Agents of Privatization? Business Groups and the Rise of Pension Funds in Continental Europe

Socio-Economic Review (2013) 11 (3): 441-469

37 Pages Posted: 16 Jan 2015 Last revised: 7 Feb 2015

See all articles by Marek Naczyk

Marek Naczyk

Sciences Po Paris - Centre d’études européennes; Sciences Po Paris - LIEPP

Date Written: June 1, 2012

Abstract

This paper analyses business preferences towards the development of private pension funds. Existing studies about business involvement in welfare state reform equate capital with employers and focus on the socio-economic determinants of their preferences. In contrast, this paper also analyses the role of financial firms. Moreover, it develops a set of hypotheses about how institutions contribute to shape capital's preferences towards pension privatization. In particular, I study the impact of institutional feedback from the public/statutory pay-as-you-go system, from existing private/supplementary occupational pensions and the influence of social partnership. Financial firms are hypothesized to be a key proponent of pension privatization, while employers may have a much more ambivalent attitude. The argument is tested using a comparative historical analysis of pension debates in Belgium and France from the end of the 1970s until the mid-2000s.

Keywords: pension privatization, business groups, employers, financial services industry, insurance, manufacturing industry, comparative political economy, varieties of capitalism, politics, pension reform, old-age pensions, pension funds, France, Belgium

JEL Classification: D31, D92, E21, E62, G23, H11, H32, H55, J11, J18, J26, J32, J58, L33, P16

Suggested Citation

Naczyk, Marek, Agents of Privatization? Business Groups and the Rise of Pension Funds in Continental Europe (June 1, 2012). Socio-Economic Review (2013) 11 (3): 441-469, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2549738

Marek Naczyk (Contact Author)

Sciences Po Paris - Centre d’études européennes ( email )

27 Rue St. Guilllaume
Paris, 75007
France

HOME PAGE: http://www.cee.sciences-po.fr/en/le-centre/associate-researchers/1066-marek-naczyk.html

Sciences Po Paris - LIEPP ( email )

27 rue Saint-Guillaume
Paris Cedex 07, 75337
France

HOME PAGE: http://mareknaczyk.wordpress.com

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