Much could be gained from the privatization of social
security--but can the gains actually be delivered? Dixon, Hyde, and
their contributing authors take a balanced look at where we are
now, and where we seem to be moving, on the issues of social
security privatization and come up skeptical. There will be
tradeoffs, but will the benefits outweigh the costs? Their volume
examines a variety of settings in Latin America, Asia, Europe,
North America, and Africa, where the marketization of social
security appears most hotly contested. As a contribution to this
new, energetic gobal policy discourse, the book will be of special
interest to policymakers in the public and private sectors, and
particularly in organizations where concerns about the growing cost
of employee benefits have become critical.
Dixon, Hyde, and the others start by showing how the concept of
social security has changed dramatically over the last 20
years--not just in the United States but throughout the world. The
collectivist ideology that has long underpinned social security
policy has been challenged by the emergence of an ideology of
individualism. But can one presume that the desires of government
to privatize are driven purely by the need to achieve neoliberal
policy goals by that means? Too simplistic, say the contributors.
Marketization offers the promise of reduced dependency on the
state, reduced public expenditure and thus lower taxes, enhanced
competitiveness internationally, more efficient delivery of social
security services, and other advantages--but whether these promises
would be kept seems to depend on a variety of factors. Among them,
explored in this volume, are the level of development and
sophistication of the capital markets, the degree of market
competition that can be achieved and sustained, and the capacity of
the state to develop and implement governance mechanisms to ensure
that private providers act in the public interest. The volume also
examines two daunting challenges to governments: how to design a
set of regulations that can protect the public interest in
perpetuity, and how to resist the calls for government subsidies to
support the economic rent expectations of privatized providers. The
contributors and editors develop these and other points concisely
and readably, and in doing so offer important lessons from the
experiences of others worldwide.
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