Social Security and Retirement Around the World (National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Reports) Book

In nearly every industrialized country, the population is aging rapidly and individuals are living longer, demographic trends that have strained the financial viability of these countries' social security systems. The financial strain has been compounded by another trend: workers are leaving the labor force at increasingly younger ages. What accounts for this striking decline in labor force participation? One explanation is that social security programs actually provide incentives for early retirement. Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World houses a set of remarkable papers that present information on the social security systems, and labor force participation patterns, in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This book will be of enormous interest to economists and legislators as administrations begin to tackle the social security crisis.Read More