1. The Gender Impact of Pension Reform in Latin America—and Broader Policy Implications
- Author:
- Estelle James, Alejandra Cox Edwards, and Rebeca Wong
- Publication Date:
- 06-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- Over the past two decades multipillar pension systems that include both a public defined benefit (DB) and private defined contribution (DC) pillar have been adopted in many countries. Critics of these pension reforms argue that the tight link between payroll contributions and benefits in the DC pillar will produce lower pensions for women. In contrast, supporters of these reforms argue that multipillar systems remove distortions that favored men and permit a more targeted public pillar that will help women. To test these conflicting claims about multipillar reforms, and to analyze more generally the gender impact of alternative pension systems, this paper examines the differential impact on the two genders of the new and old systems in three Latin American countries—Chile, Argentina, and Mexico. On the basis of household survey data, we simulate the employment histories of representative men and women and the pensions that these are likely to generate under the new and old rules.
- Topic:
- Economics, Gender Issues, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Argentina, South America, Latin America, Central America, North America, Mexico, and Chile