Reforming Pensions in Developing and Transition Countries

This book moves beyond technical studies of pension systems to firmly ground the analysis of recent pension reforms in developing and transition countries in the socioeconomic and political contexts of these countries. It addresses the political economy of pension reform, the relative benefits in terms of social and economic development of various pension models (for example, pay-as-you-go versus funded schemes; contributory versus non-contributory programmes) as well as challenges to managing and reforming pension systems in development and transition contexts.

The chapters provide in-depth knowledge on the reform strategies and outstanding challenges of the most powerful emerging markets, as well as selected countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. They provide the reader with recent evidence and insights on key issues related to pension policy and its developmental implications, drawing from the experiences of various country studies.

Contents
1. Introduction and Overview; Katja Hujo
PART I: POLITICAL ECONOMY ISSUES IN PENSION REFORM
2. Pension Privatization and Economic Development in Central-Eastern European Pension Reform; Katharina Müller
3. Pension Schemes and Pension Reforms in the Middle East and North Africa; Markus Loewe
4. The Reform of the Civil Service Pension Programme in Korea: Changes and Continuity; Huck-ju Kwon
PART II: PENSION SYSTEM AND REFORM IN THE BRICS
5. Recent History, Perspectives and Challenges to Pension Policy: The Brazilian Case; Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano
6. Social Security Reform and Economic Development: The Case of India; Mukul G. Asher and Azad Singh Bali
7. Towards Universal Coverage: A Macro Analysis of China's Public Pension Reform; Lianquan Fang
8. The Private Affairs of Public Sector Pensions in South Africa: Debt, Development and Corporatization; Fred Hendricks
PART III: BRINGING THE STATE BACK IN
9. Pension Reform in Bolivia: Two Models of Income Security in Old Age; Peter Lloyd-Sherlock and Kepa Artaraz
10. Pension Reform in Chile and Argentina: Towards More Inclusive Protection; Katja Hujo and Mariana Rulli
11. Conclusions; Katja Hujo

Katja Hujo is Research Coordinator at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva, Switzerland. At UNRISD she manages projects such as Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization, Extractive Industries and Children, and Regional Governance of Migration. She has published on the issues of economic development, social protection, pension reform and migration.

Reviews

"This book is a very useful analysis of diverse types of pension reforms on four continents (Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America); it has excellent case studies, and fruitful comparisons between countries and within countries. The introduction and conclusions by Editor Katja Hujo harmoniously bring the volume together. Highly recommended."
Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Economics and Latin American Studies, University of Pittsburgh

"Combined with its compendious descriptive content, its analytical discussion of these issues comprises a valuable resource that should be widely consulted by anyone interested in pensions – and more generally in issues of social protection today."
James Midgley. University of California, Berkeley


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