Aplogies if you receive this message more than once.
===
The 2004 edition of the OECD publication Benefits and Wages: OECD Indicators
has been released.
The publication can be browsed for *free* at
www.oecd.org/els/social/workincentives where selected indicators, such as net
replacement rates, are also downloadable.
Unemployment and related welfare benefits help prevent those without work
from falling into poverty but can at the same time reduce the incentive to
work; this is one of the main dilemmas of social policy. Launched in 1998,
this series (formerly entitled Benefit Systems and Work Incentives) addresses
the complicated interactions of tax and benefit systems for different family
types and labour market situations and their impact on household incomes and
financial work incentives.
This new edition provides detailed descriptions of all cash benefits
available to those in and out of work as well as the taxes they were liable
to pay in 28 OECD countries during both 2001 and 2002. Total household
incomes and their components are calculated for a range of family types and
employment situations. The results allow detailed cross-country comparisons
of the characteristics of individual policy instruments as well as their
combined impact on household incomes. They are used to examine financial
incentives to work, either part-time or full-time, as well as the extent to
which social benefits prevent income poverty.
Summary of chapters
How generous are social transfers available to employees, unemployed persons
and their families? Under what circumstances do families qualify for these
benefits?
Chapter 1 examines different countries' strategies for providing financial
support for people in a range of circumstances. It compares the generosity
and entitlement rules of unemployment benefits, family-related transfers and
minimum income benefits of "last resort" and examines the structure of
innovative schemes designed to encourage employment. Policy rules are
presented in a way that facilitates comparison across countries and sheds
light on how interactions between different types of benefits and taxes can
reinforce or weaken the policy effectiveness of individual schemes.
What is the income situation of families across countries? How do specific
policy measures impact on household resources?
Chapter 2 compares the net effects of taxes and benefits and examines the
effectiveness of social benefits in supporting family incomes. It presents
calculated tax burdens and benefit entitlements for a range of family
situations and earnings levels. One section of the chapter focuses on income
poverty showing to what extent benefits of "last resort" are able to reduce
poverty gaps and how much people need to earn in order to escape poverty.
What is the financial payoff of securing a job or increasing work efforts?
Chapter 3 derives a range of work incentive measures by comparing household
net incomes in different employment situations. The financial consequences of
moving between different work situations are assessed for three types of
transition: employees becoming unemployed, unemployed persons returning to
work, and a change in working hours for those already in employment.
Illustration: Net replacement rates over a 5-year period following
unemployment
Recent policy developments and trends
Chapter 4 surveys recent tax-benefit policy initiatives across OECD
countries. It discusses trends in reforms as they apply to the working-age
population and summarises important changes since the previous edition of
Benefit and Wages which covered the period up to 1999.
--
Herwig Immervoll
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Employment, Labour and Social Affairs
2, rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France
phone + 33 (0) 1 45.24.92.14 fax + 33 (0) 1 44.30.61.78
e-mail [log in to unmask]
www.oecd.org/els/social
|