The Brazilian social security program:diagnosis and proposal for reform

The Brazilian pay-as-you-go social security program is analyzed in a historical perspective. Its contribution to income inequality, and the role played by the inflation as a balancing variable are discussed. It is shown that budgetary constraints due to the increasing informalization of the labor force can no longer be reconciled with protligate eligibility criteria. A tailor-made proposal for reform is presented as well as a plan for financing the transition from today's system to the proposed one.

The effect of social security, demography and technology on retirement

This article investigates the causes in the reduction of labor force participation of the old. We argue that the changes in social security policy, in technology and in demography may account for most of the changes in retirement over the second part of the last century in the U.S. economy. We develop a dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous retirement that embeds social security legislation. The model is able to match very closely the increase in the retirement rate of males aged 65 and older. It also quanti es the isolated impact on retirement and on the solvency of the social security system of the di¤erent factors. The model suggests that technological and demographic changes had a strong in uence on retirement, so that it would have increased signi cantly even if the social security rules had not changed. However, as the latter became much more generous in the past, changes in social security policy can account not only for a sizeable part of the expansion of retirement, but also for the most of the observed increase in the social security expenses as a share of GDP.

The effect of social security, demography and technology on retirement

This article investigates the causes in the reduction of labor force participation of the old. We argue that the changes in social security policy, in technology and in demography may account for most of the changes in retirement over the second part of the last century in the U.S. economy. We develop a dynamic general equilibrium model with endogenous retirement that embeds social security legislation. The model is able to match very closely the increase in the retirement rate of males aged 65 and older. It also quanti es the isolated impact on retirement and on the solvency of the social security system of the di¤erent factors. The model suggests that technological and demographic changes had a strong in uence on retirement, so that it would have increased signi cantly even if the social security rules had not changed. However, as the latter became much more generous in the past, changes in social security policy can account not only for a sizeable part of the expansion of retirement, but also for the most of the observed increase in the social security expenses as a share of GDP.

The effect of social security, health, demography and technology on retirement

This article studies the determinants of the labor force participation of the elderly and investigates the factors that may account for the increase in retirement in the second half of the last century. We develop a life-cycle general equilibrium model with endogenous retirement that embeds Social Security legislation and Medicare. Individuals are ex ante heterogeneous with respect to their preferences for leisure and face uncertainty about labor productivity, health status and out-of-pocket medical expenses. The model is calibrated to the U.S. economy in 2000 and is able to reproduce very closely the retirement behavior of the American population. It reproduces the peaks in the distribution of Social Security applications at ages 62 and 65 and the observed facts that low earners and unhealthy individuals retire earlier. It also matches very closely the increase in retirement from 1950 to 2000. Changes in Social Security policy - which became much more generous - and the introduction of Medicare account for most of the expansion of retirement. In contrast, the isolated impact of the increase in longevity was a delaying of retirement.

Social security effects on income distribution: a counterfactual analysis for Brazil

According to Diamond (1977), one of the reasons for the existence of social security systems is that they function as an income redistribution mechanism. There is an extensive literature that tests whether social security systems produce the desired results in developed countries (mainly for the U.S.A.). Nevertheless, there is not an obvious consensus about this social security property and there is little evidence for developing countries. In this article, we test this property for the Brazilian Social Security System. In addition, we also look at another question which has not been answered yet in the previous literature. Is the trend of social security systems increasingly progressive or regressive? We conclude that the changes in Brazilian Social Security legislation reduced inequality between 1987 and 1996, but only for the elderly. For the other age groups, there is a stable trend. Results for the period between 1996 and 2006 reveal that the Brazilian system is neutral for all cohorts. Therefore, we found out that social security systems are not an effective mechanism for income redistribution, as predicted by previous studies.

The life-cycle effects of social security in a model with housing and endogenous benefits

This article develops a life-cycle general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents who make choices of nondurables consumption, investment in homeowned housing and labour supply. Agents retire from an specific age and receive Social Security benefits which are dependant on average past earnings. The model is calibrated, numerically solved and is able to match stylized U.S. aggregate statistics and to generate average life-cycle profiles of its decision variables consistent with data and literature. We also conduct an exercise of complete elimination of the Social Security system and compare its results with the benchmark economy. The results enable us to emphasize the importance of endogenous labour supply and benefits for agents' consumption-smoothing behaviour.

The impact on the stationary state income of a pay-as-you-go system of social security

A model of overlapping generations in continuous time is composed. IndividuaIs pass through two distinct time periods during their life times. During the first period, they work, save and have a death probability equal to zero. During the second, from the periods T after birth, their probability of death changes to p and then they retire. Capital stock and the stationary state in come are calculated for two situations: in the first, people live from their accumulated capital after retirementj in the second, they live from a state transfer payment through income taxo To simplify matters, in this preliminary version, it is supposed that there is no population growth and that the instantaneous elasticity substitution of consumption is unitary.

Microinsurance: income risk, social security and the demand for private onsurance by low-income families

Insurance provision against uncertainties is present in several dimensions of peoples´s lives, such as the provisions related to, inter alia, unemployment, diseases, accidents, robbery and death. Microinsurance improves the ability of low-income individuals to cope with these risks. Brazil has a fairly developed financial system but still not geared towards the poor, especially in what concerns the insurance industry. The evaluation of the microinsurance effects on well-being, and the demand for different types of microinsurance require an analysis of the dynamics of the individual income process and an assessment of substitutes and complementary institutions that condition their respective financial behavior. The evaluation of the microinsurance effects on well-being, and the demand for different types of microinsurance require an analysis of the dynamics of the individual income process and an assessment of substitutes and complementary institutions that condition their respective financial behavior. The Brazilian government provides a relatively developed social security system considering other countries of similar income level which crowds-out the demand for insurance and savings. On the other hand, this same public infrastructure may help to foster microfinance products supply. The objective of this paper is to analyze the demand for different types of private insurance by the low-income population using microdata from a National Expenditure Survey (POF/IBGE). The final objective is to help to understand the trade-offs faced for the development of an emerging industry of microinsurance in Brazil.

The impact of social security reform on occupational and retirement behavior : a quantitative assessment for Brazil

Population ageing is a problem that countries will have to cope with within a few years. How would changes in the social security system affect individual behaviour? We develop a multi-sectoral life-cycle model with both retirement and occupational choices to evaluate what are the macroeconomic impacts of social security reforms. We calibrate the model to match 2011 Brazilian economy and perform a counterfactual exercise of the long-run impacts of a recently adopted reform. In 2013, the Brazilian government approximated the two segregated social security schemes, imposing a ceiling on public pensions. In the benchmark equilibrium, our modelling economy is able to reproduce the early retirement claiming, the agents' stationary distribution among sectors, as well as the social security deficit and the public job application decision. In the counterfactual exercise, we find a significant reduction of 55\% in the social security deficit, an increase of 1.94\% in capital-to-output ratio, with both output and capital growing, a delay in retirement claims of public workers and a modification in the structure of agents applying to the public sector job.

Pro-poor growth and social programmes in Brazil

From a methodological point of view, this paper makes two contributions to the literature. One contribution is the proposal of a new measure of pro-poor growth. This new measure provides the linkage between growth rates in mean income and in income inequality. In this context, growth is defined as propoor (or anti-poor) if there is a gain (or loss) in the growth rate due to a decrease (or increase) in inequality. The other contribution is a decomposition methodology that explores linkages between growth patterns and social policies. Through the decomposition analysis, we assess the contribution of different income sources to growth patterns. The proposed methodologies are then applied to the Brazilian National Household Survey (PNAD) covering the period 1995-2004. The paper analyzes the evolution of Brazilian social indicators based on per capita income exploring links with adverse labour market performance and social policy change, with particular emphasis on the expansion of targeted cash transfers and devising more pro-poor social security benefits.

Organizações comunitárias de provisão social nos Estados Unidos e França

Documento de pesquisa que aborda o perfil, a dimensão e a magnitude das organizações comunitárias de provisão social na França e nos Estados Unidos, relacionando suas formas de vinculação, dinâmicas e identidades em face da esfera governamental e da esfera privada capitalista, apontando: (i) tipos dominantes de atores e como funcionam seus quadros em relação ao Estado e aos interesses capitalistas no mercado; (ii) recursos mobilizados na interação com o poder político e poder econômico (Estado e empresas capitalistas) quando recebem doações: significado do trabalho voluntariado e das iniciativas de geração de ocupação e renda (associativismo/cooperativismo) e (iii) fins visados e valores expressos. São discutidas as formas de atuação de base, participação local em cada país e é analisada, comparativamente, a questão do significado desses agentes no quadro atual dos atuais sistemas de bem-estar (Welfare State) na sociedade civil norte-americana e francesa.

Análise da proposta de reforma tributária (EC nº 42) do governo Lula

As mudanças tributárias realizadas na última década priorizaram o ajuste fiscal com uma elevação da carga de impostos que saltou de 27% do PIB, em 1994, para cerca de 36% do PIB, em 2003. Esse aumento da carga tributária esteve associado principalmente ao aumento das contribuições sociais cumulativas. Além dessa crescente cumulatividade, outras características que têm marcado o sistema tributário brasileiro são a complexidade e os conflitos federativos que alimentam uma profunda guerra fiscal entre Estados e municípios. Em abril de 2003, o Governo Lula encaminhou ao Congresso Nacional uma ampla proposta de reforma tributária, tendo como objetivos principais (i) simplificar o sistema tributário brasileiro, (ii) reduzir a cumulatividade dos tributos e (iii) acabar com a guerra fiscal. Apesar do reconhecimento generalizado de que a carga tributária brasileira é excessivamente elevada, o governo federal limitou-se a assumir o compromisso de não promover aumentos adicionais de impostos. Inserido nesse contexto, este estudo analisa (i) o quadro fiscal brasileiro, procurando identificar as reais restrições que impedem a redução da carga tributária brasileira e (ii) as medidas tributárias propostas pelo Governo Lula, destacando suas implicações sobre o desenvolvimento econômico brasileiro.

Previdência complementar no Brasil : análise do impacto da legislação na alocação de ativos entre 2003 e 2005

This work aims to identify the impacts brought about by legislation alterations regarding assets allocation by Pension Funds Companies. Focused on that, this work carried on a detailed review on the existing literature concerning Modern Portfolio Theory, Pension Funds Investment Strategies and on Brazilian Legislation for Financial Market and Pension Funds. On a second moment, the work identified asset allocation differences when comparing national financial market players and the data released by the official Social Security Secretary - SPC - regarding the 35 Pension Funds analyzed. In accordance with what the literature indicates, the work also reveals that Pension Funds pursue asset allocation policies different than those adopted by other market players due to the Fund¿s long term investment characteristics. No major impacts were identified on the legislation issued by the National Monetary Council ¿ CMN - in what it concerns asset allocation and impacts were only identified on the legislation regarding - CPMF - taxes on financial operations - which led Pension Funds to allocate expressive part of their assets on investment funds.

Previdência complementar no Brasil : análise do impacto da legislação na alocação de ativos entre 2003 e 2005

This work aims to identify the impacts brought about by legislation alterations regarding assets allocation by Pension Funds Companies. Focused on that, this work carried on a detailed review on the existing literature concerning Modern Portfolio Theory, Pension Funds Investment Strategies and on Brazilian Legislation for Financial Market and Pension Funds. On a second moment, the work identified asset allocation differences when comparing national financial market players and the data released by the official Social Security Secretary ¿ SPC ¿ regarding the 35 Pension Funds analyzed. In accordance with what the literature indicates, the work also reveals that Pension Funds pursue asset allocation policies different than those adopted by other market players due to the Fund¿s long term investment characteristics. No major impacts were identified on the legislation issued by the National Monetary Council ¿ CMN - in what it concerns asset allocation and impacts were only identified on the legislation regarding ¿CPMF¿ ¿ taxes on financial operations ¿ which led Pension Funds to allocate expressive part of their assets on investment funds

Eficiência na arrecadação de tributos: análise através de uma fronteira estocástica de custo aplicada as delegacias da Receita Federal do Brasil

O presente estudo pretende avaliar o desempenho das Delegacias da Receita Federal através do estabelecimento de uma fronteira de eficiência paramétrica baseada nos custos, utilizando para tal um modelo estocástico que divide o ruído em dois componentes, sendo um aleatório e outro proveniente da ineficiência de cada unidade. O trabalho terá por base dados relativos aos anos de 2006 e 2008 em uma análise em corte transversal e visa avaliar a política pública de unificação dos órgãos estatais responsáveis pela arrecadação de tributos em nível Federal, a Secretaria da Receita Federal (SRF) com a Secretaria da Receita Previdenciária (SRP), ocorrida através da lei 11.457 de 16 de março de 2007. O objetivo principal da pesquisa é determinar se as unidades descentralizadas da Receita Federal, notadamente as Delegacias da Receita Federal estão operando com eficiência, na tarefa de arrecadar tributos, em função dos recursos colocados a disposição para execução de suas atividades. Na presente pesquisa o produto da unidade a ser avaliado é a arrecadação, dentre as inúmeras atividades realizadas pelo órgão, no sentido de proporcionar ao Estado recurso para implantação de Políticas Públicas. O resultado encontrado indica que as regiões onde existe um grande número de empresas optantes pelo regime de tributação do SIMPLES, bem como as que possuem em sua jurisdição empresas consideradas DIFERENCIADAS pelo seu porte, provocam um aumento nos custos das Delegacias. As unidades que se encontram nas capitais dos Estados melhoraram o seu desempenho após a unificação. Além disso, uma proporção maior de Auditores Fiscais dentro da Delegacia em relação ao total de servidores reduz a ineficiência. O trabalho espera contribuir na avaliação desse novo modelo de gestão implantado na administração tributária federal no país.