Pension systems are of crucial importance for life-cycle savings. Since the early 2000s, a transition to a multi-pillar architecture, adding a funded occupational scheme to existing public plans, has been underway in almost every OECD nation. While many aspects of this transition – its...

How does international integration affect the welfare state? Does it call for a leaner welfare state to reap the benefits of integraiton or is it necessary to expand the welfare state to offset some negative consequences of international integration? This paper addresses these issues in a fully...

How does international integration affect the welfare state? Does it call for a leaner or an expanded welfare state? International integration may affect the distortions caused by welfare state activities but also the risks motivating social insurance mechanisms. This paper addresses these...

How does international integration affect the welfare state? Does it call for a leaner or an expanded welfare state? International integration may affect the distortions caused by welfare state activities but also the risks motivating social insurance mechanisms. This paper addresses these...

This paper discusses how international integration affects the need and scope for welfare state activities. The first part reviews the main mechanisms, which have been considered in the literature, namely, tax base mobility, risk and race to the bottom effects in welfare policies. The second...