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Universal minimum old age pensions : impact on poverty and fiscal cost in 18 Latin American countries

Author

Listed:
  • Dethier, Jean-Jacques
  • Pestieau, Pierre
  • Ali, Rabia
Abstract
Alleviating poverty for the elderly requires a different approach from other age groups, and a minimum pension is likely to be the only viable option. This paper examines the impact on old age poverty and the fiscal cost of universal minimum old age pensions in 18 Latin American countries using recent household survey data. First the authors measure old age poverty rates for these countries. Then they discuss the design of minimum pensions schemes -- means-tested or not -- as well as the disincentives they introduce for the economic and social behavior of households including labor supply, saving and family solidarity. Finally, the authors use household survey data to simulate the fiscal cost and the impact on poverty rates of alternative minimum pension schemes in the 18 countries. They show that a universal minimum pension would substantially reduce poverty among the elderly (except in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay where minimum pension systems already exist and poverty rates are low). Such schemes have much to be commended in terms of incentives, spillover effects and administrative simplicity, but they have a high fiscal cost. The latter is a function of the age at which benefits are awarded, the prevailing longevity, the generosity of benefits, the efficacy of means testing, and the fiscal capacity of the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Dethier, Jean-Jacques & Pestieau, Pierre & Ali, Rabia, 2010. "Universal minimum old age pensions : impact on poverty and fiscal cost in 18 Latin American countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5292, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5292
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul & Bando, Rosangela, 2016. "Non-contributory pensions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 47-58.
    2. -, 2020. "Universal Social Protection in Latin America and the Caribbean. Selected texts 2006-2019," Páginas Selectas de la CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 45093 edited by Eclac, September.
    3. Sebastian Martinez & Michelle Pérez & Luis Tejerina & Anastasiya Yarygina, 2020. "Pensions for the Poor: the Effects of Non-contributory Pensions in El Salvador," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 96-115, March.
    4. Ortiz, Isabel, & Durán Valverde, Fabio. & Pal, Karuna. & Behrendt, Christina. & Acuña-Ulate, Andrés., 2017. "Universal social protection floors : costing estimates and affordability in 57 lower income countries," ILO Working Papers 994972593502676, International Labour Organization.
    5. Maria Laura Alzua & Natalia Cantet & Ana C Dammert & Damilola Olajide, 2024. "The Well-being Effects of an Old-Age Pension: Experimental Evidence for Ekiti State in Nigeria," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 33(3), pages 240-270.
    6. Cruz-Martinez, Gibran, 2021. "Universal Social Pensions Are Unaffordable … Not! Testing the Unaffordability Hypothesis in Latin America and the Caribbean," SocArXiv ne9rw, Center for Open Science.
    7. Aguila, Emma & Smith, James P., 2020. "Supplemental income program design: A cluster-randomized controlled trial to examine the health and wellbeing effects on older adults by gender, duration, and payment frequency," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    8. Pak, Tae-Young, 2020. "Social protection for happiness? The impact of social pension reform on subjective well-being of the Korean elderly," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 349-366.
    9. Emma Aguila & Mariana López-Ortega & Luis Miguel Gutiérrez Robledo, 2018. "Non-contributory pension programs and frailty of older adults: Evidence from Mexico," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, November.
    10. Loumrhari, Ghizlan, 2016. "Pensions sociales et réduction de la pauvreté. Le cas du Maroc [Social pensions and reduction of the poverty. The case of Morocco]," MPRA Paper 74076, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Aleksandra Kolasa, 2022. "The long-term impact of quasi-universal transfers to older households," Working Papers 2022-28, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    12. Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul & Bando, Rosangela, 2016. "Non-contributory pensions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 47-58.
    13. Alzua, Maria Laura & Cantet, Maria Natalia & Dammert, Ana & Olajide, Daminola, 2020. "Mental Health Effects of an Old Age Pension: Experimental Evidence for Ekiti State in Nigeria," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304176, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    14. Italo López García & Andrés Otero, 2017. "The Effects of Means-tested, Noncontributory Pensions on Poverty and Well-being: Evidence from the Chilean Pension Reforms," Working Papers wp358, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    15. Barrientos, Armando & Niño-Zarazúa, Miguel, 2011. "Social transfers and chronic poverty: objectives, design, reach and impact," MPRA Paper 30465, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. AfDB AfDB, 2011. "MDG Report 2011 - Full Report," MDG Report 334, African Development Bank.
    17. Maria Laura Alzua & Natalia Cantet & Ana Dammert & Damilola Olajide, 2019. "Welfare Effects of a Non-Contributory Old Age Pension: Experimental Evidence for Ekiti State, Nigeria," Working Papers PIERI 2019-15, PEP-PIERI.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rural Poverty Reduction; Population Policies; Debt Markets; Regional Economic Development;
    All these keywords.

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