Poverty, the Aging, and the Life Cycle in Latin America
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Figure 3.13 Simulated Impact Pensions and Private Transfers on Old-age Poverty (percentage point increase of poverty)
percentage of population
50 40 30 20 10
Ar
Br a ge zil nt i Ur na ug ua Bo y Co livi st a aR ica Ve P ne a zu na m el a a, R. B. d M e ex Co ico lo m b Ec ia u Gu ad at or em a El Sa la lv a Pa dor ra Do gu m ay in ica n Pe Re ru pu Ni blic ca ra Ho gua nd ur as
0
pensions
transfers
Source: Authors’ calculations.
The Labor Market and Old-age Poverty As shown in table 3.10, among young adults, males have homogeneously high rates of labor market participation in all LAC countries—practically all are over 90 percent. At age 60 and again at age 80 there are strong drops in male labor market participation in the four high-pension countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay) and in Colombia and Costa Rica. The smallest drop in participation occurs in the Andean countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru) and Paraguay, in Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua), and in Mexico. Young women have lower rates of participation than young males and there is considerably greater heterogeneity in participation rates across countries; participation rates of women aged 25–59 range mostly between 50 and 75 percent. The highest female participation rates are found in the Andean countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru) and Paraguay and in three of the four high-pension-coverage countries: Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. In table 3.11, we present unemployment rates for different age groups at the national level. For almost all countries, (Mexico is the only exception), the aging are less likely to be unemployed. This could be interpreted favorably as meaning that older workers are less vulnerable