This paper analyses the long-term growth and welfare impact of the transition to the market economy in the countries of Eastern Europe. We define welfare as the average real net wage after payments of social security contributions to fund a paygo-type pension system, and of taxes to service the...

The Adjustment-related Social Funds (SFs) have been introduced in more than 70 countries. They conted in limites resources. The SFs did not have a effect on the total social expenditure/GDP ratio, as in most cases the rise of the latter during the years of execution of the SFs was less than the...

Nous utilisons un modele theorique a generations imbriquees, avec transferts et depenses publiques pour examiner ce que doit etre la reponse optimale de la politique budgetaire au vieillissement demographique. Nous partons du cas du Japon, ou le vieillissement a entraine une chute de la demande...

Lorsqu'on examine le choix du systeme de retraite (par la repartition de al capitalisation), on se preoccupe en general de l'effet sur l'epargne, le taux d'interet et les salaires d'equilibre, donc sur le niveau de capital par tete de l'economie; aussi du rendement relatif de la repartition et de...

Albania provides a small amount of social assistance to nearly 20 % of its population through a system that allows a degree of community discretion in determining distribution. This study investigates the poverty targeting of this program. It indicates that relative to other safety net programs...

In a stochastic two-period OLG model, featuring an aggregate shock to the economy, ex-ante optimality requires intergenerational risk sharing. We compare the level of time-consistent intergenerational risk sharing chosen by a social planner and by office seeking politicians. In the political...

Why do voters support PAYG social security systems? Browning (1975) suggested that for a majority of voters, who consider past contributions as a sunk cost, unfunded systems may represent a better investment than alternative assets, such as mutual or pension funds. I quantify the relevance of...

The paper examines the possible effects of introducing a large-scale welfare reform in Sweden, namely, the introduction of comprehensive welfare accounts. Under this policy, individuals make mandatory contributions to accounts, which they can top up with voluntary contributions. In return,...

Recent reforms of the Italian social security system (Amato-Dini reforms) aimed at reversing the upward trend in Government pension spending. The main provisions of these reforms are: i) the adoption of a (unfunded) defined contribution system as a basis for computing pensions benefits, ii) a...