Public or Private Orientation of Pension Systems in the Light of the Recent Financial Crisis

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9256944
AutoresChristine Lagoutte (Université de Tours), Anne Reimat (REGARDS Recherches en Économie Gestion AgroRessources Durabilité Santé)
Ano2013
Volume71
Fascículo3
Páginas306-338
Data de publicação2013-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoReview of Social Economy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0034-6764 • E-ISSN: 1470-1162
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00346764.2012.761755
OpenAlexW1992374254
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas34

This paper studies the appropriateness of a public or private orientation of pension systems in the light of the recent financial crisis, which has underscored the difficulties and contradictions associated with each system. The different institutional arrangements, in which public or private pension systems are embedded, are key components when assessing their responses to the crisis. Particularly, private pension systems are intertwined with financial markets, while social insurance-based pension systems are linked to the labour market mechanisms. This paper compares the British and French pension systems, as “archetypes” of private-oriented and public-oriented systems, respectively, the first relying on the market and private pension schemes, and the second on mandatory social insurance. This paper shows that the crisis has upheld the founding principles of the public (French) and private (British) pension systems to maintain the existing institutional configurations. At the same time, both systems have strengthened the role played by means-tested benefits and minimum pensions for low-income groups to offset the weaknesses of one or the other system, as emphasised by the crisis

Archetype · Business · Economics · Financial crisis · Financial system · Macroeconomics · Market economy · Pension · Pension system · Private pension · Social insurance · Employment and Welfare Studies · Finance · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Social Policy and Reform Studies