La réforme des systèmes de retraite dans les pays en développement et l'extension de la couverture à l'emploi informel : Application au Maroc

This thesis investigates pension reforms in developing countries, their ability to provide retirees with a decent income, and the issue of extending their coverage to the entire population, including informal workers. The first two chapters assess the transition from pay-as-you-go to fully funded or multipillar schemes. A case study based on macro-data and pension funds data from 7 Latin American countries show that such reforms had very low effect on coverage rates and labour formalization and did not succeed in protecting people from old-age poverty. The third chapter describes the Moroccan pension system and shows that the reform currently in discussion is not sufficient either to achieve this goal. The last two chapters are empirical studies based on Moroccan labour force survey and household survey data. The first one draws a complete panorama of the non-contributing share of the population and estimates the probability of informal employment depending on both individual and professional characteristics. The second one studies the economic lives of the elderly. Overall results confirm that the informal labour market is heterogeneous and that most informal jobs are involuntary, not a choice made by workers to avoid paying taxes and social security contributions. It also appears that households that include aged members are poorer, the intergenerational cohabitation is high and therefore, creating a solidarity pension will help alleviate poverty at a cost not exceeding 0.5% of GDP.