Labor's capital: the economics and politics of private pensions

Abstract

Part 1 Introduction - actors, paradigms, and pensions: pensions as efficient contracts - the neoclassical perspective pensions as worker control devices - the Marxist perspective pensions as social institutions - the institutionalist perspective pension policy issues. Part 2 The pension idea: who should provide retirement income - government or business? who got to retire? types of government schemes what employers want from pensions intitial employer pension goals characteristics of the early employer pensions outcomes and contradictions - the new private pension system. Part 3 Social insurance with a union label: unions, pensions, and segmented labour markets union influence on pension coverage outcomes and contradictions - pension bargaining without conflict. Part 4 The employer pension system - distribution and moral hazard: pensions and moral hazard external factors - distribution of pension plan coverage and benefits internal factors - how do pensions affect workers within a plan? a theory about the pension contract portable pensions, SEPs, and distributional equity outcomes and contradictions - toward a mandatory pension system. Part 5 Corporate uses of pension funds: pension contracts and firm default government and the corporate use of pension plans outcomes and contradictions - challenges to corporate use. Part 6 Pension funds and financial democracy: economic power labor's acess to pension fund management competition for the control of capitl prospects for worker capitalism outcomes and contradictions - ownership and strategies. Part 7 What makes a good private pension system?: requirements for an optimum pension system is the pension system consistent with government goals? federal pension law - 1920-1989 most of the costs and some of the benefits of private pensions outcomes and contradictions - the costs of volunteerism. Part 8 Directions for private pension reform: outlook for employer pension policies in the 1990s the likely direction of government policies democratizing the social security trust fund resolving the private pension contradictions.