Deaton, Richard Lee (1986) The political economy of pensions : power, politics and social change : a comparative study of Canada, Britain and the United States. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis suggests that the pension systems in the advanced
capitalist countries of Canada, Britain and the United States are on the
verge of a crisis and that the problems associated with the marginalization
and immiseration of the elderly, the universal and specific limitations of
employer-based occupational pension plans and the underdevelopment of the
state pension system are inherently and organically linked to the structure
of private pension fund power.
The impending pension crisis in these countries is explained by
four converging structural considerations: first, the inadequate level of
retirement income of the elderly; second, the increasing proportion of
elderly in the population and the costs associated with an aging population;
third, the general and particular limitations of the private pension system;
fourth, under conditions of advanced capitalism, the corporate sector and
state appropriating the occupational and state pension systems as a source
of investment and social capital respectively to meet their finance
requirements.
The pension system now occupies a strategic position in advanced
capitalist economies. The increasing economic power of pension funds is
based on their role as financial intermediaries and institutional investors,
with significant control over the economic surplus and reserve capital. The
structure of pension fund power exhibits itself through formal and informal
linkages to financial capital. The private pension system's investment and
capital accumulation function has been transformed from a latent to a
manifest function to supply the investment requirements of the economy
and private sector. The private pension industry, characterized by a high
degree of concentration and centralization of capital, increasingly
facilitates the systemic fusion of the finance and industrial sectors of
advanced capitalist economies. The symbiotic relationship between the
corporate sector and private pension industry is identified as the primary
economic and political obstacle to reforming and expanding the state
pension system in the countries studied.
It is concluded that the dynamic of the conflicting structural
interests underlying the pension crisis may generate a heightened awareness
of power and politics in capitalist countries by transcending the traditional
limitations of economism and welfarism. The pension issue, both in the
short and long-term, may generate increased social tension manifesting
itself through intergenerational, sectoral, political and industrial relations
conflict. This may result in increased politicization and progressive
alternative economic strategies based on the pension system's investment
and capital accumulation function. Public policy towards aging and pensions
identifies personal problems and structural issues which may have
significance in terms of power, politics, and social change in the future.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Pensions -- Economic aspects -- Great Britain, Pensions -- Economic aspects -- United States, Pensions -- Economic aspects -- Canada
Official Date:	March 1986
Dates:	Date Event March 1986 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Industrial and Business Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Sisson, Keith
Extent:	xviii, 664 leaves
Language:	eng

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