Pension Systems


Book Description

Recently, policy debate and comparative research on old-age pensions have focused on the financial sustainability of pension systems in the face of demographic change. This study, however, also takes into account distributional effects involved in pension system structures. Theoretical, institutional and empirical analyses are combined to form a comprehensive framework for evaluating financial sustainability and distributional effects of the pension systems implemented in Germany and the United Kingdom. Along with projections of demographic trends and future public pension expenditure, the empirical results on old-age incomes and their distribution allow for identifying a number of reform options for each pension system to improve their financial or distributional results.




Dynamics of Inequality and Poverty


Book Description

Consists of papers related to the theme of the dynamics of inequality and poverty that are subdivided into four separate parts. This volume examines inequality and poverty over time, the intergenerational transfer of poverty, inequality over time, and measurement issues. The chapters discuss inequality and poverty in developed countries.




A Life Devoted to Quality of Life


Book Description

This Festschrift is published in honor of Alex C. Michalos, a great scholar and inspiration to many upcoming and famous academics and practitioners. The Festschrift celebrates his lifelong, outstanding scientific and cultural contribution to Quality of Life Research. It contains contributions written by the most prestigious and renowned scholars in the field of social indicators research and quality of life studies. Taken together, the contributions from scholars around the world reflect Michalos’ stance that even though there may be differences in individual scientific positions, the language in the field of quality of life has no limits and boundaries.




Reporting on Income Distribution and Poverty


Book Description

Richard Hauser Irene Becker Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, FrankfurtlMain This volume marks the end of a research project of the editors titled "The Devel opment of the Personal Distribution of Income in Germany" that was financed by the Hans Bockler Foundation from 1994 to 2001. This research concentrated on a national perspective, studying many aspects of income inequality and poverty in West Germany between 1969 and 1998 and extending the analyses to inequality in East Germany after the German reunification. Now at the end point of our empiri cal analyses, we want to expand the perspective to other research in this field, to challenges for future research, and to the European dimension, rather than to summarise all our results, which is done in another bookl. In 2001, the German goverrunent published its first Poverty and Wealth Re 2 port , which also draws on results from our research project. Thus, the intention of this volume is threefold: presenting and advancing Gernlan reporting on poverty in other coun and wealth, examining experience with advanced reporting schemes tries, and discussing comparative concepts for social monitoring in the European Union.




Inequality and Poverty Re-Examined


Book Description

The issues surrounding poverty and inequality continue to be of central concern to academics, politicians and policymakers but the way in which we seek to analyse them continues to change. This volume provides a guide to some of the new approaches that have been developed, while also making a real contribution to the ongoing public debate.




Economics and Happiness


Book Description

This book is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive overview of the burgeoning field of happiness and economics. The essays collected in this book provide an authoritative and comprehensive assessment of the theoretical, applied and partly experimental aspects of the whole field and discusses the economic, sociological, philosophical, and psychological contributions to the field. The book breaks new ground, particularly on the more recent directions of research on happiness, well-being, interpersonal relations and reciprocity. The meaning of happiness is thoroughly explored and the tension between various definitions is discussed. The volume opens with Richard Easterlin's own assessment of the main issues. Other authors include Robert H. Frank, Robert Sugden, Bruno S. Frey, Alois Stutzer, Richard Layard, Martha C. Nussbaum, Matt Matravers, Bernard M.S, van Praag, Oded Stark, You Q. Wang, Ruut Veenhoven, Charlotte Phelps, Stefano Zamagni, and Luigi Pasinetti.




Global Social Economy


Book Description

This book addresses ‘global social economy’ which addresses the relation of capitalism to human flourishing, the role of international governance in the world economy, the transformation of work and use of time in internationalizing economies, cross-country developments in gender, poverty, and ageing, and ethics economic policy issues in the international economy. This edited collection examines the social nature of capitalism today, the possibilities for social and economic development in the world under the democratic leadership of the United Nations, and the middle ground between market and hierarchy occupied by gift exchange as a means of coordinating economic value creation and the creation of knowledge. It considers long term issues in the global social economy concerning gender and discrimination, intergenerational poverty transmission, and the role of ageing. From a variety of internationally acclaimed contributors, this collection introduces new social economic perspectives on the global economy that contest the neoliberal Washington Consensus view dominant until recent financial crises.




The European Labour Market


Book Description

This book brings together up-to-date findings on the regional dimensions of European labour markets. It provides a conceptual and empirical study of the interactions between the European economy and its regions, paying particular attention to the issue of the transition of Central and Eastern European countries to a market economy. The topics analysed include: the structure of the shocks affecting employment (regional, industrial, national), the relationships between labour market efficiency and the regional distribution of unemployment, wage flexibility in EU member countries or in their regions and the role of active labour market policies in affecting the regional distribution of employment and unemployment.




Rich and Poor


Book Description

This book is concerned with the question of inequality - which points to a major structural problem in intra-national and inter-national respect. It covers the tension between the rich and poor in less developed countries as well as within richer countries in the process of globalisation. The main topics are the scope of disparities between the rich and poor, people's perception of wealth and poverty, and the concomitants of inequality which shape this relationship and influence its socio-economic consequences. In the tradition of social reporting, the book brings together authors from 15 countries, documenting a broad range of the international inequality debate. The results are related to the trends of socio-economic development, to statistical problems of measuring inequality, and to socio-political problems of integrating society in the facing the challenge of dividing forces. The book is of interest for everybody who wants to understand the tensions of modern world.