Beyond the “demographic winter”
In Italy, as elsewhere, population ageing seems destined to create a series of daunting difficulties. However, as the new e-book edited by Daniele Vignoli and Gustavo De Santis shows, with … Read more
Gustavo De Santis
Professor of Demography, University of Florence, Italy
Introducing child benefits in pension systems: rationale, pros and cons
Child benefits are never explicitly included in pension systems, although mothers often receive other forms of compensation, such as provisions for earlier retirement or higher pensions. There are good reasons … Read more
Threshold ages and automatic adjustment mechanisms in PAYGO pension systems
Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension systems are problematic: commitments are meant to be long term, but reality changes rapidly, which forces a frequent revision of rules. Gustavo De Santis suggests an alternative … Read more
Low mortality drives population ageing in the long run
Higher survival, not low fertility, is the main long-term driver of population ageing. Adding some new elements to an old debate among demographers, Gustavo De Santis and Giambattista Salinari illustrate … Read more
Clash of the Titans: NDC vs IPAYG (pay-as-you-go pension systems)
NDC (notional defined contribution) schemes are commonly believed to be the best kind of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension systems: actuarial equity and individual flexibility in accessing retirement are their main strengths. … Read more
The transition to late adulthood: past adversities increase frailty
Health deteriorates with age, and it can be further worsened by adversities experienced during early adulthood and middle age. On SHARE data, Francesca Zanasi, Gustavo De Santis and Elena Pirani measure … Read more
It all depends on how you do it. Health effects of leaving the labour market
Relying on data from the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004-2015), and adopting a propensity score matching approach, Elena Pirani, Gustavo De Santis and Francesca Zanasi … Read more
Italians and foreigners: how distant are they, culturally speaking?
Can cultural distance hinder the integration of foreigners? The answer would be easier if we knew what cultural distance is. Gustavo De Santis, Mauro Maltagliati and Alessandra Petrucci try to … Read more
An Almost Ideal Pension System for Europe (and other countries)
Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension systems are frequent in OECD countries, usually in combination with some form of funding (OECD 2014, 2015), and they have been very extensively studied. But their reputation … Read more