European University Institute Library

The economic implications of aging societies, the costs of living happily ever after, Steven A. Nyce, Sylvester J. Schieber

eng

index present

non fiction

The economic implications of aging societies

electronic resource

dictionaries

60544448

Steven A. Nyce, Sylvester J. Schieber

Cambridge Social Sciences eBooks

the costs of living happily ever after

The world is getting older and no one knows exactly what life will be like in tomorrow's older societies. But we do know that age dependency ratios - the ratio of retirees to workers - will be much higher than we see today. The implications of this trend are plain. The combined effects of fewer workers, more retirees and longer retirement periods threaten not only the sustainability of pension systems but also the broader economic prospects of many developed countries. This book, first published in 2005, describes trends in birth rates, longevity and labor force participation and productivity, the cross-border flow of capital, the globalization of labor markets, the financial viability of social insurance programs, and the ways economic output is shared between working-age and retiree populations. Our most effective solution will likely be a multifaceted one: more workers, longer careers, higher productivity, and more global exchange and cooperation.--, Provided by publisher

Introduction -- Population developments in a global context : A brief historical perspective ; Underlying forces driving changing population structures ; Changing life expectancy ; Changing fertility rates ; Immigration rates ; Evolving national populations ; National population age structures ; The prospects of growing age dependency -- Pension options, motivations and choices : Retirement plans as a consumption allocation mechanism ; Approaches to financing pensions ; Factors behind national retirement choices ; Why pay-go pensions became so popular ; New realities spur new considerations on pension choices ; Demographics and the efficiency of alternative pension systems ; Labor supply patterns and the efficiency of alternative pension systems ; Interest rates and wage growth and the efficiency of alternative pension systems ; Aging populations in the context of total economic dependency ; New realities raise concerns for policy analysts -- Pension structures and the implications of aging : Contemporary approaches to providing income security for the elderly ; Public first tiers in the retirement system ; Public second tiers in the retirement system ; Employer-sponsored third tiers in the retirement system ; Retirement ages, retirement patterns, and retiree populations ; Retiree income levels ; Sources of retiree income -- Retirement systems and the economic costs of aging : Consumption and savings rates under alternative retirement systems ; Retirement saving versus consumption loans ; Another view of consumption and savings rates under retirement systems ; Retirement patterns under alternative retirement systems ; Retirement living standards under alternative retirement systems ; Pension funding realities ; What appears to be pension funding might not be real funding ; Funded pensions cannot overcome all demographic challenges ; Pension transitions are costly and raise equity issues -- Beyond pensions to health care considerations : Age and health consumption patterns ; Factors other than aging driving up health costs ; Longer lives and health care consumption in old age ; Explaining the intensity spiral in health care consumption ; Policy concerns over the evolution of health technology ; Long term care provision in changing societies ; The health care dilemma -- Labor supply and living standards : Building blocks for producing national output ; The story behind changing labor productivity levels ; Improving productivity leads to improved living standards ; Demographics and output demand ; The linkages between output demand and labor demand ; The foundation for growth in the coming decades ; Retirement systems' role in determining retirement burden levelsToo many wants or too few workers? : Framework and baseline for viewing the labor market options ; Increasing labor force participation generally ; Increasing female labor force participation rates ; Increasing labor force participation of older people ; Increasing labor force participation of young adults ; Matching labor force participation rates of high-rate countries ; Immigration as a potential source of added workers -- Alternatives to finding more workers : Capital deepening as a possible alternative to additional labor supply ; Utilizing existing human capital more efficiently -- Aligning retirement policy with labor needs : The role of plan structure on retirement and work behavior ; Factors affecting early labor force withdrawals ; Effects of occupational programs on labor markets ; Workforce incentives created by non-employment benefits -- Funding pensions and securing retiree claims : Case studies of nations shifting to funded pensions ; Asset management and utilization in funded pension systems ; Investing pension funds in government bonds ; Motivations for individual account systems and their operation ; Foreign investment as a means to achieving fair returns ; Potential international demand for pension fund savings -- Macroeconomic policies for improved living standards : Pursuing higher labor force participation levels ; Pursuing higher rates of productivity growth ; Spreading the benefits of added economic growth ; Investing in developing economies -- Risks associated with alternative public policies : Insuring against economic risks during the working period ; Insuring against economic risks during the retirement period ; The political economy risks in aging societies ; The risks of denial of a problem ; Political risks from delay in addressing aging issues -- Roadmap to the future : Principles for reforming national pensions ; Maintain disability and early survivors programs as social insurance ; Continue to provide extra protection to the economically vulnerable ; Saving through retirement savings programs increases flexibility ; Pension reform should provide equitable treatment between participants ; Pension funding transition costs should be spread across generations ; Pension accounting should be done on an accrual basis ; The pension system should be structured to encourage economic efficiency ; Assure that risks borne by individuals are diversified and at tolerable levels ; Keep administrative costs low -- Some portion of retirement savings should be annuitized at retirement ; Annuitization should be on a joint and survivor basis for couples ; Reforms should assure long-term solvency of the pension system ; Pension reforms should be explicit and transparent ; Benefits in reformed pension systems should be transparent ; Pension reforms should be undertaken as soon as possible ; Principles for reforming employer-based pensions ; Bringing health care under control ; Facilitating cross-national capital flows ; Conclusion