Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Evaluation of Four Decades of Pension Privatization in Latin America, 1980–2020: Promises and Reality. Mexico City: Fundación Friedrich Ebert, 2021. Figures, tables, abbreviations, notes, bibliography, appendixes, 204 pp
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Professor Mesa-Lago is one of the first authors to highlight the importance of studying the political economy of pension systems, beginning with his book Social Security in Latin America (1978). Later, he was one of the first authors who began to elaborate substantiated criticism of the Chilean experience of individual capitalization (1985). Then (2008) he formalized a structural-type pension reform typology, consisting of a substitute model that closed the public system for a private system of defined contributions (Chile, Bolivia, Mexico, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic); a mixed model, in which a public system was maintained and private management of funds was incorporated as a second pillar (Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Panama); and a parallel model, in which the new private system entered directly into competition with the public pension system (Colombia and Peru). To frame the literature developed by Mesa-Lago more broadly, the study of pensions is relevant because these reforms must deal with financing problems and demands from different actors involved in this area. The solutions to the various demands and limitations caused by problems related to public pension finances are not usually reached in a single reform process. For example, Latin America is a region where old age pensions have been an essential axis for developing welfare regimes or schemes since the 1920s, with a heavy inheritance of fragmentation and segmentation that reproduced labor market inequalities (Cruz-Martínez et al. 2021). The current challenges are characterized by a context of inclusion of the excluded in the form of noncontributory pensions, while contributory schemes experience financing difficulties and worsening future sustainability, due to factors related to the demographic structure of the countries (Arenas de Mesa 2019). In addition, Latin America is experiencing a context of population aging and a consequent increase in the old age dependency rate, which calls into question the fiscal sustainability and equity of the architectures of pension systems. According to ECLAC, the population over 65 years of age doubled (from 3.7 percent to 7.7 percent) between 1965 and 2015, while in numbers, it grew from 9.1 million to 47 million. By 2065, it is estimated that 24.4 percent of the region’s population, equivalent to 183.5 million people, will be 65 years of age or older. Consequently, this Mesa-Lago monograph is a must-read reference for an overview, especially regarding the role of pensions in national strategies for social protection and poverty alleviation, particularly in a post-COVID recovery context. This work aims to evaluate the promises of privatization, considering the principles of Social Security, based on a bibliographic review and in the
梅萨-拉戈教授是最早强调研究养老金制度的政治经济学重要性的作者之一,他的著作《拉丁美洲的社会安全》(1978年)就是其中之一。后来,他是最早开始详细阐述对智利个人资本化经验的实证批评的作者之一(1985年)。然后(2008年),他正式提出了一种结构性养老金改革类型,其中包括一种替代模式,即关闭公共体系,建立私人的固定缴款体系(智利、玻利维亚、墨西哥、萨尔瓦多和多米尼加共和国);混合模式,维持公共系统,并将资金的私人管理作为第二支柱(阿根廷、哥斯达黎加、乌拉圭和巴拿马);另一种是平行模式,即新的私人体系直接与公共养老金体系竞争(哥伦比亚和秘鲁)。为了更广泛地构建梅萨-拉戈开发的文献,对养老金的研究是相关的,因为这些改革必须处理融资问题和涉及这一领域的不同行动者的需求。解决与公共养老金财政有关的问题所引起的各种要求和限制通常不是在单一的改革过程中达成的。例如,自20世纪20年代以来,拉丁美洲地区的养老金一直是发展福利制度或计划的重要轴心,其严重的碎片化和分割现象再现了劳动力市场的不平等(Cruz-Martínez et al. 2021)。当前挑战的特点是,以非供款养老金的形式纳入被排除在外的人群,而由于与各国人口结构有关的因素,供款计划面临融资困难,未来可持续性恶化(Arenas de Mesa, 2019年)。此外,拉丁美洲正在经历人口老龄化的背景,随之而来的是老年抚养率的增加,这使人们对养老金制度结构的财政可持续性和公平性产生了疑问。根据拉加经委会的数据,1965年至2015年间,65岁以上人口翻了一番(从3.7%增加到7.7%),人数从910万增加到4700万。据估计,到2065年,该地区24.4%的人口,相当于1.835亿人,将达到65岁或以上。因此,这本梅萨-拉戈专著是一本必读的概述参考资料,特别是关于养老金在国家社会保护和减贫战略中的作用,特别是在covid - 19后恢复背景下。这项工作的目的是评价私有化的承诺,考虑到社会保障的原则,根据书目审查和在
期刊介绍:
Latin American Politics and Society publishes the highest-quality original social science scholarship on Latin America. The Editorial Board, comprising leading U.S., Latin American, and European scholars, is dedicated to challenging prevailing orthodoxies and promoting innovative theoretical and methodological perspectives on the states, societies, economies, and international relations of the Americas in a globalizing world.