IZA World of Labor - Robert Holzmann

Robert Holzmann

Austrian Central Bank, and Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria, and IZA, Germany

This is a very innovative and useful project to bring important labor market knowledge to the reach of policymakers and researchers in a focused, simple and yet high-quality manner. I hope the target audience but also other potential users such as students and journalists will take advantage of this new knowledge base. I am very pleased to be part of this endeavor

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Governor, Austrian Central Bank, Austria; Honorary Professor, University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia; Distinguished Research Fellow, University of Malaya, Malaysia

Research interest

Pensions, migration and labor markets, development economics

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Senior Advisor and Strategic Consultant, World Bank (2011–2018); Sector Director for Social Protection and Labor, World Bank (1997–2009)

Past positions

Professor of Economics, University of Vienna, Austria (1983–1992); Professor of Economics, University of Saarland, Germany (1992–2003); Guest Professor, Catholic University of Chile (1995)

Qualifications

PhD Economics, University of Vienna, 1977

Selected publications

"The taxation of internationally portable pensions: Fiscal issues and policy options." In: Holzmann, R., and J. Piggott (eds). The Taxation of Pensions. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, Forthcoming (with B. Genser).
Managed Labor Migration in Afghanistan: Exploring Employment and Growth Opportunities for Afghanistan. Kabul: World Bank, 2018.
“Addressing longevity heterogeneity in pension scheme design.” Journal of Finance and Economics 6:10 (2017): 1–21 (with M. Ayuso and J. Bravo).
“An optimistic perspective on population aging and old-age financial protection.” Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies 50:2 (2013): 107–137.
Pension Reform, Financial Market Development, and Economic Growth: Preliminary Evidence from Chile. IMF Staff Papers No. 44, June 1997; pp. 149–178.

The portability of social benefits across borders

With rising international migration, how transferable are benefits, and how can transferability be increased?

Robert Holzmann, October 2018

The importance of benefit portability is increasing in line with the growing number of migrants wishing to bring acquired social rights from their host country back to their country of residence. Failing to enable such portability risks impeding international labor mobility or jeopardizing individuals’ ability to manage risk across their life cycle. Various instruments may establish portability. But which instrument works best and under what circumstances is not yet well-explored.
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