Pensions, Price Shocks, and Macroeconomic Stability in Transition Economies Illustrations From Belarus

In many countries of the former Soviet Union, pensioners form a large and vulnerable group of the population, with pensions fixed in nominal terms. Attempts to “protect” this group have included a revaluation of benefits for retirees and the introduction of indexation arrangements based on recent wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lugaresi, Sergio
Other Authors: Ahmad, Ehtisham, Mourmouras, Alex, Schneider, Jean-Luc
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. International Monetary Fund 1994
Series:IMF Working Papers
Subjects:
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Collection: International Monetary Fund - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
Description
Summary:In many countries of the former Soviet Union, pensioners form a large and vulnerable group of the population, with pensions fixed in nominal terms. Attempts to “protect” this group have included a revaluation of benefits for retirees and the introduction of indexation arrangements based on recent wage and price growth. In this paper, lagged indexation arrangements are shown to have large destabilizing effects that can potentially jeopardize the macroeconomic adjustment effort, particularly as inflation begins to decelerate. Some long-term problems relating to the aging of the population and associated policies are also discussed. Illustrative examples from Belarus are presented
Physical Description:30 pages
ISBN:9781451847185