Essays on Social Security Reform: A Study of the 1981 and 2008 Chilean Reforms

Abstract

This thesis studies the welfare impact of Social Security reform through case studies of reforms done in Chile in 1981 and 2008. Chapter 2 presents the literature related to the topic. Chapter 3 uses Chilean micro-data in order to measure how workers substitute between formal work, informal work, and home production. These estimates will be used in subsequent chapters. Chapter 4 studies the 1981 reform in which Chile moved from a pay-as-you-go Social Security system to a program of private, individual retirement accounts. Chapter 5 studies a secondary reform from 2008 which amended the minimum pension available to those workers who do not save sufficiently for their own retirement.