How does change in economic, social and political institutions occur? How aregender and other social inequalities reproduced through and challenged byprocesses of institutional creation, evolution and innovation? And can institutionsbe transformed for greater equity and inclusion? These are big questions forfeminist political scientists to whom a better understanding of real world puzzles isnot only of theoretical but also of practical relevance. By looking at recent socialpolicy reforms and innovations in Chile this thesis contributes to moving thisresearch agenda forward. Drawing on conceptual and methodological tools fromhistorical institutionalism and feminist political science, it provides a theoreticallyinformed and empirically grounded account of how institutional change happensand why thoroughgoing transformations are so difficult to achieve. As an essentialpart of this endeavor, it highlights the multiple ways in which gender shapes and isshaped by broader processes of policy reform and innovation. Bolstered byabundant empirical evidence from four reform episodes-the 2002-2004 healthreform, the 2008 pension reform, the 2006-2010 expansion of childcare services,and the reform of maternity leave in 2011-the thesis interrogates the scope andthe quality of recent changes, analyzes their implications for women's rights andgender equality, and unveils the complex interplay of institutional, agential andideational factors that have shaped specific policy choices. It holds that none of thepolicy areas has experienced sweeping change or path departure. Instead, policyinnovations have taken place in historically and contextually bounded ways: whilethe scope and purpose of existing welfare institutions has been redefined and newrules have been layered on to previously existing institutional arrangements, coreelements of these arrangements-and of the broader context-have remainedfirmly in place. Against this backdrop, positive gender change did indeed occur:greater access to non-contributory pensions, more accessible childcare services andmore generous maternity leave regulations all benefit women. Yet, selective andpiecemeal reform strategies also entailed important trade-offs that hamper theequity-enhancing effect of otherwise important policy innovations. This generalverdict, however, conceals important variations across policy areas both in terms ofthe (re)articulation of state-market relationships and in terms of the integration ofgender concerns. The thesis locates these variations at the intersection of sectorspecificpolicy legacies and more contingent moments of political opportunity.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:34:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-03-12 / This works looks into the fundamentals of the private pension system in Brazil. Studies the evolution of social security, enphasizing the political, social and economic aspects. Aims to demonstrate the importance of pension funds in the development of national domestic saving and improving the living conditions for the population. / Este trabalho tem por finalidade analisar os fundamentos da previdência complementar fechada brasileira, com ênfase nos aspectos políticos, sociais e econômicos. Visa demonstrar a importância das entidades fechadas de previdência complementar no desenvolvimento da poupança interna nacional e na melhoria da condição de vida da população.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how members of Australian superannuation funds can manage risks arising from uncertain security returns and unpredictable mortality so as to ensure a steady income stream during retirement. In chapter 2 we note that the proportion of superannuation assets invested in foreign assets has increased over the past two decades, exposing investors to currency risk. Surveys of superannuation funds verify that most international bond holdings, but not equity holdings, have been hedged for currency risk. We test the mean-variance efficiency of this practice against two alternative hedging strategies: a conventional forward hedge and a selective hedge conditioned on the domestic-foreign interest differential. Implementing optimal hedging results in portfolios whose returns stochastically dominate portfolios constructed under restricted equity hedging, according to our new adaptation of Barrett-Donald (2003) tests. Selective hedging works best for equities and conventional hedging for bonds. Chapter 3 applies a discrete-time Merton (1971) model to questions of optimal decumulation and asset allocation for self-funded retirees drawing down lump-sum retirement benefits. Risk management is taken to revolve around protecting a pre-specified minimum consumption stream. Risk tolerances and lifetimes are allowed to span a range of possibilities. In the case of an agent living to age 90, ideal investment in equity-type assets increases gradually from 27-43 % over remaining life. This is much lower than the 55-60% observed among retirees. Conservative investment strategies are needed to meet consumption goals over long lifetimes. Milevsky and Young (2002, 2003) attribute the reluctance to voluntarily annuitise to a valuable real option to delay annuitisation (RODA). Chapter 4 extends the RODA analysis to the case of HARA preferences. A formula for the optimal timing of annuitisation is derived from the solution to a dynamic stochastic consumption and investment problem with uncertain lifetime. The effect of introducing a consumption floor is to reduce the delay before annuity purchase. As in the CRRA case, delayed annuitisation is associated with optimistic predictions of the Sharpe ratio and divergence between annuity purchaser and provider predictions of mortality.

The impact of population ageing on the social budgets of the future is a phenomenon confronting many of the world's wealthiest and most advanced nations. The impending retirement of the 'baby boomers' has raised concerns about the inadequacy of budgetary frameworks (both conceptual and real) to fulfil the financial commitments of demographically sensitive programs, namely old age pensions. Pension schemes represent, by far, the largest social welfare commitment of first world nations. Old age pensions are also demographically sensitive. Furthermore, pension systems play a crucial role in alleviating poverty, in recognising the previous contribution of an individual and in maintaining of the social and economic wellbeing of democratic polities. The financial stability of pension schemes and the ability of governments to meet future commitments will become significant issues of public policy as the pressures from population ageing intensify. Yet, committing resources, or budgeting, for longer-term pressures is an inherently problematic exercise both from an intellectual and a practical perspective. For long-term resourcing to be successful it requires perfect foresight and a level of political commitment that typically eludes most politicians and governments. Longer or medium-term budgetary pressures are often ignored or avoided until they impact on the immediate chances of either fiscal or electoral success. As such, societies face the prospect of looming financial burdens, but only have a box of short-term tools at their disposal and a limited body of scholarship to guide them through this ticking political 'time bomb'. This research tackles a significant omission in the existing literature on budgeting, public policy and social welfare, by proposing a conceptual framework for the anticipation, conceptualisation and analysis of future budget pressures. In doing so, it brings together analytical frameworks of government budgeting and social policy from a number of disciplinary areas and weaves them into a conceptual framework that allows for diagnostic and prescriptive analysis of budgetary pressures within a particular policy/spending area. The framework is also compatible with existing budgetary frameworks and decision-making processes. Through the analysis of the old age pension systems in Australia, Canada and Sweden this thesis makes an important contribution to the understanding of how demographic transition will impact on the future stability of pension schemes. The thesis contends that ageing populations will place significant pressure on each pillar of the pension system to meet its future financial commitments. This pressure will, in turn, have important implications for national budgetary processes and old age pension policy over the coming decades. In particular, governments will be required to implement a range of techniques that sit both within and beyond the traditional bounds of most budget processes. It will be imperative for researchers to explore the complexities and political possibilities of budget reform and to search for ways in which the longer-term needs of society can be adequately satisfied through the budget process.

綜觀世界各國之企業退休年金制度，都有著非常悠久之歷史，尤其是愈先 進之國家，其制度愈是更加之完善，而我國雖正由開發中國家邁向已開發 國家之林，然而卻在企業退休年金制度上遲遲無法發展，而從我國目前之 人口、經濟及社會變動情形，可獲知我國對此制度正迫切需要。因此本論 文，乃著手探討如何去建立我國企業退休年金制度，以期作為主政者在未 來實施此制度之參考。全文共分六章十六節，其略述如下：第一章 緒論 。係就研究動機、目的、方法、範圍及內容做一概述。第二章 企業退休 年金制度之基本理論。針對理論概念、內容及制度之建立做一探討。第三 章 美、中、日三國企業退休年金制度之發展與現況。乃對美、日、中三 國之制度狀況加以介紹，以作為我國未來建制之參考。第四章 我國企業 退休年金業務開辦之可行性分析。其內容包括退休一次金、退休年金、課 稅環境分析及退休基金業務之檢討分析。第五章 我國企業退休年金制度 未來之具體作法。乃對我國未來制度之努力方向、策略方向及具體作法， 提出個人之淺見，以茲作為主政者之參考。第六章 結論與建議。

Sammanfattning Introduktion: Sverige har en lång tradition av olika pensions system, så tidigt som 1914 blev det första sy-stemet implementerat. Systemet har blivit förändrat åtskilliga gånger och 1998 infördes Premie Pensions (PPM) systemet. PPM är en blandning av ett distributionsbaserat system och ett fondbaserat system. 16 procent av en individs inkomst är bundet till det distribu-tionsbaserade systemet för att kunna finansiera dagens pensioner. 2,5 procent av en indi-vids inkomst är låst till det fondbaserade systemet och kan investeras av individen i olika fonder. PPM systemet har blivit utsatt för mycket kritik eftersom tidigare studier påvisat att flertalet svenskar inte gör aktiva fondval samt att de har otillräcklig kunskap. Diversifiering förklaras bäst genom talesättet; att inte placera alla ägg i samma korg. Diver-sifiering är ett mått på hur väl en investerare lyckats sprida risken i sin portfölj genom att fördela tillgångarna i olika sorters värdepapper. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera huruvida svenskens pensionsportfölj inom PPM är diversifierad. Detta syfte valdes för att ingen tidigare studie med ett likadant syfte genomförts samt där-för att risken med att inneha en dåligt diversifierad portfölj kan vara stor. Metodval: En kvantitativ ansats har använts i denna uppsats då syftet med den är att dra slutsatser ba-serat på en stor urvalsgrupp. Andrahandsdata emottaget från PPM har uteslutande använts för att genomföra den empiriska studien. För att underlätta studien har en viss begränsning av information gjorts. I studien har ett urval av 100 individer samt 50 fonder använts. En avgränsning är att endast fonddata för de tre senaste åren använts. Trots dessa tillkorta-kommanden hävdar författarna att en hög validitet och reliabilitet har uppnåtts i uppsatsen. Slutsats: Efter att ha jämfört individernas portföljer mot efficient frontier, har åtskilliga resultat uppdagats som påvisar samma slutsats; att svenskens pensionsportfölj inom PPM är dåligt diversifie-rad. Handlingsplan för ansvariga: Att genomföra vidare studier med syfte att få mer kunskap om varför portföljerna är dåligt diversifierade samt implementera dessa resultat av studien i praktiken. / Introduction: Sweden has a long tradition of pension systems, as early as 1914 was the first system implemented. The system has been changed a number of times and in 1998 was the Premium pension authority (PPM) system introduced. PPM is a mixture of a distribution-based system and fund-based system. 16 per cent of an individual’s income is devoted to the distribution-based system for financing today’s pensions. 2.5 per cent of an individual’s income is looked in the fund-based system and can be invested by the individual in different funds. The PPM system has been a target for much criticism since earlier studies has shown that the Swedes do not make an active choice nor have the demanded knowledge. Diversification is best explained through the saying; not to place all your eggs in the same basket. Diversification is a measure of how well an investor has succeeded to spread the risk of the portfolio by allocating assets in different securities. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study whether the Swedish inhabitant’s pension portfolios within the PPM system are diversified. This purpose has been chosen because no studies have been made with an identical aim and also that the risk with holding a poorly diversified portfolio is grave. Methodology: A quantitative approach has been chosen since the aim of the thesis is to draw conclusions based on large sample numbers. Solitary secondary data, received from PPM, has been used to conduct the empirical study. To simplify the study limitations of information have been made; in the study samples of 100 individuals and 50 funds have been used. A Delimitation of the study is that only fund data for the last three years has been used. Despite the scarcities of the thesis the authors claim that the thesis has high validity and reliability. Conclusions: When benchmarking the individual portfolios against the efficient frontier a number of results were revealed and they all ended up in the same conclusion that the Swede’s pension portfolio within the PPM system is insufficient diversified. Implication for management of the PPM system To conduct further studies with the aim to get knowledge; why the investments are poorly diversified and find ways to transform the suggestions of the study into practice.

Background: The implementation of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in low to middle income (LMICs) has been followed by a marked reduction in their progress on economic growth, social indicators and health outcomes. Comprehensive and contextualized explorations of the effects of SAPs are needed to assist health and social policy-makers in better determining responses to such programs that continue to dominate global trade, aid and debt cancellation negotiations.<p>Methods: A comparative case study of Argentina and Uruguay was developed exploring the effects of SAPs on health. Drawing from a population health perspective and using a framework developed to analyze the relationship between globalization and health, changes in domestic policies resulting from SAPs and the corresponding population health outcomes of the countries were explored. <p>Results: In general, SAPs were implemented with greater severity and speed in Argentina than in Uruguay, with the greatest differences occurring over the 1980s. The more gradual and modest reforms implemented in Uruguay over the 1980s were associated with better population health outcomes. As Uruguays reforms began to accelerate and more closely resemble Argentinas over the 1990s, differences in population health of the countries were diminished.<p>Conclusions: Findings support those of previous studies demonstrating that countries that have maintained more protectionist policies have been better able to protect the health of the most vulnerable sectors of society.

El envejecimiento de la población, una baja tasa de natalidad y la inminente jubilación de la generación “baby-boom” han aumentado preocupación para la estabilidad del sistema de pensiones en España. Según muchos estudios, el sistema de pensiones va a sufrir un déficit en el año 2030. Esta tesis investiga si la inmigración puede ayudar a evitar una futura crisis de pensiones y ofrece otras soluciones que en combinación con la inmigración pueden asegurar la estabilidad del sistema de pensiones en el largo plazo. Population aging, a low birthrate, and the impending retirement of the Baby Boom generation has increased concern for the stability of the pension system in Spain. According to studies, the pension system will incur a deficit in 2030. This thesis examines to what extent immigration can help avoid a future pension crisis and offers other solutions that, in combination with a favorable immigration policy, can ensure the stability of the pension system in the long run.

Background: The implementation of structural adjustment programs (SAPs) in low to middle income (LMICs) has been followed by a marked reduction in their progress on economic growth, social indicators and health outcomes. Comprehensive and contextualized explorations of the effects of SAPs are needed to assist health and social policy-makers in better determining responses to such programs that continue to dominate global trade, aid and debt cancellation negotiations.<p>Methods: A comparative case study of Argentina and Uruguay was developed exploring the effects of SAPs on health. Drawing from a population health perspective and using a framework developed to analyze the relationship between globalization and health, changes in domestic policies resulting from SAPs and the corresponding population health outcomes of the countries were explored. <p>Results: In general, SAPs were implemented with greater severity and speed in Argentina than in Uruguay, with the greatest differences occurring over the 1980s. The more gradual and modest reforms implemented in Uruguay over the 1980s were associated with better population health outcomes. As Uruguays reforms began to accelerate and more closely resemble Argentinas over the 1990s, differences in population health of the countries were diminished.<p>Conclusions: Findings support those of previous studies demonstrating that countries that have maintained more protectionist policies have been better able to protect the health of the most vulnerable sectors of society.

<p>This dissertation is a collection of three chapters all pertaining to institutional economics. In short, the eld of institutional economics is an outgrowth of public economics, in the sense that in many cases he key institutions that frame economic decisionmaking are the product of public policy. However this is not exclusive. Institutional economics' key contribution is the acknowledgement that cultural and social institutions --- often developed organically over the course of centuries --- can play as signicant a role in individuals' economic choices as governmental policy. In the pages that follow, we will address the economic impact of cultural and political institutions in three contexts: Judicial decisionmaking in Islamic courts, the effects</p><p>of negative health shocks on retirement savings, and the tradeoff between retirement savings and investment in durable goods.</p> / Dissertation