Tobias Wiß
Biographic Data
| ID | 4137610 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tobias Wiß |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tobias |
| FAMILY NAME | Wiß |
| SIGNATURE | WIß T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Institute of Politics and Social Policy, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2882-0636 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 70 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Becoming a grandparent and worrying about the environment and climate change
Climate change poses an intertemporal and intergenerational dilemma: the costs of mitigation are often borne today but benefit future generations, potentially creating intergenerational conflicts and challenging climate policies. Conversely, delaying or insufficient climate action shifts substantial economic, social, and environmental burdens into the future, where costs are expected to increase dramatically. Interactions and exchanges across gen…
Input and Output Legitimacy of Occupational Pension Plans in Six European Countries
Do participants in funded occupational pension plans (OPPs) perceive them as legitimate? This study addresses that question by considering both input legitimacy – participants’ satisfaction with OPPs’ decision-making processes – and output legitimacy – participants’ satisfaction with the benefits and financial returns of OPPs. It draws on an original survey conducted in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain in 2023. The a…
Attitudes towards the public-private mix for retirement income in Europe
Pension systems in affluent democracies are undergoing a process of privatisation and marketisation that will likely reinforce multi-pillar pension systems. Yet, most public opinion research so far investigates attitudes concerning parametric aspects of public pension programmes (pension spending, pension age, level of redistribution). We have very little understanding of individual preferences regarding the mix of public and non-public sources o…
Can pension fund design increase pension savings? Evidence from a conjoint experiment in six European countries
In times of welfare state retrenchment, occupational pension savings become essential for ensuring adequate retirement income. We know that individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics and a country’s characteristics matter for the level of occupational pension plan (OPP) savings. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding how pension fund design affects pension savings. This paper fills this gap by examining the influence of OPP characteristic…
Assessing Input Legitimacy of Occupational Pensions in Europe
As private asset‐based welfare like funded occupational pension schemes gain importance, legitimacy concerns arise due to financial market downturns and low investment returns. This paper assesses their input legitimacy by distinguishing between individual‐direct and collective‐representative input possibilities in decision‐making processes. We argue that individual‐direct input possibilities decrease while collective‐representative input possibi…
The politics of subnational social policy
Country comparisons, often suffering from unobserved heterogeneity and obscuring subnational variation, dominate the social policy literature. However, the subnational level is better suited to reduce the omitted variable bias. This article distinguishes between social consumption and social investment policies and investigates their determinants at the subnational level. Following the literature across countries, we test the role of incumbent pa…
Issue salience and feedback effects
What is the relationship between social policy reforms and issue salience in public opinion? Extensive research analyses policy feedbacks on policy preferences and the influence of policy preferences on policy change. Scant research, however, considers the link between reforms and issue salience - i.e., the perception of importance citizens attach to a topic. We address this gap in the literature through the comparative study of the salience of t…
The politics of disaggregated family policy
Although affluent democracies experienced family policy expansion, there are remarkable country differences. Whilst some countries focus on policies supporting the male breadwinner model such as family allowances, others prioritise gender equality supporting public childcare. We explain this variation by arguing for governments as key actors in parliamentary democracies and test two sets of explanations: party ideology and women's representation.…
A Comparison of the Interplay of Public and Occupational Work‒Family Policies in Austria, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom
This article analyses the interplay of public and occupational work‒family policies in institutionally different countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom). Most of the existing studies do not analyse public and occupational family policy in conjunction, although this is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of family policy, and therefore the article adds knowledge on work‒family policy and the interplay of public and occupatio…
Reinforcement of pension financialisation as a response to financial crises in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
The financial market crises of 2001/02 and 2007/08 and the sovereign debt crisis that started in 2011 had adverse effects on financialised pensions such as pension funds. In general, moments of crises are major shocks to existing equilibriums and policies and open windows of opportunity for policy change. Did these crises trigger a slowdown or reversal of pension financialisation? This article finds that Germany, the Netherlands and the United Ki…
The political economy of pension financialisation
Financialisation has become a key feature of post-industrial economies. This special issue sheds light on pre-funded private pensions as one key component of financialisation, as they turn savings into investment via financial services providers. Public pension systems face financial pressures, resulting from ageing and rising public debt, while financial services are keen to move into the market of private pension provision. Pre-funded private p…
Divergent occupational pensions in Bismarckian countries
Pension reforms and the changing public/private pension mix of the last decades are well documented. However, a more detailed look at the design of occupational pensions reveals remarkable differences even in countries that are usually treated as similar in the literature. Germany and Austria share many similarities and are having to cope with similar reform pressure. However, the design of occupational pensions varies substantially. Why? In Germ…
Paths towards Family‐friendly Working Time Arrangements
Although studies have examined the distribution and conditions of employer‐provided work–family arrangements, we still lack a systematic investigation of how these vary for different countries and industries. Based on the European Working Conditions Survey 2010, this study examines the conditions under which firms provide family‐friendly working time arrangements and what the differences are across four countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and the …
From welfare states to welfare sectors
Studies analysing welfare have previously focused on countries as units. In the course of pension cuts and the increasing importance of occupational welfare, our traditional understanding of a homogeneous welfare state is being challenged. In this article, I distinguish between both economic individual power (employee skills) and political collective power (trade unions), and their relation with different occupational pensions. A combined analysi…
Der Ausbau der betrieblichen Altersvorsorge
Der Ausbau der betrieblichen und privaten kapitalgedeckten Altersvorsorge zusammen mit Kürzungen der staatlichen umlagefinanzierten Rentenleistungen waren die wesentlichen Inhalte von Rentenreformen des letzten Jahrzehntes. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie die Entwicklung im Bereich der betrieblichen Altersvorsorge aussieht, welche Rolle die Sozialpartner hier spielen und worauf Branchenunterschiede und Ungleichheiten zurüc…
Der Wandel der Alterssicherung in Deutschland
Germany
The chapter first reviews the emergence and change of the public–private pension mix in Germany, emphasizing the path-dependent but recent path-departing developments from the Bismarckian social insurance tradition. The politically contentious pension reforms of the 1990s and subsequent reforms in the 2000s followed a strategy of institutional layering by introducing a voluntary personal (‘Riester’) pension, while fostering coexisting occupationa…
The political economy of pension financialisation
Financialisation has become a key feature of post-industrial economies. This special issue sheds light on pre-funded private pensions as one key component of financialisation, as they turn savings into investment via financial services providers. Public pension systems face financial pressures, resulting from ageing and rising public debt, while financial services are keen to move into the market of private pension provision. Pre-funded private p…
From welfare states to welfare sectors
Studies analysing welfare have previously focused on countries as units. In the course of pension cuts and the increasing importance of occupational welfare, our traditional understanding of a homogeneous welfare state is being challenged. In this article, I distinguish between both economic individual power (employee skills) and political collective power (trade unions), and their relation with different occupational pensions. A combined analysi…
Reinforcement of pension financialisation as a response to financial crises in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
The financial market crises of 2001/02 and 2007/08 and the sovereign debt crisis that started in 2011 had adverse effects on financialised pensions such as pension funds. In general, moments of crises are major shocks to existing equilibriums and policies and open windows of opportunity for policy change. Did these crises trigger a slowdown or reversal of pension financialisation? This article finds that Germany, the Netherlands and the United Ki…
Paths towards Family‐friendly Working Time Arrangements
Although studies have examined the distribution and conditions of employer‐provided work–family arrangements, we still lack a systematic investigation of how these vary for different countries and industries. Based on the European Working Conditions Survey 2010, this study examines the conditions under which firms provide family‐friendly working time arrangements and what the differences are across four countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and the …
Issue salience and feedback effects
What is the relationship between social policy reforms and issue salience in public opinion? Extensive research analyses policy feedbacks on policy preferences and the influence of policy preferences on policy change. Scant research, however, considers the link between reforms and issue salience - i.e., the perception of importance citizens attach to a topic. We address this gap in the literature through the comparative study of the salience of t…
A Comparison of the Interplay of Public and Occupational Work‒Family Policies in Austria, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom
This article analyses the interplay of public and occupational work‒family policies in institutionally different countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom). Most of the existing studies do not analyse public and occupational family policy in conjunction, although this is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of family policy, and therefore the article adds knowledge on work‒family policy and the interplay of public and occupatio…
The politics of disaggregated family policy
Although affluent democracies experienced family policy expansion, there are remarkable country differences. Whilst some countries focus on policies supporting the male breadwinner model such as family allowances, others prioritise gender equality supporting public childcare. We explain this variation by arguing for governments as key actors in parliamentary democracies and test two sets of explanations: party ideology and women's representation.…
Der Wandel der Alterssicherung in Deutschland
Germany
The chapter first reviews the emergence and change of the public–private pension mix in Germany, emphasizing the path-dependent but recent path-departing developments from the Bismarckian social insurance tradition. The politically contentious pension reforms of the 1990s and subsequent reforms in the 2000s followed a strategy of institutional layering by introducing a voluntary personal (‘Riester’) pension, while fostering coexisting occupationa…
Der Ausbau der betrieblichen Altersvorsorge
Der Ausbau der betrieblichen und privaten kapitalgedeckten Altersvorsorge zusammen mit Kürzungen der staatlichen umlagefinanzierten Rentenleistungen waren die wesentlichen Inhalte von Rentenreformen des letzten Jahrzehntes. Vor diesem Hintergrund wird der Frage nachgegangen, wie die Entwicklung im Bereich der betrieblichen Altersvorsorge aussieht, welche Rolle die Sozialpartner hier spielen und worauf Branchenunterschiede und Ungleichheiten zurüc…
From welfare states to welfare sectors
Studies analysing welfare have previously focused on countries as units. In the course of pension cuts and the increasing importance of occupational welfare, our traditional understanding of a homogeneous welfare state is being challenged. In this article, I distinguish between both economic individual power (employee skills) and political collective power (trade unions), and their relation with different occupational pensions. A combined analysi…
Paths towards Family‐friendly Working Time Arrangements
Although studies have examined the distribution and conditions of employer‐provided work–family arrangements, we still lack a systematic investigation of how these vary for different countries and industries. Based on the European Working Conditions Survey 2010, this study examines the conditions under which firms provide family‐friendly working time arrangements and what the differences are across four countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and the …
Divergent occupational pensions in Bismarckian countries
Pension reforms and the changing public/private pension mix of the last decades are well documented. However, a more detailed look at the design of occupational pensions reveals remarkable differences even in countries that are usually treated as similar in the literature. Germany and Austria share many similarities and are having to cope with similar reform pressure. However, the design of occupational pensions varies substantially. Why? In Germ…
A Comparison of the Interplay of Public and Occupational Work‒Family Policies in Austria, Denmark, Italy and the United Kingdom
This article analyses the interplay of public and occupational work‒family policies in institutionally different countries (Austria, Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom). Most of the existing studies do not analyse public and occupational family policy in conjunction, although this is necessary for a comprehensive understanding of family policy, and therefore the article adds knowledge on work‒family policy and the interplay of public and occupatio…
Reinforcement of pension financialisation as a response to financial crises in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom
The financial market crises of 2001/02 and 2007/08 and the sovereign debt crisis that started in 2011 had adverse effects on financialised pensions such as pension funds. In general, moments of crises are major shocks to existing equilibriums and policies and open windows of opportunity for policy change. Did these crises trigger a slowdown or reversal of pension financialisation? This article finds that Germany, the Netherlands and the United Ki…
The political economy of pension financialisation
Financialisation has become a key feature of post-industrial economies. This special issue sheds light on pre-funded private pensions as one key component of financialisation, as they turn savings into investment via financial services providers. Public pension systems face financial pressures, resulting from ageing and rising public debt, while financial services are keen to move into the market of private pension provision. Pre-funded private p…
The politics of disaggregated family policy
Although affluent democracies experienced family policy expansion, there are remarkable country differences. Whilst some countries focus on policies supporting the male breadwinner model such as family allowances, others prioritise gender equality supporting public childcare. We explain this variation by arguing for governments as key actors in parliamentary democracies and test two sets of explanations: party ideology and women's representation.…
Can pension fund design increase pension savings? Evidence from a conjoint experiment in six European countries
In times of welfare state retrenchment, occupational pension savings become essential for ensuring adequate retirement income. We know that individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics and a country’s characteristics matter for the level of occupational pension plan (OPP) savings. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding how pension fund design affects pension savings. This paper fills this gap by examining the influence of OPP characteristic…
Assessing Input Legitimacy of Occupational Pensions in Europe
As private asset‐based welfare like funded occupational pension schemes gain importance, legitimacy concerns arise due to financial market downturns and low investment returns. This paper assesses their input legitimacy by distinguishing between individual‐direct and collective‐representative input possibilities in decision‐making processes. We argue that individual‐direct input possibilities decrease while collective‐representative input possibi…
The politics of subnational social policy
Country comparisons, often suffering from unobserved heterogeneity and obscuring subnational variation, dominate the social policy literature. However, the subnational level is better suited to reduce the omitted variable bias. This article distinguishes between social consumption and social investment policies and investigates their determinants at the subnational level. Following the literature across countries, we test the role of incumbent pa…
Issue salience and feedback effects
What is the relationship between social policy reforms and issue salience in public opinion? Extensive research analyses policy feedbacks on policy preferences and the influence of policy preferences on policy change. Scant research, however, considers the link between reforms and issue salience - i.e., the perception of importance citizens attach to a topic. We address this gap in the literature through the comparative study of the salience of t…
Attitudes towards the public-private mix for retirement income in Europe
Pension systems in affluent democracies are undergoing a process of privatisation and marketisation that will likely reinforce multi-pillar pension systems. Yet, most public opinion research so far investigates attitudes concerning parametric aspects of public pension programmes (pension spending, pension age, level of redistribution). We have very little understanding of individual preferences regarding the mix of public and non-public sources o…
Becoming a grandparent and worrying about the environment and climate change
Climate change poses an intertemporal and intergenerational dilemma: the costs of mitigation are often borne today but benefit future generations, potentially creating intergenerational conflicts and challenging climate policies. Conversely, delaying or insufficient climate action shifts substantial economic, social, and environmental burdens into the future, where costs are expected to increase dramatically. Interactions and exchanges across gen…
Input and Output Legitimacy of Occupational Pension Plans in Six European Countries
Do participants in funded occupational pension plans (OPPs) perceive them as legitimate? This study addresses that question by considering both input legitimacy – participants’ satisfaction with OPPs’ decision-making processes – and output legitimacy – participants’ satisfaction with the benefits and financial returns of OPPs. It draws on an original survey conducted in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain in 2023. The a…
Social Policy and Reform Studies (13 works) · Economics (12 works) · Political science (12 works) · Politics (8 works) · Business (7 works) · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism (7 works) · Pension (7 works) · Retirement, Disability, and Employment (7 works) · Labour economics (5 works) · Demographic economics (4 works)