Changing patterns of transfers in Slovenia in the last three decades: Transition from socialism to the market economy (Jože Sambt, Tanja Istenič and Janez Malačič)
In the paper we present the historical National Transfer Accounts (NTA) for Slovenia for 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2012. We use detailed and comparable data that are available for years 2000–2012. During this period, the average retirement age was postponed by about three years, but the average age of entering the labor market was postponed by about the same amount of time. Compared to results for 2004, the main characteristic of the more recent NTA results remains a “narrow” labor income age profile, with labor income exceeding consumption for only about 32 years. This is particularly worrisome in the light of high and rapidly increasing longevity (with life expectancy at birth increasing by almost four years in one decade to 80 years in 2012), low fertility, and baby boomers starting to retire. It is the shortest interval of labor income exceeding consumption among European NTA countries and one of shortest among NTA countries all over the globe. During 2000–2012, the share of public transfers relative to the private transfers for financing the consumption of children gradually increased. Thus, the public sector continues to overtake families in providing support for children. We are now finalizing the results for the period 1983–1998. The aggregate controls are not fully comparable due to a change in the definition of GDP and because the survey data on income are available only at the household level but not at the individual level. These estimates will be particularly interesting, however, because at the beginning of the 1990s Slovenia changed from a socialist to a market economy. We will present how this change in the socio economic system is reflected in the NTA results.