Showing papers in "Public Administration and Development in 2014"

Understanding development project implementation: an actor-network perspective

Abstract: Development projects are central to international development, yet the actual practice of their implementation is under-researched. In particular, we know little about how practice affects project performance and about how politics is enacted within such projects. This paper investigates these knowledge gaps through analysis, using actor-network theory (ANT), of a donor-funded reform project in the Sri Lankan public sector. By analysing, using mobilisation, interaction and disintegration of the local and global actor-networks that typically surround such development projects, the paper explains the project's trajectory. These actions represent the practice of politics that must, in turn, be understood in relation to network actor power: not through a static conception of �€˜capacitive power�€™ but through the dynamic enacted concept of �€˜associative power�€™. The paper concludes by reflecting on the contribution and limitations of ANT's local/global networks component in analysing development projects, and in providing insights for development project practice.

Taxation and Development: a Review of Donor Support to Strengthen Tax Systems in Developing Countries

Abstract: Recent years have seen a growing interest among donors on taxation in developing countries. This reflects a concern for domestic revenue mobilization to finance public goods and services, as well as recognition of the centrality of taxation for growth and redistribution. The global financial crisis has also led many donor countries to pay more attention to the extent and effectiveness of the aid they provide, and to ensuring that they support rather than discourage the developing countries’ own revenue-raising efforts. This paper reviews the state of knowledge on aid and tax reform in developing countries, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Four main issues are addressed: (1) impacts of donor assistance to … /

Trust or control? Private development cooperation at the crossroads

Abstract: Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the field of international development are increasingly adopting so-called managerial working methods. This article explores the changing belief systems and practices of Northern development NGOs as well as the strains arising from this adoption. We draw upon a literature review and case studies of two Northern development NGOs and their Southern counterparts in Ghana, India and Nicaragua. Our findings show that managerialist ideas and practices clash with a number of values, views and goals that "traditionally" have been widely shared in the private aid channel. To ensure that their actual practices remain consistent with their belief systems, Northern development NGOs cannot avoid making tough choices that will have key consequences for their future relevance and identity.

Participation and performance: Decentralised planning and implementation in Ethiopia

Abstract: This article discusses how decentralisation policies are enacted in the planning and implementation of natural resource management interventions in rural Ethiopia. A key element of decentralisation policy is the emphasis on greater participation by local communities. Drawing on qualitative research conducted with government staff and farmers, this paper illustrates how different actors perceive and implement national policy and how these actions affect the longer-term sustainability of land management interventions.

Designing effective civil service reform lessons from past experience

Abstract: SUMMARY Civil service reform is one of the most intractable yet important challenges for governments and their supporters today. However, civil service reform thus far has largely failed. On the basis of a review of existing literature, this article presents principles for donors, governments and advocates to help them design more effective reform programmes. Although the current understanding of how best to promote civil service reform has advanced, it remains broadly incomplete because of a combination of the complexity of the subject, disagreement on the objectives, and a failure of practitioners to reflect on their experiences and then disseminate the results. Recommendations are presented separately for reform designers and reform funders. © 2014 The Authors. Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Informal sector tax administration in zimbabwe

Abstract: SUMMARY Governments have to raise revenue to finance public goods. This study analyses the challenges that Zimbabwe, like most developing countries, faces in attempting to collect taxes from its informal sector. Because the so-called informal sector forms a large and sometimes growing component of the economy, collecting sufficient revenues to fund expenditure requires tax authorities to seek ways to collect revenues from those earning their incomes in the informal sector. There has been an attempt to collect taxes from the informal sector in Zimbabwe over the past 8 years. Although the actual amount collected from this sector has increased, an evaluation of the way taxes are administered needs to go beyond the amount of revenue collected. It needs to also look at issues such as the proportion of the informal sector paying these taxes, the amount collected as a proportion of total revenues, the costs incurred in collecting these taxes and the tax administration's ability to encourage quasi-voluntary compliance. This study indicates that the levels of evasion (confirmed by the informal sector associations themselves), selective application of tax regulations and corruption are alarmingly high. These factors, together with the very high tax rates and sheer ignorance, operate as a serious disincentive in informal sector tax compliance resulting in very low revenues from this sector. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Foreign aid and decentralization: limitations on impact in autonomy and responsiveness

Abstract: SUMMARY Donor support for decentralization comes in two main categories: policy support to increase the autonomy of subnational governments (SNGs) and project/program activities to improve the responsiveness and accountability of those SNGs. In the former, donors advocate for reforms that increase the extent or ‘quantity’ of decentralization, whereas in the latter, they aim at the ‘quality’ of decentralized governance. Drawing upon this distinction, this paper's argument is twofold. The principal argument is that donors have had modest causal impacts on the quantity of decentralization because the preexisting political incentives of central governments are sufficient to explain decisions for major reforms. Decentralization advances farthest when there are regime-level incentives to decentralize, a moderate amount when there are government-level incentives, and minimally when donors (or other actors outside the central state) are leading champions of decentralization. The second argument of the paper is that donor efficacy is further complicated by partially conflicting emphases that sometimes tradeoff local autonomy with accountability. Implications include support for those programming efforts that pair autonomy with responsiveness at the local level. © 2014 The Authors. Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing the impact of regulatory reform in developing countries

Abstract: SUMMARY Effective economic governance is a key condition for economic growth and development, and donor support to developing countries has increasingly been focused on regulatory reforms that are intended to enable markets to function more efficiently thereby providing a stable and supportive environment for investment, private sector development, and market-led economic growth. This article reviews the empirical evidence on the impact of regulatory reform in developing countries. The evidence is broadly consistent with a priori expectations, showing a positive relationship between regulatory reform and improved economic performance. However, various methodological and data problems weaken the robustness of these findings and point to the need to broaden the range of designs and methods for evaluating the results of donor-supported regulatory reforms in developing countries. © 2014 The Authors. Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. key words—regulatory reform; private sector development; developing countries

The impact of adult civic education programmes in developing democracies

Abstract: SUMMARY Are individuals in emerging democracies more likely to embrace democratic values, to learn basic knowledge about political processes, and to engage in politics in response to donor-sponsored civic education programmes? After more than a decade of civic education evaluations, it is a good time to take stock of what we have learned about the impacts of these efforts to strengthen democratic political culture in developing democracies. This article describes four US Agency for International Development-sponsored evaluations that have been conducted since the late 1990s, summarizes their most important findings, and discusses the lessons learned. I show that civic education can have meaningful and relatively long-lasting effects in terms of increasing political information, increasing feelings of empowerment, and mobilizing individuals, even in contexts beset by political and ethnic violence. However, these interventions are much less likely to affect ‘deep-seated’ democratic values such as political tolerance, support, and trust. Moreover, the size of the effects depends critically on how the programmes are designed, the kinds of pedagogical methods employed, and the quality of the trainers. I conclude with a discussion of current developments in the field. © 2014 The Authors. Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The growing role of social pensions: history, taxonomy and key performance indicators

Abstract: SUMMARY Social pensions—government-provided non-contributory cash transfers to older people—are becoming an increasingly important element of public pension policy. While the history of social pensions is almost as long as social security itself, it is only in the last two decades that they have risen to prominence, particularly in the attempts of developing countries to fill a persistent coverage gap in their pension systems. This article begins by reviewing the history of social pensions, focusing on developments over the last two decades. It then goes on to explore an appropriate taxonomy of social pensions, attempting to move on from the simplistic (and often problematic) division of universal and means-tested schemes. Drawing on evidence from HelpAge International's Social Pensions Database, the article presents new indicators that can be used to assess the scope of social pensions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

What role for government? the promotion of civil society through forestry-related climate change interventions in post-conflict nepal

Abstract: SUMMARY This study examines rationales behind the choice of local interlocutors by forestry-related climate change projects in post-conflict Nepal. In their stated objectives, all projects claim to involve the government, and most project decision makers are in favor of government involvement, yet project resources overwhelmingly favor civil society institutions. Project decision makers' choices are shaped by a combination of donor conditionalities, contextual constraints, and beliefs about which institutional attributes matter and how to address historical marginalization. The projects' empowerment of civil society sidesteps opportunities to strengthen the local government, which is described as weak, disinterested, and lacking legitimacy owing to the absence of elections due to the unsettled post-conflict situation. Through the choices made and their justifications, projects and donors further marginalize the local government materially and discursively and thereby entrench its perceived deficiencies. We argue that this privileging of civil society may have implications for government legitimacy and post-conflict reconstruction and call for donors and the intervening institutions they fund to critically and collectively reassess the role of forestry-related climate change projects in the larger process of post-conflict reconstruction in Nepal. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social pension unification in an urbanising China: Paths and Constraints

Abstract: SUMMARY A fragmented and segmented social protection system can create barriers for labour migration and be socially divisive. A review of the literature on Europe's integration of its social insurance system demonstrates the preconditions for developing an integrated social insurance system. These include political determination, social agreement by the contributors, administrative capacity and financial management ability. In this article, the author explains that there has been an ongoing process of gradual unification of the social insurance system in China. However, this ongoing process has not been able to achieve a universal system for both the rural and urban populations. A recent push towards further unification has been problematic. Not only have difficulties arisen from an unwillingness to implement policies, as often discussed by critics; they are also embedded in a more profound fragmentation of ideas and interests, and in institutional constraints. The author argues that a new, non-contributory basic pension, together with lowered transaction costs between contributory subsystems, may be a more realistic way forwards. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Aiding government effectiveness in developing countries

Abstract: SUMMARY More than a decade after becoming a buzzword on the development agenda, governance remains a high priority for the international donor community. This article provides an introduction and overview of key findings from the United Nations University—World Institute for Development Economics Research symposium on “Aiding Government Effectiveness in Developing Countries.” This symposium moves beyond traditional debates about whether aid supports or undermines “good governance” in the aggregate to instead focus on donor interventions in two interrelated governance domains. The first domain examines donor efforts to augment government effectiveness at providing key services to citizens by national and local authorities. Three studies in the collection therefore focus on policing, regulation, and civic education. The second addresses the underlying administrative and financial institutions and processes that facilitate service delivery. Relevant papers in this regard address decentralization, civil service reform, and taxation. In assessing what we know about “what works?” and “what could work?” across these core areas of governance, the contributions shed new light on several key themes, including the dilemma of reconciling governance with ownership, the importance of identifying exactly how context and sequencing matters, and the weaknesses in existing donor evaluation methods. © 2014 The Authors. Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Designing social security systems: learning from australia and other countries

Abstract: SUMMARY Social protection systems reflect each country's history, culture and social values, as well as its economic capacity. But, once first established, they can be very hard to redesign as expectations are locked in, and the scale of the systems makes major change a difficult and risky management challenge. This paper describes alternative designs of social security systems and how each addresses the two core objectives of poverty alleviation and income maintenance. Drawing on the ‘pillars’ typology or framework, the paper describes how different systems are being adjusted to meet changing demographic profiles and economic pressures. It focuses in particular on Australia, which has always emphasised ‘foundation pillar’ programmes aimed at poverty alleviation and has only recently given emphasis to income maintenance. In doing so, it has chosen a very different approach involving mandated contributions into mostly fully funded schemes where individuals rather than the government and future generations of taxpayers bear most of the risks. Australia has also restructured its schemes for public sector employees. What possible lessons are there for countries at the early stages of design and implementation of a social security system? Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Styles of policing and economic development in african states

Abstract: SUMMARY The notion that economic development in African states requires minimal levels of security has become widely accepted in the international development community. The first part of this essay explores the question of which types of security provision—professional all service policing or functionally specialized agencies—will have the greater impact on promoting and sustaining economic development. Reviewing the extant data and building on analyses by Jan van Dijk, I argue that functional policing styles and work, rather than full-service policing work, are more important to address the major obstacle to economic development: grand corruption, organized crime, political violence, fraud and mismanagement by governments. The second part of the essay considers the experience of changing policing systems in Africa, which are composed of both functional and full- policing reforms. Despite sometimes substantial donor support, only South Africa and a few post-conflict states (e.g. Sierra Leone and Liberia) have achieved some measure of success. Many of the political, social and economic contextual conditions that would support more substantive and sustainable police reforms are absent. © 2014 The Authors. Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parallel systems and human resource management in India's public health services: a view from the front lines

Abstract: There is building evidence in India that the delivery of health services suffers from an actual shortfall in trained health professionals, but also from unsatisfactory results of existing service providers working in the public and private sectors. This study focusses on the public sector and examines de facto institutional and governance arrangements that may give rise to well-documented provider behaviors such as absenteeism, which can adversely affect service delivery processes and outcomes. The paper considers four human resource management subsystems: postings, transfers, promotions, and disciplinary practices. The four subsystems are analyzed from the perspective of front line workers, that is, physicians working in rural health care facilities operated by two state governments. Physicians were sampled in one post-reform state that has instituted human resource management reforms and one pre-reform state that has not. The findings are based on quantitative and qualitative measurement. The results show that formal rules are undermined by a parallel modus operandi in which desirable posts are often determined by political connections and side payments. The evidence suggests an institutional environment in which formal rules of accountability are trumped by a parallel set of accountabilities. These systems appear so entrenched that reforms have borne no significant effect.

The operational dimensions of results-based financing

Abstract: SUMMARY As part of a growing focus on the effectiveness of development assistance from the World Bank and other agencies, new efforts are being made to relate development finance more closely to outcomes achieved rather than to inputs used, through the results-based financing approach. We provide a framework for analyzing the operational dimensions of results-based financing, including the conditions that suit this approach, and how best to define, measure, and report results. We review some of the early World Bank experience with this approach. Noting that this approach is as yet not fully tested, we suggest evaluative issues for future research while highlighting strengths and challenges in the range of techniques adopted so far. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pension reform in the european periphery: the role of eu reform advocacy

Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of international reform advocacy on national pension reforms. We analyze European Union (EU) reform advocacy in two EU member states: Greece and Hungary. Although the EU has articulated a fairly coherent template for sustainable pensions, its use of soft coordination to influence national reforms has repeatedly collided with resistance to reform in the member states. As a result, EU soft law initiatives have had limited impact on pension reforms. In contrast, the sovereign debt crisis that began in 2009 provided a new push for EU reform advocacy because it gave the “troika” (the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) substantial influence on pension reform in two countries affected by the debt crisis: Greece and Hungary. Analysis of the two countries' pension reform trajectories allows us first to determine to what extent Greek and Hungarian pension reforms conform to the EU's reform template and, second, how the troika conditionality has a causal impact on the content of reforms in both countries.

China's pension challenge: adaptive strategy for success

Abstract: SUMMARY After 30 years of reformation, China has set up a multi-tiered pension system. This paper aims to observe China's current complex pension scheme longitudinally by analyzing the overall impact and changes it brings to Chinese society. As a broad overview of the whole of China's pension scheme and a discussion of its future challenges, this paper will follow the following order. Firstly, China's pension scheme will be introduced along with the observation of the current standing of the pension scheme from the perspective of a multi-tiered system and with a brief summary of its history. Secondly, different kinds of pension plans based on urban/rural areas and different occupational groups will be studied. Thirdly, problems of the current pension fund system and its future challenges focusing on financial stability, income support, and controversy over the system will be dealt with, and finally, the adaptive strategy of recent reforms will be discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In it for the long haul? post‐conflict statebuilding, peacebuilding, and the good governance agenda in timor‐leste

Abstract: SUMMARY Statebuilding after conflict often entails liberal peacebuilding measures. The end of the UN mission in post-conflict Timor-Leste in December 2012 provides a unique opportunity to investigate statebuilding in practice. The liberal peacebuilding agenda has met with stiff academic resistance—mainly from the critical theorist camp—and is questioned as an appropriate measure of …statebuilding success. We deploy instead the good governance (GG) agenda as a hybrid local-liberal guide. Drawing on field work, interviews, and secondary documents, we investigate what we see as four key, intertwined and overlapping aspects of GG: state capacity including the establishment of a state bureaucracy, participation and the engagement of civil society, institution building and rule of law, and corruption control and transparency. We note GG provides a useful policy heuristic, while abstract “one-size-fits-all” liberal peacebuilding models, which avoid the complexities of machinery of government issues, the time taken to develop institutions, and historical and contextual environments of countries, are likely to face severe problems. New states may be dependent on external forces to maintain monopoly of violence. The reversibility and uncertainty of statebuilding and the decades-long commitment needed by international agencies are noted. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Explaining hybridity in public administration: an empirical case of bhutan's civil service

Abstract: SUMMARY Public administrations are mostly hybrid in nature with a combination of characteristics of different paradigms and models. In the first part of the paper, I use the notion of paradigms to explain a form of hybridity in public administration. The concept of paradigms in public administration is helpful in identifying a typology of the ideal types and their characteristics based on the main paradigms and models of public administration: the patronage system, the traditional public administration, the new public administration, and other emerging models such as public value management, responsive governance, and new public service. In the second part of the paper, through the trajectory of Bhutan's public administration history, we observe that its public administration exhibits characteristics that sit across the various paradigms and models of public administration. Thus, in doing so, the paper makes a significant contribution in applying the ideal type typology to explain how hybridity in public administration occurs in practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Building enforcement capacity: evidence from the mexican civil service reform

Abstract: Building enforcement capacity, that is, attaining and sustaining control in order to implement changes, is crucial for the success of public management reforms. However, this aspect of public management reform does not receive much theoretical or empirical attention. This paper analyzes the process of building enforcement capacity for the case of the Mexican Professional Civil Service reform. Although this reform experienced several complications (e.g., limited support, resources, and credibility), important goals were attained and some control was achieved. We study how officials attained control over implementation through the adaptive management of combinations of different types of control strategies (regulatory, normative, and procedural). The case study, focused on the analysis of in-depth interviews with the highest officials involved in the implementation of this reform, finds evidence for three combinations of strategies next to a general pattern characterized by a trade-off between compliance and coordination. This trade-off shows that the process of building enforcement capacity may affect the goals of the reform, deviating from lawmakers' original intentions Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The saudi arabian budgeting system: an institutional assessment

Abstract: SUMMARY This article describes and evaluates the budgetary institutions in Saudi Arabia. The primary sources of information for this study are publications from the Saudi Ministry of Finance and a survey implemented to investigate the different aspects of budget formulation and execution. We find that the Saudi budget experiences difficulties associated with incremental annual line-item budgeting systems. Although capital expenditures in the education and health sectors are guided by five-year plans developed by the Ministry of Planning, the rest of the budget preparation procedure is mainly driven by requests from government agencies to increase spending (i.e. a bottom-up approach), instead of being based on an early determination of the macroeconomic constraints and the acceptable level of deficit (i.e. a top-down approach). The result is an exacerbation of tragedy of the commons problems associated with information asymmetry and conflict-avoidance strategies. We discuss possible reasons for this finding and offer budgetary reform proposals. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Merit versus kinship: a category mistake? the case of the philippine civil service

Abstract: SUMMARY Acceptance of merit's pivotal role in establishing and maintaining effective bureaucracies has become second nature. In this paper I explore the association between merit and kinship in the Philippine civil service, although the conclusions that emerge are not peculiar either to the case of the Philippines or to the ‘developing’ world in general. I argue that merit is no less social than kinship; that its meaning for actors is broader, and the value of kinship and other ‘traditional’ social categories of behavior greater, than commentators and reformers often allow for. Indeed, when merit is narrowly defined (as it so often must be for practical reasons) and its complex dimensions ignored, it is socially divisive, produces deep inequalities, and leaves organizations less flexible and less capable of innovation. I suggest that, however paradoxical it might seem, more effective, humanitarian, flexible, and creative organizations thrive in what is often portrayed as an unsatisfactory transitional state between third-world informality and Weberian-style formality. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The political economy of pension reforms in india

Abstract: India's far-reaching civil service pension reforms in 2008 provided its fragmented and diffuse pension system a unifying organizing framework. The design and architecture of the reformed civil service program, the National Pension System, was subsequently extended to those employed in private formal and informal sectors. The article assesses India's pension reforms and identifies challenges for the National Pension System in providing old-age income security. The article also presents estimates for universal social pension scheme and argues that its implementation is constrained by political factors and not necessarily by fiscal constraints.

Governance and stakeholder involvement in the Dutch pension industry, lessons for developing countries

Abstract: The article discusses governance structure and stakeholder involvement in pension plan reforms. Although the global financial crisis has put pressure on pension reforms, some reforms were implemented earlier because of sustainability issues that had emerged on the basis of, among other issues, demographic trends. We show, based on Dutch experiences, that stakeholders and individual participants in particular were only partially involved in these changes. On the basis of these findings, we propose some tools to improve stakeholder involvement, which can contribute to sustainable support from stakeholders to pension plans.

The cognitive foundation of a co‐production approach to performance measurement: how do officials and citizens understand government performance in china?

Abstract: SUMMARY In this article, we explore and discuss the implications and relevance of the concept of co-production to the design of performance measures. Such a co-production approach to performance management is grounded upon a conception of public management that emphasizes collective problem-solving involving not only government officials but also citizens. We argue successful application of such an approach requires that both officials and citizens be cognizant of their role as co-producers in the process of public service delivery. Whether such a cognitive basis exists in a particular context will affect the utility and viability of the co-production approach and is an important question that needs to be addressed empirically. To illustrate the importance of the cognitive basis for co-production, we have conducted an empirical analysis of data collected in a survey in three cities in China. Our analysis suggests that the officials and citizens in the sample generally do not recognize that public administration is a co-production process involving the efforts of both officials and citizens. Yet, our analysis identifies a number of leverage points for building the cognitive basis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Changing dimensions of trust in government: An exploration in environmental policy in Hong Kong

Abstract: SUMMARY This study reports the findings of a 3-year investigation into dimensions of trust in governmental capacity to deal with environmental risks (air pollution, sustainable development, waste, and water). We explore if levels of trust in Hong Kong correspond with the two-dimensional structure identified in the research of Poortinga and Pidgeon. Findings of this multi-method study (survey and focus group) conducted between 2005 and 2008 point towards largely low but unchanging levels of trust in the Hong Kong government. By contrast, the number of dimensions of trust reduced over the study period, pointing towards growing levels of scepticism. This leads us to conclude that, in relation to environmental risks, Hong Kong is characterised by cynicism. These findings reflect a wider argument that there are two underlying dimensions of trust—reliance and scepticism. The implications of these findings are discussed, and strategies to address low levels of trust are outlined. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PUBLIC POLICY FOR PENSIONS REFORM: A GOVERNANCE CHALLENGE FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract: SUMMARY Reform of pensions policies is a priority public policy issue around the world It is high on the agenda across Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, transitional and developing countries alike The individual country circumstances and drivers of reform may differ, as do the policy directions chosen, but there are also common factors and opportunities for cross-country learning These relate not only to technical aspects of pension system design but also to the processes of policy and administrative reform and to issues of development For PAD, they raise questions about ideas, interests and institutions, as well as about specific pension system design Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Brazil's social security system: prospective trajectory and reform alternatives

Abstract: SUMMARY This article assesses the current status of Brazil's Social Security System in terms of the social and economic development of the Brazilian population it is intended to serve. It starts with a historical overview of the system. Data from a household survey (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicilio) is used to describe the workforce and its relationship with the social security system. The years 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012 were chosen to give a series of pictures of the Brazilian population at equal intervals but under different legal circumstances with respect to the implementation of social security legislation. Data with regard to beneficiaries and the corresponding expenditures and revenues of the system are also shown. The situation presented is rather bleak considering that, since 1997, expenditure on benefits has consistently surpassed revenues based on payrolls. Some alternative reform options (parametric in nature) are evaluated using simulations. These simulations show that the alternative of postponing the eligibility age would have the greatest positive effect on balancing the books, especially when using 65 years as the minimum pensionable age. This would be the equivalent of eliminating “seniority retirement.” Age testing is also effective for the recipients of survivor's benefit. Eliminating multiple benefits, though not impressive in terms of numbers, is progressive in nature and, therefore, an alternative to be considered. Dissociating the minimum wage from the minimum benefit would have a much larger impact in the long run, but the measure is highly unpopular and would most probably not be approved if proposed by the Government. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.