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, M...
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| Format: | Publication |
| Language: | English en_US |
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/05/6427189/pensions-middle-east-north-africa-time-change http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7427 |
| Summary: | 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. |
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