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    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/43899</link>
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        <rdf:li rdf:resource="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/60235" />
        <rdf:li rdf:resource="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56789" />
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    <dc:date>2026-04-28T10:15:01Z</dc:date>
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  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/60235">
    <title>A "happiness test" for the new measures of national well-being: How much better than GDP are they?</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/60235</link>
    <description>Title: A "happiness test" for the new measures of national well-being: How much better than GDP are they?
Authors: Delhey, Jan; Kroll, Christian
Abstract: Across the globe there is growing skepticism about the usefulness of GDP as a measure of national well-being. Consequently, several alternative quality-of-life (QOL) measures were developed which either aim at healing the GDP, complementing it, or replacing it. This chapter portrays some of these new measures and puts them to a happiness test: compared to the GDP, are the new QOL measures better able to capture what makes people happy and satisfied with their lives? Using data for 34 OECD societies, we can show that from a happiness perspective, there is-surprisingly-little wrong with the GDP, and most alternative QOL measures do not outperform GDP. Yet, one measure actually does a better job: the OECD's Better Life Index which is particularly effective when it comes to predicting subjective well-being in the richest OECD countries. In sum, the chapter demonstrates that a happiness perspective can add important insights along the way to facilitate the search for a new, widely accepted, internationally comparable measure of well-being.</description>
    <dc:date>2012-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56789">
    <title>Old-age provisions in the United States: Changes in the retirement system since the 1980s</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56789</link>
    <description>Title: Old-age provisions in the United States: Changes in the retirement system since the 1980s
Authors: Grell, Britta
Abstract: When policy discussions turn to income provisions for the old-aged, the focus is often on Social Security programs and the long-term solvency of national public pension systems. While Social Security remains the most important income source for the non-working elderly in the United States, Americans have a much longer tradition of relying on occupational and individual pensions as a crucial part of their retirement income. The paper gives an account of relevant social and legal provisions with implications for voluntary and involuntary retirement, and documents how statutory changes during the past three decades have affected the financial well-being of current and future retirees. It concludes that growing risks in old age are less due to declining Social Security benefits than to several trends in the private industry and financial markets that have seriously weakened employmentbased, old-age protection. In terms of institutional changes, however, the United States has not seen any fundamental restructuring of its public pension system since the 1980s.</description>
    <dc:date>2011-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56790">
    <title>Unemployment compensation in Germany: Provisions and institutional changes since the 1980s</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56790</link>
    <description>Title: Unemployment compensation in Germany: Provisions and institutional changes since the 1980s
Authors: Wörz, Markus
Abstract: Social protection in case of unemployment has always been a particularly contentious issue. This paper focuses on institutional changes in the unemployment compensation system in Germany since the 1980s. It starts with a description of key features and the structure of the unemployment insurance system. The paper goes on to show how insurance coverage, benefit generosity (in terms of amount and duration of benefits), and eligibility requirements for drawing on unemployment benefits have evolved over time. Nearly all aspects of unemployment benefits have been reduced since the 1980s. An exception to this rule can be seen in the duration of benefits; they were first extended and then subsequently reduced. Elsewhere, the pattern has been of cutbacks. For example, the scope of insurance (measured as the proportion of the labour force being insured) was reduced. This decline, however, was due more to changes in the labour force than to direct government intervention. Replacement rates for unemployment benefits and assistance were cut. In the case of the latter these were transformed into a flat-rate benefit. Finally, regulations regarding eligibility and criteria for qualification and disqualification became increasingly strict.</description>
    <dc:date>2011-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56805">
    <title>The politics of automatic stabilization mechanisms in public pension programs</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/56805</link>
    <description>Title: The politics of automatic stabilization mechanisms in public pension programs
Authors: Weaver, Kent
Abstract: Demographic and fiscal pressures have increased pressures on governments in most wealthy countries to reduce the generosity of their public pension programs. Mechanisms that automatically adjust public pension levels to take account of factors such as increased life expectancy and slower economic growth are appealing to politicians because it saves them from having to take loss-imposing actions that are likely to incur political blame. This paper analyzes the financial and political potential of automatic stabilizing mechanisms (ASMs), beginning with a discussion of design issues and alternatives. This is followed by a discussion of potential adoption, implementation, and sustainability challenges for automatic stabilizing mechanisms and a review of experiences with stabilization mechanisms in three countries: Canada, Sweden and Germany. The paper argues that ASMs are vulnerable to erosion over time, especially when the losses that the ASM would impose are substantial, and when elections are impending. Preserving the integrity of ASMs is most likely where the parties that initially supported their adoption continue to be able to sustain cartel-like behavior with respect to pension policymaking. Overall, the analysis in this paper suggests that automatic stabilizing mechanisms are no panacea for the problems of countries facing serious long-term pension financing problems.</description>
    <dc:date>2011-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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