lmplicit Pension Debt in the Middle-East and North Africa: Magnitude and Fiscal lmplications

This paper breaks down the contingent liability of a mandatory pension system into two components: the implicit pension debt and the pay-as-you-go asset. It then estimates these two components for 12 pension schemes across six MENA countries and presents international comparisons. The results show that implicit pension debts are large (in the order of 50% to 100% of GDP), often higher than the explicit public debt. At the same time, the large majority of pension schemes have negative pay-as-you-go assets. Under these circumstances, it is misleading to consider the implicit pension debt a contingency, as the government will have to finance it with almost certainty. In the absence of a default the fiscal impacts are expected to be large. The paper recommends including in the assessment of public debt sustainability the implicit liabilities of the mandatory pension system and the pay-as-you-go asset.Pensions, implicit pension debt, fiscal policy, government bonds, contingent government liabilities

lmplicit Pension Debt in the Middle-East and North Africa: Magnitude and Fiscal lmplications

This paper breaks down the contingent liability of a mandatory pension system into two components: the implicit pension debt and the pay-as-you-go asset. It then estimates these two components for 12 pension schemes across six MENA countries and presents international comparisons. The results show that implicit pension debts are large (in the order of 50% to 100% of GDP), often higher than the explicit public debt. At the same time, the large majority of pension schemes have negative pay-as-you-go assets. Under these circumstances, it is misleading to consider the implicit pension debt a contingency, as the government will have to finance it with almost certainty. In the absence of a default the fiscal impacts are expected to be large. The paper recommends including in the assessment of public debt sustainability the implicit liabilities of the mandatory pension system and the pay-as-you-go asset

lmplicit Pension Debt in the Middle-East and North Africa Magnitude and Fiscal lmplications

This paper breaks down the contingent liability of a mandatory pension system into two components: the implicit pension debt and the pay-as-you-go asset. It then estimates these two components for 12 pension schemes across six MENA countries and presents international comparisons. The results show that implicit pension debts are large (in the order of 50% to 100% of GDP), often higher than the explicit public debt. At the same time, the large majority of pension schemes have negative pay-as-you-go assets. Under these circumstances, it is misleading to consider the implicit pension debt a contingency, as the government will have to finance it with almost certainty. In the absence of a default the fiscal impacts are expected to be large. The paper recommends including in the assessment of public debt sustainability the implicit liabilities of the mandatory pension system and the pay-as-you-go asset

Organizational and management mechanism for reforming agricultural organizations based on cooperation and integration of economic systems

In the agricultural sector of Russia, a high proportion of insolvent organizations is currently maintained. Ensuring food independence of the country, the availability of high-quality and affordable food for the population are the main objectives of the development of the domestic agricultural sector. In agriculture, there is growing interest in the formation of universal approaches to the procedure for managing economic entities. The reform of insolvent agricultural producers based on the development of cooperation and integration processes by absorbing economically weak farms by successful agribusiness organizations is one of the methods to achieve these goals. The subject of the research is the methodology and management practice of reforming domestic agricultural organizations based on cooperation and integration of economic systems. Theoretical research and practical material is based on the results of economic activity and the experience of reforming in economic entities. Systemic and process approaches, statistical and economic methods were used mainly in obtaining research results.The purpose and objective of the study is the introduction of progressive methodological approaches to assess the effectiveness of reforming economic entities. The paper presents the conditions and factors, the organizational and managerial mechanism, methods and practical experience in implementing the reform process of insolvent agricultural organizations, as well as an assessment of the production and economic efficiency of reforming on the materials of the agricultural organization. The results of the study confirm the need to replicate the methodology and experience of reforming agricultural organizations through cooperation and integration of economic entities with the provision of state support in all its existing forms for this process. In particular, we propose the formation and legislative consolidation of a system of competitive reform of insolvent agricultural organizations

О международном опыте формирования информационно-статистических ресурсов поддержки социальных программ, направленных на обеспечение интересов детей

The article reviews practices of developed countries with regard to creating inter-agency resources on child and family statistics to monitor and analyze social well-being of these groups of citizens. This type of analysis is essential for developing state policy and specific support programmes for children and families, to monitor the programmes’ implementation and subsequent estimation of the results. The quality of information resource has a strong influence on the results of state programmes. Usually statistical resources with data on children and families with children are developed on the basis of state statists and are co-created by all the agencies responsible for enforcement of rights and legally protected interests of children. They include integrated plans and reports on programmes of federal agencies, regional and local authorities, focused on advancement of children and families with children. To monitor indices of goals and results with regard to every stage of the social programmes implementation, a special section of interagency statistical resources should be separated. Authorized agency-coordinators develop thematic classifications, methods of observation and calculation of the indicators in order to integrate the data coming from different sources. Uniform standards for the presentation of statistical data by government agencies, production discipline, general statistical culture ensure harmonization of data collection methods and integration of indicators, which allows for systematic and comparative analysis. National universities actively participate in the development of techniques for analysis of family and childhood-related issues, studying the dynamics of indicators, creation of research models. The authors of this article emphasize the importance of openness and accessibility of statistical resources that enlighten the society about state support policies for children and families with children; it provides general public with a possibility to compare social programmes and their implementation results at regional and municipal levels. Foreign experience can be useful for creating a similar statistical resource in Russia within the framework of the « Russian National Children’s Strategy for 2012-2017».В статье рассматривается практика развитых стран мира в области формирования межведомственных ресурсов детской и семейной статистики, используемых для мониторинга и анализа социального благополучия этой группы граждан. Такой анализ необходим при разработке государственной политики и конкретных программ помощи детям и семьям, для контроля хода реализации программ и последующей оценки их результатов. Качество информационного ресурса в значительной мере влияет на результаты государственных программ. Как правило, статистические ресурсы, содержащие сведения о детях и семьях с детьми, разрабатываются на основе данных государственной статистики и формируются совместно всеми ведомствами, в чью сферу ответственности входит обеспечение соблюдения прав и законных интересов детей. В их составе интегрированы планы и отчеты по программам федеральных ведомств, региональных и местных органов власти, направленным на улучшение положения детей и семей с детьми. Для мониторинга индикаторов целей и результатов каждого этапа реализации социальных программ необходимо выделение специального раздела межведомственных статистических ресурсов. Уполномоченные ведомства-координаторы разрабатывают тематические классификаторы, методики наблюдения и расчета показателей с целью интеграции данных, поступающих из разных источников. Единые стандарты представления статистических данных государственными ведомствами, производственная дисциплина, общая статистическая культура обеспечивают гармонизацию методов сбора информации и интеграцию показателей, что позволяет проводить системный и сравнительный анализ. В разработке методики анализа проблем семьи и детства, изучении динамики показателей, создании моделей исследования принимают участие университеты. Авторы статьи подчеркивают значимость открытости и доступности статистических ресурсов, что повышает информированность населения о политике государства по поддержке детей и семей с детьми, позволяет сравнивать социальные программы и результаты их реализации в разных регионах страны и на местах. Зарубежный опыт может быть полезен для формирования аналогичного статистического ресурса в России в рамках реализации «Национальной стратегии действий в интересах детей на 2012-2017 годы»

Income Mobility in Russia in the mid-1990s

This paper considers the phenomenon of income mobility during the process of economic transition in Russia. The study is based on the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) data. The process of economic transition has generated sharp changes in the distribution of income among Russian households. Simultaneously with the emergence of the Russian nouveau rich, whole strata of the population have seen their sources of income dry up, and their life savings wiped out in the financial turmoil of the 1990s. The authors set out to identify the winners and the losers of the Russian transition, as well as explain income mobility in terms of the underlying socioeconomic factors.economic inequality; transformation processes; income distribution; income mobility; and social mobility