In 2000 only 22% of older people in Mexico received a pension. Then, in 2002, the first non-contributory pension was introduced in Mexico City. Since then 17 of Mexico's 31 states have also introduced social pensions and so has the federal district. The introduction of these non-contributory...

Social security is increasingly debated in terms of alleged effects of public pensions on economic efficiency. The author reviews the history and rationale for public provision of retirement income, then argues that the efficiency effects of such schemes are negligible. Social security reform in...

This paper chronicles the rise of social pensions in Mexico. First it summarizes the pension system prior to introduction of social pensions. Next it describes how Mexico City, the federal government, and seventeen of Mexico’s 31 states initiated social pensions, a policy supported eventually...