Pension Reform: Issues and Prospects for Non-Financial Defined Contribution (NDC) Schemes. Edited by Robert Holzmann and Edward Palmer. The World Bank, 2006, ISBN 0-8213-6038-8, 686 pages.

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-246
Author(s):  
Doug Andrews
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Pension Reform ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Edward Palmer

The World Bank, Pensions, and Income (In)Security in the Global South

1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 697-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne S. Paul ◽  
James A. Paul
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Pension Reform ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Global South ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Funded Pensions ◽  
Support Mechanisms

The authors describe and analyze recent reductions and reorganizations of public pension programs in Latin America, as well as trends in pensions in the global South more broadly. They consider the role of the World Bank in the current pension “reform” process and situate the Bank's policies in the context of privatization, reduction of social budgets, and other aspects of structural adjustment. Chilean pension changes are analyzed in particular, showing that even by the Bank's criteria, the reforms have not been successful. The authors then discuss pension changes in China, where the World Bank is also deeply involved. The article concludes with the consideration of a number of arguments about pensions and support mechanisms in later life—including family support and means-tested welfarism—and argues in favor of global policy approaches, such as globally funded pensions and full access by older persons to productive and remunerated labor.

Beyond privatization: pension reform in the Czech Republic and Slovenia

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Muller
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
Pension Reform ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
Ministry Of Finance

Research on the political economy of pension reform has focused on the recent wave of pension privatizations in the post-socialist region. This paper is motivated by the need to shed more light on cases where radical reform was rejected. Pension privatization did not proceed when the World Bank and the Ministry of Finance - important advocates of radical reform - were absent from the pension reform arena and the Ministry of Social Affairs was the only relevant reform actor. Moreover, unions need not be secondary actors, but may effectively veto pension privatization. The paper highlights the importance of the specific political and economic conditions that may constrain the leeway of pension reform actors, while also discussing the global politics of attention.

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