A number of uncertainties about long-term expenditure commitments in industrial countries are examined: (i) the assumptions underlying the projections, (ii) the potential to further reduce non-age-related expenditures, (iii) the implicitly assumed absence of “shocks,” and (iv) the potential...

Abstract: Wo die soziale Sicherung des Staates versagt, findet die Zivilgesellschaft ihre eigenen Lösungen. In vielen Ländern haben zivilgesellschaftliche Organisationen mehr Arbeitsplätze geschaffen als der öffentliche und der private Sektor. Um den damit verbundenen Herausforderungen...

Population aging is a global phenomenon that influences not only the industrialized countries of Asia and the West, but also many middle- and low- income countries that have experienced rapid fertility decline and achieved long life expectancies. This book explores how workers and consumers are...

Debt relief and the scaling up of aid to low-income countries should allow for increased fiscal space for expenditure programs to spur long-term growth and reduce poverty. But as discussed in Peter Heller’s article “Pity the Finance Minister†(World Economics, Vol. 6, No. 4),...

Global climate change has moved high on the agenda of key policy makers in many industrial countries. As a “global public good,†a coordinated global response in terms of efforts at mitigation will be critically necessary. Equally, many countries will face serious economic harm in the...

Have government debt levels reached dangerous levels? Certainly, for some countries, the data would suggest so. However, this paper will argue that for many governments, the amount of explicit debt on their balance sheets seriously understates the magnitude of their future fiscal obligations....

This paper highlights the economic challenges that would be associated with a successful effort by industrial countries to meet the goal of devoting 0.7 percent of their GNP to official development assistance (ODA) to help poor countries. To help achieve the Millennium Development Goals,...