenditure, and secondly because of the positive correlation between this variable and demographic ageing. In...