WP 10 - Chances and limitations of "benchmarking" in the reform of welfare state structures - the case of pension policy

The concept of benchmarking, originally developed as a tool to improve the performance of business enterprises by learning from others' "best practice", is now increasingly applied in the areas of employment and social policy. Rising internal and external pressures on national welfare states, sometimes reinforced by supra-national institutions, a rapid growth of modern communication technologies and an ongoing process of ideological liberalization drive this development. Just as benchmarking between companies benchmarking between national social policies is seen as an instrument to reduce the costs of pure trial and error. However, learning from abroad is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition for successful welfare state adjustment. First, it is only one possible factor for welfare state change next to many others. Second, it does not necessarily lead to policy change because policy makers may be unable or unwilling to implement what they have learned. Third, even if cross-national policy transfer takes place it may fail to yield the expected benefits. For a number of reasons the transferability of welfare policies across countries may be restricted. Most importantly, policy transfer may be inappropriate if policymakers do not pay sufficient attention to the different economic, social, political or ideological context in the importing country. This is especially true when it comes to the great institutional diversity of national retirement systems, which are based on highly country-specific policy mixes and which display strong interdependencies with other policy areas. Therefore, a large-scale adoption of onesize-fits-all solutions such as the World Bank's three-pillar pension model appears to be problematic. The costs of establishing new institutional arrangements form another impediment to policy transfer. The extraordinarily high cost of financing the transition from a pay-as-you-go to a fully funded pension system is a case in point. Moreover, the benchmarking of social policies is faced with the difficulty that policy goals tend to be ambiguous or even characterized by harsh trade-offs. Pension reformers, for instance, are invariably confronted with the problem of containing rising pension costs while ensuring a decent level of social security for the elderly population. Therefore, the notion of "best practice" appears to be problematic with respect to social policy reform. Finally, policy makers must be concerned with the political risks associated with policy transfer, especially in a political minefield such as pensions. For these reasons, policy transfer between welfare states appears to be qualitatively different from transfer of "best practice" between companies. Under these conditions, the probability of (appropriate) policy transfer will hinge on two factors. First, the more the local conditions and especially the welfare arrangements differ from one country to another the more difficult and the less likely policy transfer will be. Second, exchange of information will be easier than the transfer of ideas and goals, which on their part will diffuse more easily across national borders than concrete policy instruments and institutions. In particular, the import of institutions incompatible to existing policy structures may interfere with the balance of power between societal actors and therefore meet with political resistance.

The politics of pensions in European social insurance countries

"Die vorliegende Arbeit analysiert rentenpolitische Entscheidungsprozesse in Ländern, deren Alterssicherungssysteme weitgehend dem Bismarckmodell folgen (Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien, Österreich, Schweden). Da sie typischerweise definierte Leistungen im Wege des Umlageverfahrens gewähren und sich primär über lohnabhängige Sozialbeiträge finanzieren, erweisen sich diese Systeme als vergleichsweise anfällig gegenüber ökonomischem und demographischem Problemdruck. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat das Thema “Rentenreform” in diesen Ländern spätestens seit Anfang der 90er-Jahre erheblich an Bedeutung gewonnen. Obgleich aus international vergleichender Perspektive große Gemeinsamkeiten in der Grundausrichtung der Reformen erkennbar sind, lassen sich – auch in Ländern mit ähnlich konzipierten Alterssicherungssystemen – erhebliche Unterschiede im Grad der vorgenommenen Veränderungen feststellen. Wie eine eingehendere Betrachtung der nationalen Reformpfade auf dem Feld der Rentenpolitik zeigt, hängt die politische Durchsetzbarkeit von Rentenreformen entscheidend von der Fähigkeit der Regierung ab, einen Reformkonsens mit der parlamentarischen Opposition beziehungsweise mit den Gewerkschaften herzustellen. Das Papier versucht, die Bedingungen herauszuarbeiten, unter welchen ein rentenpolitischer Konsens zwischen diesen Akteuren wahrscheinlich ist." [Autorenreferat]"This paper analyzes national processes of pension reform in countries with systems of old-age provision largely following the Bismarckian type (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden). Operating on a defined benefit/pay-as-you-go basis and mainly financed out of wage-based social contributions, pension systems in these countries are highly vulnerable to demographic and economic pressures. Therefore, pension reform has emerged as a major issue in these countries since the early 1990s. Although there are substantial similarities in the direction of reform, the degree of policy change varies considerably even among countries with similar legacies in pension policy. As a closer inspection of national patterns of pension policy-making shows, the political feasibility of pension reforms and the degree of adjustment in pension policy critically depends on the government’s ability to orchestrate a reform consensus either with the parliamentary opposition or with the trade unions. The paper tries to identify the conditions under which a “pension pact” between those actors is likely to emerge." [author's abstract

Loss of TMEM106B potentiates lysosomal and FTLD-like pathology in progranulin-deficient mice

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TMEM106B encoding the lysosomal type II transmembrane protein 106B increase the risk for frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) of GRN (progranulin gene) mutation carriers. Currently, it is unclear if progranulin (PGRN) and TMEM106B are synergistically linked and if a gain or a loss of function of TMEM106B is responsible for the increased disease risk of patients with GRN haploinsufficiency. We therefore compare behavioral abnormalities, gene expression patterns, lysosomal activity, and TDP-43 pathology in single and double knockout animals. Grn-/- /Tmem106b-/- mice show a strongly reduced life span and massive motor deficits. Gene expression analysis reveals an upregulation of molecular signature characteristic for disease-associated microglia and autophagy. Dysregulation of maturation of lysosomal proteins as well as an accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins and widespread p62 deposition suggest that proteostasis is impaired. Moreover, while single Grn-/- knockouts only occasionally show TDP-43 pathology, the double knockout mice exhibit deposition of phosphorylated TDP-43. Thus, a loss of function of TMEM106B may enhance the risk for GRN-associated FTLD by reduced protein turnover in the lysosomal/autophagic system

Cytoplasmic poly-GA aggregates impair nuclear import of TDP-43 in C9orf72 ALS/FTLD

A repeat expansion in the non-coding region of C9orf72 gene is the most common mutation causing frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Sense and antisense transcripts are translated into aggregating dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins in all reading frames (poly-GA,-GP,-GR,-PA and -PR) through an unconventional mechanism. How these changes contribute to cytoplasmic mislocalization and aggregation of TDP-43 and thereby ultimately leading to neuron loss remains unclear. The repeat RNA itself and poly-GR/PR have been linked to impaired nucleocytoplasmic transport. Here, we show that compact cytoplasmic poly-GA aggregates impair nuclear import of a reporter containing the TDP-43 nuclear localization (NLS) signal. However, a reporter containing a non-classical PY-NLS was not affected. Moreover, poly-GA expression prevents TNF alpha induced nuclear translocation of p65 suggesting that poly-GA predominantly impairs theimportin-alpha/beta-dependent pathway. In neurons, prolonged poly-GA expression induces partial mislocalization of TDP-43 into cytoplasmic granules. Rerouting poly-GA to the nucleus prevented TDP-43 mislocalization, suggesting a cytoplasmic mechanism. In rescue experiments, expression of importin-alpha (KPNA3, KPNA4) or nucleoporins (NUP54, NUP62) restores the nuclear localization of the TDP reporter. Taken together, inhibition of nuclear import of TDP-43 by cytoplasmic poly-GA inclusions causally links the two main aggregating proteins in C9orf72 ALS/FTLD pathogenesis

A novel CHCHD10 mutation implicates a Mia40-dependent mitochondrial import deficit in ALS

CHCHD10 mutations are linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but their mode of action is unclear. In a 29-year-old patient with rapid disease progression, we discovered a novel mutation (Q108P) in a conserved residue within the coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix (CHCH) domain. The aggressive clinical phenotype prompted us to probe its pathogenicity. Unlike the wild-type protein, mitochondrial import of CHCHD10 Q108P was blocked nearly completely resulting in diffuse cytoplasmic localization and reduced stability. Other CHCHD10 variants reported in patients showed impaired mitochondrial import (C122R) or clustering within mitochondria (especially G66V and E127K) often associated with reduced expression. Truncation experiments suggest mitochondrial import of CHCHD10 is mediated by the CHCH domain rather than the proposed N-terminal mitochondrial targeting signal. Knockdown of Mia40, which introduces disulfide bonds into CHCH domain proteins, blocked mitochondrial import of CHCHD10. Overexpression of Mia40 rescued mitochondrial import of CHCHD10 Q108P by enhancing disulfide-bond formation. Since reduction in CHCHD10 inhibits respiration, mutations in its CHCH domain may cause aggressive disease by impairing mitochondrial import. Our data suggest Mia40 upregulation as a potential therapeutic salvage pathway

C9orf72-mediated ALS and FTD: multiple pathways to disease

The discovery that repeat expansions in the C9orf72 gene are a frequent cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has revolutionized our understanding of these diseases. Substantial headway has been made in characterizing C9orf72-mediated disease and unravelling its underlying aetiopathogenesis. Three main disease mechanisms have been proposed: loss of function of the C9orf72 protein and toxic gain of function from C9orf72 repeat RNA or from dipeptide repeat proteins produced by repeat-associated non-ATG translation. Several downstream processes across a range of cellular functions have also been implicated. In this article, we review the pathological and mechanistic features of C9orf72-associated FTD and ALS (collectively termed C9FTD/ALS), the model systems used to study these conditions, and the probable initiators of downstream disease mechanisms. We suggest that a combination of upstream mechanisms involving both loss and gain of function and downstream cellular pathways involving both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous effects contributes to disease progression

"Pension reform in European social insurance countries"

This paper analyzes national processes of pension reform in various European welfare states. The countries under study (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden) not only face similar fiscal, demographic and competitive pressures since the early 1990s, but are also characterized by broadly similar pension arrangements. Being from the defined benefit/pay-as-you-go type, mainly financed through wage-based social contributions, pension systems in these countries reveal a high vulnerability to changes in demographic and employment structures. Generally, I argue, that European integration has exerted only marginal influence on national pension policies. Moreover, the impact of European integration does not explain cross-country variance in pension reform outcomes: While we observe substantial similarities in the direction of reform, the degree of policy change varies considerable even among countries with similar pension policy profiles. By the same token, the failure of several pension reforms in European welfare states suggests, that the presence of the EMU convergence criteria and increased economic internationalization was by no means a sufficient condition for the successful implementation of pension reforms. Thus, only a closer inspection of national decision making processes does allow for an explanation of different pension reform outcomes. The political feasibility of a substantial pension reform critically depends on the government's ability to orchestrate a reform consensus either among the major political parties on both sides of the political center or between the government and the trade unions. The capacity of governments to take concerted action in pension reform is again largely a result of the strategic interactions taking place between these actors

The Reform of Bismarckian Pension Systems: A Comparison of Pension Politics in Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden

This study analyzes national processes of pension reform in countries with systems of old-age provision largely following the Bismarckian type (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Sweden). Operating on a defined benefit/pay-as-you-go basis and mainly financed out of wage-based social contributions, pension systems in these countries are highly vulnerable to demographic and economic pressures. Therefore, pension reform has emerged as a major issue in these countries since the late 1980s. Although there are substantial similarities in the direction of reform, the degree of policy change varies considerably even among countries with similar legacies in pension policy. A closer inspection of national patterns of pension policy making shows that the political feasibility of pension reforms and the degree of adjustment in pension policy critically depends on the government's ability to orchestrate a reform consensus either with the parliamentary opposition or with the trade unions. The study tries to identify the conditions under which a “pension pact” between those actors is likely to emerge