Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T19:59:26.710Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The historical origins of old-age pension schemes

Mapping global patterns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2020

Aline Grünewald Open the ORCID record for Aline Grünewald [Opens in a new window]
Aline Grünewald*
Affiliation:
Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
*
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Old-age pensions are the most widespread social security programmes around the world. While many case studies have focused on the historical origins of old-age pensions, global and comparative studies are limited mainly due to missing data. To address this shortcoming, this article introduces the novel PENLEG dataset (Pension Legislation around the World, 1880–2010), which comprises data on: (1) the timing of the first pension introductions; (2) the pension design; (3) the mode of financing; (4) eligibility criteria; (5) benefit generosity and (6) coverage rates for all independent countries. Additionally, the article describes global pension patterns and highlights case evidence. It shows that economic development strategies, political incentives to bind citizens to the state, administrative reasons as well as colonial legacies and the Soviet model of social security have strongly affected the origins of old-age pensions.

Keywords

Old-age pensionshistorical perspectiveglobal patternsPENLEG dataset
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , July 2021 , pp. 93 - 111
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Social Policy Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramson, A. (1929). Social insurance in Soviet Russia. Journal of Political Economy, 37(4), 377–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldwin, F. S. (1910). Old age pension schemes: A criticism and a program. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 24(4), 713–742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrientos, A. (2018). Pension reform in Latin America. London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrientos, A., Gorman, M., & Heslop, A. (2003). Old age poverty in developing countries: Contributions and dependence in later life. World Development, 31(3), 555–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Böger, T. (2013). FLOORCASH-SocPen. The social pension dataset on non-contributory old age pensions in the global South, Version 1. [Data Set]. Project FLOOR(FloorCash). Retrieved from www.floorcash.orgGoogle Scholar
Brearley, E. J. (2016). A history of social protection in Latin America: From conquest to conditional cash transfers. Revue Interventions économiques/Papers in Political Economy, 56, 1–27.Google Scholar
C102 – Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention. (1952). (No. 102). Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C102Google Scholar
Collier, D., & Messick, R. E. (1975). Prerequisites versus diffusion: Testing alternative explanations of social security adoption. American Political Science Review, 69(4), 1299–1315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutler, D. M., & Johnson, R. (2004). The birth and growth of the social insurance state: Explaining old age and medical insurance across countries. Public Choice, 120, 87–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutright, P. (1965). Political structure, economic development, and national social security programs. American Journal of Sociology, 70(5), 537–550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Carvalho Filho, I. E. (2008). Household income as a determinant of child labor and school enrollment in Brazil: Evidence from a social security reform. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 60(2), 399–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deacon, B. (2008). Global and regional social governance. In Yeates, N. (Ed.), Understanding global social policy (pp. 25–48). Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Dion, M. (2005). The political origins of social security in Mexico during the Cárdenas and Ávila Camacho administrations. Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos, 21(1), 59–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doak, W. N., & Stewart, E. (1932). Public old-age pensions and insurance in the United States and in foreign countries. Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 561, 1–367.Google Scholar
Dodlova, M., Giolbas, A., & Lay, J. (2016). Non-contributory social transfer programmes in developing countries: A new data set and research agenda. GIGA Working Paper, 290, 1–23.Google Scholar
Duflo, E. (2003). Grandmothers and granddaughters: Old-age pensions and intrahousehold allocation in South Africa. The World Bank Economic Review, 17(1), 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, K. (1935). Social insurance in the Soviet Union. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 178, 181–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Farman, C. H. (1950). World developments in social security. Social Security Bulletin, 13(3), 3–12.Google Scholar
Flora, P., & Alber, J. (1981). Modernization, democratization, and the development of welfare states in Western Europe. In Flora, P. & Heidenheimer, A. J. (Eds.), The development of welfare states in Europe and America (pp. 37–81). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gendell, M. (2001). Retirement age declines again in 1990s. Monthly Labor Review, 124(10), 12–21.Google Scholar
Gleditsch, K. S., & Ward, M. D. (1999). A revised list of independent states since the congress of Vienna. International Interactions, 25(4), 393–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grünewald, A., & Seelkopf, L. (2016). Auslaufmodell oder Erfolgsgeschichte? Soziale Sicherung in globaler Perspektive [Out-of-date or success story? Social security in a global perspective]. Zeitschrift für Sozialreform, 62(2), 111–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guven, M. (2019). Extending pension coverage to the informal sector in Africa (Social Protection & Jobs, Discussion Paper No. 1933). World Bank Group.Google Scholar
Haggard, S., & Kaufman, R. R. (2008). Development, democracy, and welfare states: Latin America, East Asia, and Eastern Europe. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Hicks, A., Misra, J., & Ng, T. N. (1995). The programmatic emergence of the social security state. American Sociological Review, 60(3), 329–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, A. (2012). The global spread of neoliberalism and China’s pension reform since 1978. Journal of World History, 23(3), 609–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, A., & Manning, P. (2010). The global social insurance movement since the 1880s. Journal of Global History, 5(1), 125–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, E. (1995). Options for social policy in Latin America: Neo-liberal versus social democratic models (DP 66). United Nations Research Institute for Social Development UNRISD.Google Scholar
ILO. (1927). Legislative series 1927. Poland act: Insurance of intellectual workers. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09607/09607(1927).pdfGoogle Scholar
ILO. (1936). Legislative series 1936. Norway act: Old age insurance. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09607/09607(1936).pdfGoogle Scholar
ILO. (1968). Legislative series 1968. Togo pensions. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09607/09607(1968).pdfGoogle Scholar
ILO. (2000). Ninety per cent of the world excluded from old age pension schemes. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/asia/media-centre/news/WCMS_BK_PR_19_EN/lang--en/index.htmGoogle Scholar
ILO. (2009). Social security (minimum standards) convention no. 102 (1952). Retrieved from https://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/ShowTheme.do?tid=722Google Scholar
ILO. (2018a). Legislative series. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09607/Google Scholar
ILO. (2018b). Yearbook of labour statistics. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/stat/Publications/Yearbook/lang--en/index.htmGoogle Scholar
Johnson, A. J. (2004). Reconstructing rural Egypt: Ahmed Hussein and the history of Egyptian development. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, J. K. M., & Williamson, J. B. (2006). Do universal non-contributory old-age pensions make sense for rural areas in low-income countries? International Social Security Review, 59(4), 47–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Act No. 52-1322 to establish a Labour Code in the Territories and Associated Territories under the Ministry for Overseas France. (1952). Journal Officiel de la République Francaise, 298, 11541. https://www.ilo.org/public/libdoc/ilo/P/09607/09607(1952).pdfGoogle Scholar
Kangas, O. E. (2012). Testing old theories in new surroundings: The timing of first social security laws in Africa. International Social Security Review, 65(1), 73–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaseke, E., Midgley, J., & Piachaud, D. (2011). The British influence on social security policy: Provident funds in Asia and Africa. In Midgley, J., & Piachaud, D. (Eds.), Colonialism and Welfare. Social Policy and the British Imperial Legacy (pp. 144–158). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.Google Scholar
Kerr, C., Dunlop, J. T., Harbinson, F., & Myers, C. A. (1960). Industrialism and industrial man. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Kim, S. (2006). Towards a better understanding of welfare policy development in developing nations: A case study of South Korea’s pension system. International Journal of Social Welfare, 15(1), 75–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knutsen, C. H., & Rasmussen, M. B. (2018). The autocratic welfare state: Old-age pensions, credible commitments, and regime survival. Comparative Political Studies, 51(5), 659–695.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korpi, W., & Palme, J. (2007). The Social Citizenship Indicator Program (SCIP) 1930–2005. Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University. Retrieved from https://www.sofi.su.se/spin/about-the-project/social-citizenship-indicator-program-scip-1930-2005-1.202043Google Scholar
Kwon, H. (1995). The ‘welfare state’ in Korea: The politics of legitimation [Doctoral dissertation, Oxford University]. Bodleian Library University of Oxford. Retrieved from https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0122ba8d-c67d-43c2-a735-a9a5b73349f6/download_file?safe_filename=601848731.pdf&file_format=application%2Fpdf&type_of_work=Thesis.%20Bodleian%20Library%20Oxford,%20OxfordGoogle Scholar
Ley Orgánica del Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social, Decreto 295 [Organic Law of the Guatemalan Social Security Institute]. (1946). Retrieved from https://www.acnur.org/fileadmin/Documentos/BDL/2008/6727.pdfGoogle Scholar
Mahon, A., McNeill, K., & Heymann, J. (2015). Pension programs around the world: New comparative global policy data. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 17(2), 192–207.Google Scholar
Mares, I. (2005). Social protection around the world: External insecurity, state capacity, and domestic political cleavages. Comparative Political Studies, 38(6), 623–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mesa-Lago, C. (1978). Social security in Latin America: Pressure groups, stratification and inequality. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
Midgley, J., & Piachaud, D. (2011). Colonialism and welfare: Social policy and the British imperial legacy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Office National d’Assurance – Republique d’Haiti. (1965). Décret du 8 novembre 1965 instituant l’assurance-vieillesse obligatoire [Decree November 8, 1965, introducing the social insurance obligation]. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/MONOGRAPH/52273/60665/F-1178575254/HTI-52273.pdfGoogle Scholar
Orenstein, M. (2003). Mapping the diffusion of pension innovation. In Holzmann, R., Orenstein, M., & Rutkowski, M. (Eds.), Pension reform in Europe: Process and progress (pp. 171–194). Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.Google Scholar
Overbye, E. (2005). Extending social security in developing countries: A review of three main strategies. International Journal of Social Welfare, 14(4), 305–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelham, L. (2007). The politics behind the non-contributory old age social pensions in Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa. Chronic Poverty Research Centre Working Paper, 83, 1–40.Google Scholar
PENLEG. (2020). PENLEG dataset – Pension Legislation around the World (1880–2010) [Unpublished].Google Scholar
Pension Watch. (2018). Social protection in older age. Retrieved from http://www.pension-watch.net/Google Scholar
Pollak, M. (1967). Labor law and practice in Israel (BLS Report No. 315). United States Department of Labor.Google Scholar
Price, W. J., Pallares-Miralles, M., Demarco, G. C., & Attia, H. (2017). Arab pension systems: Trends, challenges, and options for reforms (Report No. 118862). World Bank Group.Google Scholar
Rasmussen, M. B. (2016). The Social Policy around the World (SPaW) Database: Codebook. Research Gate Net Publications. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299445433_The_Social_Policy_around_the_World_SPaW_Database_CodebookGoogle Scholar
Riley, J. C. (2001). Rising life expectancy: A global history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rimlinger, G. V. (1971). Welfare policy and industrialization in Europe, America, and Russia. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Roser, M. (2019). Working hours: Our world in data. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/working-hoursGoogle Scholar
Roser, M., Ortiz-Ospina, E., & Ritchie, H. (2013). Life expectancy: Our world in data. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/Google Scholar
Rothenbacher, F. (2004). The welfare state of the civil (or public) servants in Europe: A comparison of the pension systems for civil (or public) servants in France, Great Britain, and Germany. Working Papers – Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, 74, 1–57.Google Scholar
Sakmann, M., Otey, E. L., Huber, F., & Needleman, R. L. (1940). An outline of foreign social insurance and assistance laws: Four charts summarizing the principal legislative provisions in foreign countries (Social Security Board, Research and Statistics Bureau, Bureau Report No. 5). Federal Security Agency.Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. G. (2005). Sozialpolitik in Deutschland : Historische Entwicklung und internationaler Vergleich. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.Google Scholar
Schmitt, C. (2015). Social security development and the colonial legacy. World Development, 70, 332–342.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, C., Lierse, H., Obinger, H., & Seelkopf, L. (2015). The global emergence of social protection: Explaining social security legislation 1820–2013. Politics & Society, 43(4), 503–524.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scruggs, L., Jahn, D., & Kuitto, K. (2017). Comparative welfare entitlements dataset 2. Version 2017–09 [Data set]. CWED. Retrieved from http://cwed2.org/Google Scholar
Sibalis, M. D. (1989). The mutual aid societies of Paris, 1789–1848. French History, 3(1), 1–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanga, P. (2010). The impact of old age pension on households and social relationships in Lesotho. Review of Southern African Studies, 12(1–2), 184–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations. (2017). World population prospects: The 2017 Revision. United Nations Departments of Economic and Social Affairs. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/publications/world-population-prospects-the-2017-revision.htmlGoogle Scholar
United Nations. (2019). Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). Retrieved from https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/Google Scholar
USSSA. (1959). Social security in the union of soviet socialist republics. Social Security Bulletin, 22(8), 3–7.Google Scholar
USSSA. (1985). Social security programs throughout the world. Retrieved from https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/Google Scholar
USSSA. (2018a). Social security programs throughout the world. Retrieved from https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/Google Scholar
Usui, C. (1994). Welfare state development in a world system context: Event history analysis of first social insurance legislation among 60 countries, 1880–1960. In Janoski, T. & Hicks, A. M. (Eds.), The comparative political economy of the welfare state (pp. 254–277). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, J. (2004). Latin America: Development and conflict since 1945. Abingdon & New York: Psychology Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wibbels, E., & Ahlquist, J. S. (2011). Development, trade, and social insurance. International Studies Quarterly, 55(1), 125–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilensky, H. L. (1974). The welfare state and equality: Structural and ideological roots of public expenditures. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Williamson, J. B., & Pampel, F. C. (1993). Old-age security in comparative perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar