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.

The autonomy of international organizations? The analysis of major powers’ influence over the World Bank’s aid policies

2021 ◽  
pp. 223386592110248
Author(s):  
Yooneui Kim ◽  
Youngwan Kim
Keyword(s):  
World Bank ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Development Assistance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Official Development Assistance ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World

Are international organizations autonomous actors in global politics? This paper investigates whether and how major powers influence the World Bank’s official development assistance policies. Despite the World Bank’s attempts to maintain independence from its member states, we argue that major powers are still influential. Testing this expectation with the data of official development assistance provisions between 1981 and 2017, we find that the World Bank provides a higher amount of official development assistance to the recipient countries that receive a higher amount of such assistance from the major powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. In addition, the World Bank is prone to provide a higher amount of official development assistance to the recipients that have a similar preference to the major powers. This study sheds light on the relations between major powers and international organizations.

Organizing Collaboration

2020 ◽  
pp. 22-42
Author(s):  
Constantine Michalopoulos
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Development Cooperation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Global Poverty ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk

The story of Eveline Herfkens, Hilde F. Johnson, Clare Short and Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, all of whom, with different titles became ministers in charge of development cooperation in the Netherlands, Norway, the UK, and Germany in 1997–8, and what they did together to bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality in the war against global poverty, starts with a short discussion of their background. This is followed by a discussion of the political situation and the different government arrangements that determined development policy in their countries at the time. The last part of the chapter reviews the beginnings of their collaboration which focused on ensuring that the debt relief provided to highly indebted poor countries (HIPCs) in programmes supported by the World Bank and the IMF resulted in actually lifting people out of poverty.

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.

From Prebendalism to Predation: the Political Economy of Decline in Nigeria

1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Adjustment Programme ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Early Results ◽  
The World ◽  
Democratic Rule ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

Upon taking power in August 1985, General Ibrahim Babangida promised a decisive course of economic and political change for Nigeria. Alongside a phased transition to democratic rule, the new President outlined far-reaching reforms intended to alleviate major distortions in the economy, to resolve a lingering impasse with external creditors, and to reduce a mounting burden of debt. Within a year, a comprehensive structural adjustment programme (SAP) was launched, incorporating key policies advocated by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and yielding significant early results in stabilising the economy and arresting decline.

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