ABSTRACT
Developed countries’ pension systems have been the subject of a large number of economic studies which have analyzed a plurality of issues such as: long-term viability relative to the ageing of the population, distortions of production factor costs, incentives to investment, labor market flexibility, and the definition and allocation of national savings. However, only a minority of these economic studies assumes a view oriented toward understanding all direct and indirect consequences of the changed institutional environment produced for households. In fact, the welfare and the financial dimensions often enjoy strict inter-dependencies, which are worth being studied from one perspective. Indeed, the actual context in which households take their savings and providence decisions are neither separable nor regulated by “complementary” institutions. Moreover, economists seldom consider the relationship between pension reforms and the actual social values of citizens. The management and reform of pension programs are always considered as “objective” economic problems leaving little space for the study of contexts in which household savings-providence decisions are in harmony with social values. Throughout the 1990s and the 2000s we have experimented with an extensive series of reforms in this sector in most developed countries. The European case is particularly interesting due to the extent of its generous public PAYG1 systems. Besides the reasonable aim of assuring the viability of pension schemes in the context of ageing societies, the set of reforms enacted in many Western countries was also geared toward improving the performance of financial markets. Such changes have produced a major modification in the way households save and invest, in what they can consider as sure and reliable and in what remains uncertain and therefore to be insured. The focus here is the linkage between the changing form of pension systems and the adaptation of household financial positions at an aggregated level and in international comparison. In fact, the impact of such reforms is already displayed in the portfolios of households and in the redistribution of wealth which is induced by the changing patterns of saving. We adopt an applied approach by considering a few specific linkages as proposed by four families of studies and by reviewing some data on the structure of financial systems and on the role of
financial intermediaries devoted to social security. Four main families of theoretical notions and perspectives are connected in this chapter:
1 First, a distinction is usually made in financial systems between marketbased and bank-based capitalism due to the relative importance of different sources for firm financing. This distinction has a long history and became popular when it was included in the Allen and Glade textbook (1990).2 A further distinction is made between economic systems where managerial capitalism prevails (competitive or coordinated) and those where family capitalism exists (Amable 2003; 2004).
