Cette thèse porte sur les réformes des systèmes de retraite dans les pays en développement et s’articule autour de deux axes : l’efficacité des systèmes en place pour assurer aux affiliés un niveau de revenu suffisant à la retraite ; et l’extension de la couverture aux travailleurs informels et aux personnes âgées non couvertes. Nous faisons d’abord une étude de 7 cas de pays d’Amérique latine ayant mené des réformes de passage de la répartition à la capitalisation. Elle montre que les effets observés s’écartent de l’impact escompté en ce qui concerne le niveau des retraites obtenu et la formalisation de l’emploi. Nous considérons ensuite le cas du Maroc et le processus de réforme en cours. En nous appuyant sur les données démographiques et financières des régimes, nous analysons la capacité actuelle et future du système à garantir aux retraités un niveau de revenu proche de celui des actifs. Nous montrons notamment que la réforme actuellement envisagée est insuffisante. Nous effectuons enfin, à partir de données microéconomiques marocaines, deux études empiriques sur la question de l’extension de la couverture retraite. La première vise à mesurer l’emploi informel et à identifier ses caractéristiques et ses déterminants. Les résultats indiquent que les trois quarts des travailleurs hors secteur agricole ne sont pas affiliés au système de sécurité sociale et que cet emploi informel est largement subi et non le résultat d’un comportement d’évasion. La deuxième étudie la question de la pauvreté des personnes âgées et l’opportunité de créer une pension de solidarité. Les résultats montrent que les ménages où vivent les personnes âgées sont plus pauvres que les autres, que la cohabitation intergénérationnelle est forte et que la création d’une pension minimale permettrait de sortir un grand nombre de ménages de la pauvreté pour un coût inférieur à 0,5% du PIB. / This thesis investigates pension reforms in developing countries, their ability to provide retirees with a decent income, and the issue of extending their coverage to the entire population, including informal workers. The first two chapters assess the transition from pay-as-you-go to fully funded or multipillar schemes. A case study based on macro-data and pension funds data from 7 Latin American countries show that such reforms had very low effect on coverage rates and labour formalization and did not succeed in protecting people from old-age poverty. The third chapter describes the Moroccan pension system and shows that the reform currently in discussion is not sufficient either to achieve this goal. The last two chapters are empirical studies based on Moroccan labour force survey and household survey data. The first one draws a complete panorama of the non-contributing share of the population and estimates the probability of informal employment depending on both individual and professional characteristics. The second one studies the economic lives of the elderly. Overall results confirm that the informal labour market is heterogeneous and that most informal jobs are involuntary, not a choice made by workers to avoid paying taxes and social security contributions. It also appears that households that include aged members are poorer, the intergenerational cohabitation is high and therefore, creating a solidarity pension will help alleviate poverty at a cost not exceeding 0.5% of GDP.

In the first part of this doctoral thesis we analyse changes in old-age income risk in Germany using micro-simulation model due to changes in employment patterns and institutional reforms. We focus on the statutory pension scheme and we analyse the old-age income risk of individuals as well as of households with respect to the skill level. Our findings help to clarify the risk of post-retirement poverty for specific household constellations We find that the risk of old-age poverty will increase for almost all new pensioners in 2020-2022 compared to new pensioners in 2004-2006. Due to the characteristics of a PAYG pension system, political decision-makers have to improve labour market participation, e.g. by support the improvement of skill level. Moreover we take a closer look at the impact of the Hartz-Reforms on wages. We use panel data to estimate the effect of the structural break on wages and find strong evidence that the decrease in unemployment benefit lowered wages. Our findings show that the Hartz-Reform induced wage restraint and may also be partly responsible for the favourable labour market situation in Germany. After analysing the effect of institutional reforms on old-age income and wage, we examine whether households adjust their savings behaviour to a change in their individual unemployment, income and health expectations. We use survey panel data on German household savings and expectations. The findings suggest, in contrast to the theory of textbook models, that a higher unemployment expectation significantly decreases the (short-term) saving rate. This result may be due to labour market legislation after the Hartz-Reforms.

In the first part of this doctoral thesis we analyse changes in old-age income risk in Germany using micro-simulation model due to changes in employment patterns and institutional reforms. We focus on the statutory pension scheme and we analyse the old-age income risk of individuals as well as of households with respect to the skill level. Our findings help to clarify the risk of post-retirement poverty for specific household constellations We find that the risk of old-age poverty will increase for almost all new pensioners in 2020-2022 compared to new pensioners in 2004-2006. Due to the characteristics of a PAYG pension system, political decision-makers have to improve labour market participation, e.g. by support the improvement of skill level. Moreover we take a closer look at the impact of the Hartz-Reforms on wages. We use panel data to estimate the effect of the structural break on wages and find strong evidence that the decrease in unemployment benefit lowered wages. Our findings show that the Hartz-Reform induced wage restraint and may also be partly responsible for the favourable labour market situation in Germany. After analysing the effect of institutional reforms on old-age income and wage, we examine whether households adjust their savings behaviour to a change in their individual unemployment, income and health expectations. We use survey panel data on German household savings and expectations. The findings suggest, in contrast to the theory of textbook models, that a higher unemployment expectation significantly decreases the (short-term) saving rate. This result may be due to labour market legislation after the Hartz-Reforms.:1 Introduction 1 1.1 Summary 3 1.2 Contribution to the literature 7 1.3 References 9 2 A Fragile Pillar: Statutory Pensions and the Risk of Old-age Poverty in Germany 11 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 The German Statutory Pension Insurance 13 2.3 Methodology 16 2.4 Results 22 2.4.1 Male pensioners 22 2.4.2 Female pensioners 25 2.4.3 Relevance of skill 27 2.5 Sensitivity Analysis 31 2.6 Conclusion 34 2.7 References 37 2.8 Appendix 40 3 Is There a Growing Risk of Old-age Poverty in Eastern Germany? 44 3.1 Introduction 44 3.2 The German Pension System 46 3.3 Demographic Setting in Eastern Germany 48 3.4 Data and Methodology 49 3.5 Single-person Households 52 3.5.1 Males 52 3.5.2 Females 55 II 3.6 Two-Person-Households 57 3.7 Widows 62 3.8 Conclusion 64 3.9 References 65 3.10 Appendix 66 4 Unemployment Compensation and Wages: Evidence from the German Hartz-Reform 68 4.1 Introduction 68 4.2 The German Hartz-Reform 69 4.3 Data 71 4.4 Methodology 73 4.5 Results 76 4.6 Conclusions 82 4.7 References 84 4.8 Data 87 4.9 Appendix 88 5 Expectations and Saving Behavior: An Empirical Analysis 93 5.1 Introduction 93 5.2 Theoretical Discussion 95 5.3 Data 97 5.4 Empirical Strategy 100 5.5 Empirical Results 104 5.6 Conclusions 114 5.7 References 117 5.8 Data 119 5.9 Appendix 120