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Aging in the Asian "Tigers": Challenges for Fiscal Policy

Autor: Heller, Peter S.
Año: 1997
Resumen: The paper assesses the timing and magnitude of the government expenditure effects arising from the changing demographics and evolving medical demands of the Asian "Tiger" economies. With some exceptions, and unlike the industrial countries, the limited social insurance commitments in most of these countries initially suggests that aging populations may not adversely affect fiscal balances. Yet for all the Tigers, factors such as changing illness patterns, modernization of the medical sector, upgrading of the labor force, and income distributional concerns will combine with demography to intensify budgetary pressures. How the Tigers address these developments and their ultimate fiscal cost is thus uncertain. The paper examines some of the broader challenges of policy reform in the pension and medical care sectors, noting that the social management tasks challenging the Tigers will become more complicated and costly. The paper comments on the implications of the Tigers' approach of relying on private sector insurance systems in the pensions and medical sphere. While there is much that is innovative, the Tigers are also grappling with the insufficiency of these private sector initiatives in correcting for market failure, suggesting the need for complementary public sector policies to ensure competitive markets and reflect distributional concerns. An important consequence of increased reliance on private sector approaches is the increasing difficulty posed for fiscal analyses. Private sector financing instruments, often mandatory, are no longer captured as fiscal instruments, thus complicating the analysis of their allocative and distributional implications. The database on "quasi-public" sector issues is also weaker. This suggests the problems that arise for assessing fiscal developments in those countries seeking to emulate the approaches of the Tigers.

Fuente: Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI)
Clasificación: Demografía
Tipo de Publicación: Documentos de Trabajo
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Pensions, Social Security, and the Distribution of Wealth

Autor: Kennickell, Arthur B.; Sundén, Annika E.
Año: 1997
Resumen: For most households, pensions and Social Security are the most important sources of income during retirement, and the promised benefit stream constitutes a sizable fraction of household wealth. This paper uses the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to examine pension coverage, estimate Social Security and pension wealth for U.S. households in 1989 and 1992, and to estimate the effects of pension wealth on non-pension net worth. As expected, the SCF data show that including pensions and Social Security in net worth makes the distribution more even. The analysis of the effects of pension wealth on other types of savings indicates that there is a negative effect of defined benefit plan coverage on non-pension net worth. Surprisingly, the effect of defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans is insignificant. Social Security also has an insignificant effect on non-pension saving.

Fuente: Junta de Gobernadores de la Reserva Federal
Clasificación: Seguro
Tipo de Publicación: Documentos de Trabajo
Idioma:

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U.S. Private Saving and the Tax Treatment of IRA/401(k)s: A Re-examination Using Household Survey Data

Autor: Thomas, Alun H.; Towe, Christopher M.
Año: 1996
Resumen: The effect of the tax treatment of IRA/401(k)s on U.S. personal saving is examined using household survey data from the Survey of Consumer Finances. The results suggest that the tax treatment of IRA/401(k)s encouraged households to increase the share of assets held in the form of pension savings, at the expense of saving in the form of housing equity. Some evidence also was found to suggest that the tax treatment of pension savings similarly affected the flow of saving. In particular, the data appeared to reject the hypothesis that the tax treatment of IRA/401(k)s increased total personal saving.

Fuente: Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI)
Clasificación: Ahorro Previsional
Tipo de Publicación: Documentos de Trabajo
Idioma:

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Pension Funds and Capital Markets : Investment Regulation, Financial Innovation, and Governance

Autor: Vittas, Dimitri.
Año: 1996
Resumen: This Note briefly examines the dynamic interaction that can develop between pension funds and capital markets. Pension funds are not only a source of long-term savings to support the development of bond and equity markets. They can also be a positive force for innovation, for corporate governance, and for privatization. In turn, capital markets offer pension funds the opportunity for better portfolio returns and risk management. This interaction is a long, self-reinforcing process that builds on sound macroeconomic policies, effective regulatory reforms, as well as robust accounting, legal, and information infrastructure. The key message for policymakers is that pension reform should be part of a broad reform program. It need not be delayed until capital markets are well established. But, equally important, large quantities of state assets should not be transferred to newly formed private pension funds without first taking steps to develop robust and well-regulated capital markets. Chile's gradual approach to investment deregulation is a good model for developing countries introducing mandatory but decentralized pension systems.

Fuente: Banco Mundial
Clasificación: Fondos de Inversión
Tipo de Publicación: Notas de Pensiones
Idioma:

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Designing Mandatory Pension Schemes : Some Lessons from Argentina, Chile, Malaysia, and Singapore

Autor: Vittas, Dimitri.
Año: 1996
Resumen: In most countries, participation in a public pension system involving some kind of redistribution is compulsory, while participation in private pension schemes is voluntary. There are growing fears in many countries that the value of public pensions will not be sustained. There are similar fears about company pensions. The credibility of company pensions depends on the integrity and solvency of large employers, which can no longer be taken for granted. These problems point to a need to refine compulsory saving. Drawing on the experiences of countries in Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere, this Note provides some guidance on answering the following questions: 1) Whom to compel? 2) Defined contribution or benefit? 3) How large should compulsory contributions be? 4) Who should manage the funds? 5) What types of regulation are appropriate? 6) What state guarantees for what system? 7) How to offer tax incentives?

Fuente: Banco Mundial
Clasificación: Seguridad Social y Sistemas de Pensiones
Tipo de Publicación: Documentos de Trabajo
Idioma:

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