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The generosity of the welfare state towards the elderly

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  • LEFEBVRE, Mathieu
  • PESTIEAU, Pierre

Abstract

Imagine a casual discussion involving three Eurocrats in a café on the Brussels Grand Place. They are attending a meeting on the ‘Future of Pensions in the EU’ and are talking about the generosity of pensions. Each one contends that his country is the most generous. The Belgian contends that his country is by far the most generous as it allows workers to retire as early as age 50 and that Belgium has the earliest effective age of retirement, that is, 57 years for men. The Italian disagrees with this view, as in his country the rate of replacement at age 65 is the highest, and that is the relevant measure of generosity. The third one, a Dutchman, completely disagrees with his two colleagues. ‘Generosity to whom?’ he says: ‘In my country, pensions reduce the poverty rate among the elderly more than in any other country and that is what matters.’
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Suggested Citation

  • LEFEBVRE, Mathieu & PESTIEAU, Pierre, 2006. "The generosity of the welfare state towards the elderly," LIDAM Reprints CORE 1894, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvrp:1894
    DOI: 10.1007/s10663-006-9021-0
    Note: In : Empirica, 33, 351-360, 2006.
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cremer, Helmuth & Pestieau, Pierre, 2003. "The Double Dividend of Postponing Retirement," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(4), pages 419-434, August.
    2. Sveinbjörn Blöndal & Stefano Scarpetta, 1999. "The Retirement Decision in OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 202, OECD Publishing.
    3. Georges Casamatta & Helmuth Cremer & Pierre Pestieau, 2000. "The Political Economy of Social Security," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(3), pages 503-522, September.
    4. Cremer, Helmuth & Lozachmeur, Jean-Marie & Pestieau, Pierre, 2004. "Social security, retirement age and optimal income taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 2259-2281, September.
    5. Jean-Marc Burniaux & Romain Duval & Florence Jaumotte, 2004. "Coping with Ageing: A Dynamic Approach to Quantify the Impact of Alternative Policy Options on Future Labour Supply in OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 371, OECD Publishing.
    6. Jonathan Gruber & David A. Wise, 1999. "Social Security and Retirement around the World," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number grub99-1.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jonas Klos & Tim Krieger & Sven Stöwhase, 2022. "Measuring intra-generational redistribution in PAYG pension schemes," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 190(1), pages 53-73, January.
    2. Krieger, Tim & Meemann, Christine & Traub, Stefan, 2022. "Inequality, life expectancy, and the intragenerational redistribution puzzle: Some experimental evidence," Discussion Paper Series 2022-02, University of Freiburg, Wilfried Guth Endowed Chair for Constitutional Political Economy and Competition Policy.
    3. Mathieu Lef bvre, 2007. "The Redistributive Effects of Pension Systems in Europe: A Survey of Evidence," LIS Working papers 457, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    4. Tim Krieger & Stefan Traub, 2008. "Back to Bismarck? Shifting Preferences for Intragenerational Redistribution in OECD Pension Systems," Working Papers CIE 13, Paderborn University, CIE Center for International Economics.
    5. Philippe Jacques & Marie-Louise Leroux & Dalibor Stevanovic, 2021. "Poverty among the elderly: the role of public pension systems," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 28(1), pages 24-67, February.
    6. Tim Krieger & Stefan Traub, 2009. "Wie hat sich die intragenerationale Umverteilung in der staatlichen Säule des Rentensystems verändert? Ein internationaler Vergleich auf Basis von LIS-Daten," Working Papers CIE 24, Paderborn University, CIE Center for International Economics.
    7. M.-L. Leroux & P. Pestieau, 2012. "The political economy of derived pension rights," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 19(5), pages 753-776, October.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies

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