The political economy of derived pension rights

Marie-Louise Leroux and Pierre Pestieau

International Tax and Public Finance, 2012, vol. 19, issue 5, 753-776

Abstract: Derived pension rights (including survivor benefits and spousal compensations for one-earner couples) exist in most Social Security systems but with variable generosity. They are mainly viewed as a means to alleviate poverty among older women living alone. The purpose of this paper is to explain how they can emerge from a political economy process when Social Security is a combination of Bismarckian and Beveridgean pillars. We find that the pension system should be contributive but with a positive level of derived rights. We also show that such a system encourages stay-at-home wives, thus revealing an unpleasant trade-off between female labor participation and poverty alleviation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012

Keywords: Social Security; Derived pension rights; Majority voting; Individualization of pension rights; D72; D78; H55 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Working Paper: The political economy of derived pension rights (2012)
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DOI: 10.1007/s10797-011-9205-9

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