The pension systems of Arab countries in the light of socio-economic risks
The pension systems of Middle Eastern and the North African Arab Countries are facing several threats that will not only endanger their old-age benefit schemes in the foreseeable future, but will also deepen social conflicts. This article examines four groups of factors that reinforce one another’s possible impacts. Among social factors it is important to emphasize the special, underprivileged position of women, and the traditional multi-generation family model, which is insufficient to resolve the issue of caring for the elderly. The next group is demographic phenomena. These processes are going to translate into considerable burdens for the next generation – as a result of the changes occurring in terms of other accompanying processes – of these societies, whose composition is very young compared to European societies. The third group of factors includes general economic factors, such as high unemployment rates, low economic activity, and the size of the grey and black economies in these societies. As an implicit problem, there are many apparent internal shortcomings in the management of the existing pension systems. Problems such as low coverage, the lack of social solidarity-based pension schemes, covering a broader social basis, and incorrect parameter regulations are present in these systems. The analysed factors paint a gloomy picture about the long term processes, which are worth examining in more detail in Europe, in as much as general conclusions can be drawn that can later be applied to European pension systems.
Pensions in the Middle East and North Africa: Time for Change
This is the first comprehensive assessment of pension systems in the Middle East and North Africa. While other regions-Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, in particular-have been actively introducing reforms to their pension systems, Middle East and North African countries have lagged behind. This is explained, in part, by the common belief that, because demographics remain favorable-the countries are young and the labor force is expanding rapidly-financial problems are far in the future; as a result, pension reform does not have to be a priority in the broader policy agenda. However, the authors show that aging is not the only factor behind a financial crisis; the problem is the generosity of the current schemes. Moreover, badly designed benefit formulas and eligibility conditions introduce unnecessary economic distortions and make the systems vulnerable to adverse distributional transfers. The book does not present a general model that could solve the problems of all pension systems in MENA countries. Instead the authors focus on outlining a framework for guiding discussions on pension reform and making objective policy choices.
Labor Market Policies and Unemployment in Morocco: A Quantitative Analysis
The authors study the impact of labor market policies on unemployment in Morocco. They begin by reviewing the main features of the labor market. Then they present a quantitative framework that captures many of these features-such as a large public sector, high redundancy payments, powerful trade unions, and international labor migration. The authors simulate the impact of a cut in the minimum wage and a reduction in payroll taxation. The results indicate that these policies may have a significant impact in the short term on open unskilled unemployment. But they also show that labor market reforms, to be effective in the long run, may need to be accompanied by offsetting changes in the budget to avoid crowding-out effects on private investment.