Bernard H. Casey

Peer review of labour market programmes in the European Union: what can countries really learn from one another?

This article analyses attempts to promote the diffusion of labour market programmes across the member states of the EU. Under a peer review procedure, member states are encouraged to host visits from other countries to review policy approaches and policy measures whose success they wish to publicize. The article examines the extent to which reviewers feel that they have learnt and whether they consider any aspects of the programmes they have examined to be transferable. Whilst there is evidence at EU level of policy convergence through the adoption of certain labour market targets, there is little evidence either of systematic learning or of significant efforts at emulation. Some explanations for failure on the first count might be found in more general impediments to organizational learning. Some explanations for failures on the second count might be found in perceptions of major cultural and institutional differences between countries. Proposals are made for improvement of the peer review procedure, but...This article analyses attempts to promote the diffusion of labour market programmes across the member states of the EU. Under a peer review procedure, member states are encouraged to host visits from other countries to review policy approaches and policy measures whose success they wish to publicize. The article examines the extent to which reviewers feel that they have learnt and whether they consider any aspects of the programmes they have examined to be transferable. Whilst there is evidence at EU level of policy convergence through the adoption of certain labour market targets, there is little evidence either of systematic learning or of significant efforts at emulation. Some explanations for failure on the first count might be found in more general impediments to organizational learning. Some explanations for failures on the second count might be found in perceptions of major cultural and institutional differences between countries. Proposals are made for improvement of the peer review procedure, but reservations remain about whether it does not remain about it being a relatively exclusive process. This paper stems from research carried out under a grant (L216252008 – National Action Plans: policy transfer and social learning in the EU) from the ESRC as part of its ‘Future of Governance’ programme (http://www.futuregovernance.ac.uk). A preliminary version of the paper was presented by Michael Gold to the BUIRA annual conference in July 2003. A subsequent version was presented by Bernard Casey at seminars on ‘policy learning’ organized by the ESRC, and held at the HIS in Vienna and the CEU in Budapest in December 2003. School of Management, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK. Tel: 01784 443402. Fax: 01784 439854. email: m.gold@rhul.ac.uk

The OECD Jobs Strategy and the European Employment Strategy: Two Views of the Labour Market and the Welfare State

High unemployment in the 1990s prompted policy responses at supranational as well as national levels, notably the OECD Jobs Strategy and the European Employment Strategy. Both strategies reflect a supply-side orientation, but the European strategy pays more attention to the role of ‘social partners’, the potential negative consequences of certain policy responses, and the interconnections between employment and social protection policies. Each strategy was subject to evaluation by its sponsor and, regardless of evidence, was judged a success. Thus, even if there is ‘one view of the labour market’ and there are, perhaps, ‘two views of the welfare state’, there is also a shared approach to evaluation.

Pension Reform in Nigeria: How not to 'Learn from Others'

While the Chilean pension reform has received considerable attention, its emulation in Nigeria has not. This article is the first in-depth analysis of the Nigerian reform. It suggests that the Nigerian authorities failed to learn the lessons of Chile. They transposed a system that both failed to serve the country from which it was copied and that is inappropriate to the country to which it was copied. For countries such as Nigeria, alternative forms of provision for old age are needed. A social pension might be considered.

The implications of the economic crisis for pensions and pension policy in Europe

The financial crisis has affected European pensions in both the short and longer term. Members of funded pension systems nearing retirement experienced a sharp contraction in pension wealth as equity markets fell. Market turmoil has damaged public trust in such schemes and has caused employers to revise their pension obligations. Countries running funded schemes based on a share of mandatory contributions are faced with rising transition costs as unemployment rises and tax bases shrink. Pressure on public expenditure has caused some governments to raise pensionable ages and even cut pensions in payment, while reducing future public pension obligations. Thus the crisis has forced politicians to address the consequences of societal ageing while exposing the fallibility of funded schemes as a source of pension security. Fundamental questions about the prolongation of working lives remain to be resolved.

The economic contribution of PhDs

This paper looks at what the value of a doctorate is, both to employers in particular and to society and the economy at large. Given the emphasis many universities and funding agencies/governments are putting upon the development of PhD programmes, this is an issue deserving attention. The paper tries to show how two separate but interrelated questions ‘What is a doctorate worth?’ and ‘Is there a justification for society to subsidise the production of doctorates?’ might be answered. It considers the argument that the production of PhDs can generate benefits for wider society – both because the production process itself generates basic knowledge from which all can take advantage and because the outputs of that process help boost the productivity of those with whom they work. In other words, the gains to society as a whole might be greater than the sum of gains to PhD holders and their immediate employers. Evidence is reviewed.

Policies for an Ageing Society

This paper provides a synthesis of age-related developments and policies for a range of OECD countries, drawing on recent OECD work. It describes the expected impact of ageing on expenditure and fiscal pressures taking into account the current configuration of age-related policies. Since later retirement appears to be a key policy to easing the burden of ageing, it looks at indicators of the incentives for early retirement via pension systems and other transfer programmes permitting early withdrawal from the labour market for those approaching retirement. The report discussed the different types of age-related reforms undertaken up to now and areas where further reforms appear needed ... Ce document presente une synthese des evolutions et des politiques liees au vieillissement pour un ensemble de pays de l’OCDE, basee sur des travaux recents de l’OCDE. Il decrit l’impact prevu du vieillissement sur les depenses et les pressions budgetaires en tenant compte de la configuration actuelle des politiques liees au vieillissement.Dans la mesure ou le recul de l’âge de la retraite est un moyen essentiel pour alleger le poids du vieillissement, ce papier examine certains indicateurs d’incitation a la retraite anticipee par le biais de systemes de retraite et d’autres programmes de transferts sociaux permettant aux individus approchant de la retraite de quitter plus tot le marche du travail. Ce rapport etudie les differents types de reformes liees au vieillissement mises en place jusqu’a present, ainsi que les domaines dans lesquels des reformes supplementaires seraient necessaires ...

From pension funds to piggy banks : (perverse) consequences of the Stability and Growth Pact since the crisis

As part of their strategy for economic and monetary union, European governments committed themselves to fiscal discipline – particularly by placing limits on annual deficits and on public debt. Subsequently, and as they sought to respond to the “current crisis”, they embraced the view that only if public finances were kept under control would sustainable recovery be possible. Rules of fiscal governance were strengthened. To help them meet these rules, the governments of many member States of the European Union made changes to their pension systems or to funds they had established specifically to pay the costs of population ageing. The intention was not to cut retirement benefits or to improve the efficiency of the relevant pension schemes and institutions. Rather, it was to free up resources immediately. Funded pension schemes and pension funds were treated like “piggy banks” that were raided when times became hard. Moreover, the policies pursued succeeded in meeting their objectives only because the system of national accounts according to which outcomes are judged does not recognize the way in which most of the fiscal gains are matched by future fiscal liabilities.

Pensions in Nigeria: The Performance of the New System of Personal Accounts

In 2004, Nigeria copied the 1981 Chilean pension reform and established a funded system based upon personal accounts. The new system was neither appropriate for a country such as Nigeria, nor did it meet aspirations of improving pension coverage or helping economic growth. The current financial and economic crisis hit the scheme in so far as it hit stock values. However, more important has been the negative real interest rates that can be earned on government bonds and on bank deposits — where the majority of contributions are invested. Bank scandals and rising fiscal deficits do not breed confidence in the system or the governments ability to deliver meaningful benefits in old age.

Social pensions and policy learning : the case of southern Africa

In the last decade and particularly since the publication of the Millennium Development Goals, social pensions have captured the interest of those concerned with the well-being of older people across that large part of the world where formal, contributions-financed, old-age benefit systems cover only a minority of the population. International organizations have turned their attention to such schemes and some see them as having a valuable role to play. However, information about what they are and how they work, and about their efficacy in meeting the objectives set for them, is still limited. Learning has been taking place not only in the international organizations but also in the region where they are most prominent – southern Africa. Such learning should be encouraged and the International Social Security Association has a part to play in this learning process.

The Public–Private Mix of Retirement Income in Nine OECD Countries: Some Evidence from Micro Data and an Exploration of its Implications

Over the past three decades, the wellbeing of people over retirement age has improved, not only absolutely but also relatively. Being old is no longer synonymous with being poor. This improvement has occurred across almost all of the main OECD countries, and has occurred almost regardless of the type of pension system that is operating in the country concerned. This chapter seeks to illustrate the importance or other wise of the nature of the public-private mix in incomes in old age both in producing this improvement in wellbeing and in leading to differences in the level of wellbeing enjoyed by different types of person. It draws from a number of studies undertaken at the Social Policy Division of the OECD in the course of 2000 and 2001, many of which have been reported upon in OECD (2001) and Yamada and Casey (2002).