The political future of social security in aging societies / Vincenzo Galasso.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Galasso, Vincenzo, 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social security--Case studies.

Social security.

Social security--Forecasting.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (278 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Doubts about the ability of industrialized countries to continue to provide a sufficient level of retirement benefits to a growing number of retirees has fueled much recent debate and inspired a variety of recommendations for reform. Few major reforms, however, have actually been implemented. In The Political Future of Social Security in Aging Societies, Vincenzo Galasso argues that the success of any reform proposals depends on political factors rather than economic theory. He offers a comparative analysis of the future political sustainability of social security in six countries with rapidly aging populations--France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using a quantitative approach, he finds that an aging population has political as well as economic effects: an older electorate will put pressure on politicians and policy-makers to maintain or even increase benefits. Galasso evaluates how each country's different political constraints shape its social security system, considering such country-specific factors as the proportion of retirees in the population, the redistributive feature of each system, and the existing retirement policy in each country. He concludes that an aging population will lead to more pension spending; yet postponing retirement mitigates the impact of this, and may be the only politically viable alternative for social security reform.

Contents:

Intro

List of Tables

List of Figures

Preface

1 - Introduction

2 - Crucial Features of the Social Security Debate: A Cross-country Analysis

3 - Theories of Welfare State Expansion and Retrenchment

4 - Assessing the Political Sustainability of Social Security Systems: A Theoretical Framework

5 - The Future of the Social Security System in France

6 - The Future of the Social Security System in Germany

7 - Political Sustainability and Reforms in Italy

8 - Political Sustainability and the Silent Reform in Spain

9 - Political Sustainability in a Redistributive System: The United Kingdom

10 - Political Sustainability in a Redistributive System: The United States

11 - Demographics, Political Sustainability, and Reform Options: A Cross-country Comparison

Technical Appendix

Data Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [235]-243) and index.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

9786612097126

9781282097124

1282097121

9780262273374

0262273373

9781429421058

1429421053

OCLC:

78057599