Working Paper 10-10 - The long-term adequacy of the Belgian public pension system: An analysis based on the MIDAS model

This working paper describes the second version of MIDAS (an acronym for ‘Microsimulation for the Development of Adequacy and Sustainability'), a dynamic population model with dynamic cross-sectional ageing. This model simulates the life spans of individuals in the base dataset, including with their interactions, for the years between 2003 and 2060. It enables to produce, on that period, adequacy assessment of pensions in Belgium that is coherent with the baseline budgetary projections of the 2009 report of the Study Committee for Ageing realized by the Federal Planning Bureau's semi-aggregated MALTESE model. Indeed, MIDAS aligns its socio-economic and demographic projections and its macro-economic assumptions on the 2009 report of the Study Committee for Ageing. The adequacy of pensions is analysed through the replacement ratio, inequality measures among pensioners and poverty risk indicators of the elderly.Adequacy, Pensions, Microsimulation

Working Paper 01-02 - Production and diffusion of ICT in

Information and communication technology (ICT) has become a significant economic activity in most industrialized countries as well as an important engine of innovation and changes in the rest of the economy. It has been recognized as one of the key factors boosting productivity growth and hence business sector competitiveness. Various initiatives have been recently adopted at regional, national and European levels in order to meet quickly the new challenges of ICT use and diffusion in Europe. A growing number of indicators are now available in order to assess the position of each country or region in terms of ICT development and to guide policy decisions in that field. The aim of this report is to provide a clear and succinct view of the relative development of ICT in Belgium by analyzing both the production and the diffusion of ICT in our economy 1 and to highlight the main weaknesses and strengths of the Belgian economy in that area. Even if the sector has been recently characterised by stock markets ups and downs and numerous bankruptcies, production of ICT goods and services has contributed significantly during the nineties to the growth of economic activity and employment in some industrialised countries as for instance in Anglo-saxon and Scandinavian countries. Has Belgian economic activity benefited from the boom in the ICT sector to the same extent as other industrialised countries? What kind of development can be expected in the future? These are the main questions addressed in the part of the report devoted to the analysis of the Belgian ICT production sector.

Working Paper 04-11 - Welvaartsbinding van sociale en bijstandsuitkeringen

One of the main sections in the current draft of the 2011-2012 Interprofessional Agreement concerns the welfare adjustment of social benefits. This draft results from a long process and fits in with the law concerning the Solidarity Pact between the Generations, which established a structural mechanism at the end of 2005, linking social benefits to welfare evolution. This working paper ‘Welfare adjustment of social benefits' describes the first stage of that process: estimating the disposable financial means for the welfare adjustment of social benefits for the period 2011-2012, to which the Federal Planning Bureau contributed. In the employees scheme these means amount to 233.8 million in 2011 and to 497.9 million in 2012, of which the draft of the Interprofessional Agreement proposes to utilize merely 60%. Furthermore, this paper offers an overview of Belgian social policy by portraying its main turning points on the one hand and analysing the evolution of the average amounts of the main social benefits since 1980 on the other. The outcome is marked with contrast: over the period 1980-2009 the relative standard of living globally improved for pensioners, as opposed to the unemployed and the disabled.Welfare programs, Social Security benefits

Working Paper 22-10 - Toereikendheid van het pensioen en budgettaire kosten van de vergrijzing: evaluatie van beleidsmaatregelen en van alternatieve scenario’s

Statutory pensions, Adequacy, Microsimulation, Social security

Toereikendheid van het pensioen en budgettaire kosten van de vergrijzing - evaluatie van beleidsmaatregelen en van alternatieve scenario’s/Adéquation des pensions et coût budgétaire du vieillissement - impacts de réformes et de scénarios alternatifs

Since the early 90's, the Federal Planning Bureau assesses the sustainability of pensions in Belgium. Since a couple of years, it uses a dynamic microsimulation model, MIDAS_BE, to assess the development of the adequacy of pensions. This working paper illustrates the possibilities generated by the joint analysis by two different models that are as consistent as possible in terms of their simulation results, hypothesis and assumptions. The impact of scenario's and some recent policy changes are assessed through both approaches

Toereikendheid van het pensioen en budgettaire kosten van de vergrijzing - evaluatie van beleidsmaatregelen en van alternatieve scenario’s/Adéquation des pensions et coût budgétaire du vieillissement - impacts de réformes et de scénarios alternatifs

Since the early 90's, the Federal Planning Bureau assesses the sustainability of pensions in Belgium. Since a couple of years, it uses a dynamic microsimulation model, MIDAS_BE, to assess the development of the adequacy of pensions. This working paper illustrates the possibilities generated by the joint analysis by two different models that are as consistent as possible in terms of their simulation results, hypothesis and assumptions. The impact of scenario's and some recent policy changes are assessed through both approaches

Working Paper 04-10 - De Belgische eerstepijlerpensioenen aan de vooravond van de vergrijzing: doorlichting van bedragen, gerechtigden en adequaatheid

Statutory pensions, First-pillar pensions, Efficiency, Poverty, Adequate income