When and how to subsidize tax-favored pension accounts? To defend myopic workers against themselves, the government introduces a mandatory system but to help savers, it adds taxfavored retirement accounts. If the mandatory system is progressive, then a proportional voluntary system can...

The goal of this study is to present an insider view on the pension reforms implemented in Hungary between 1996 and 2009. Both political economy as well as institutional economics will be used as the main approaches to analyse and explain the reform process and some of its effects. The following...

To defend myopic workers against themselves, the government introduces a mandatory system but to help savers, it adds tax-favored retirement accounts. In a very simple model, where benefits are proportional to contributions, we compare three extreme systems: (i) the pure mandatory system, (ii)...

We analyze underreported earnings and age-specific income redistribution in postsocialist economies. Pensions, other transfers and public expenditures are financed from contributions and wage taxes, respectively. We derive the reported earnings and savings from individual utility maximization,...

By 2008, the Hungarian pension system has become too generous and the implied contribution rate hindered growth. When the international economic and financial crisis deprived Hungary from normal credits, its government turned to international organizations for help. The most spectacular element...

Nonfinancial defined contribution (NDC) pension systems have recently become popular because they provide the strong incentives of the private funded systems without requiring a difficult transition period. Using the framework of mechanism design, these systems have theoretically been criticized...

This paper looks at one of the major contributor to low overall employment rate in Hungary, the very low activity of the elderly. Although there are scattered pieces of evidence about the social security system in general having substantial influence on incentives and activity, the actual...

Thanks to a joint effort of the Central Statistical Office (KSH) and the National Pension Insurance Directorate (ONYF) a special survey conducted in January-March 2008 provided information - for the first time - on the total accrual years of the non-pensioner population of Hungary. The data base...

The Hungarian Personal Income Tax system is being transformed between 209 and 2013. Tax brackets and the previously existing tax credit is being abolished and this changes the net/gross income ratios in all income categories. This does not only lead to a significant loss in government's income,...

We describe the complex support systems in Asia and highlight their importance for economic growth and fiscal sustainability. Familial transfers for old age support are significant in many Asian economies, though their extent varies quite widely, and public transfer systems are less significant....