This book moves beyond technical studies of pension systems by addressing the political economy of pension reform in different contexts. It provides insights into key issues related to pension policy and its developmental implications, drawing on selected country studies in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.

This conference proceedings compares public pension reform efforts in Central and Eastern Europe with those in other OECD countries, looking at the reasons for reform, policy choices and constraints, the well-being of older people, distributional consequences of reform, and implementation.

This paper reviews developments in pension systems in 11 transition economies during the 1990s, highlighting the forces behind their rapid weakening. It focuses on the challenges these systems face—including those arising from demographic factors—and discusses why most transition countries are considering shifting, or have already shifted, from traditional defined-benefit pay-as-you-go systems to defined-contribution fully funded systems. Finally, the paper looks at the main options that arise in introducing fully funded components, including the relative mix between funding and pay-as-you-go, and the speed of the transition toward the new system.

"Formal pension systems are an important means of reducing poverty among the aged. In recent years, however, pension reform has become a pressing matter, as demographic aging, poor administration, early retirement, and unaffordable benefits have strained pension balances and overall public finances. Pension systems have become a source of macroeconomic instability, a constraint to economic growth, and an ineffective and/or inequitable provider of retirement income."

This study provides a detailed description of all second-generation pension reforms in Latin America to date, evaluates the first years of operations of the new systems and outlines the problems and challenges which the systems are still facing.

In the light of the existing financing problems of pay-as-you-go social security pension systems and the greater difficulties they will face in future as the demographic situation deteriorates, the issue of pension reform is becoming a matter of growing importance in OECD countries, developing countries and countries in transition. This paper seeks to facilitate discussion of the underlying economic issues by offering a schematic presentation of the various benefits and costs arising from the various alternatives available in respect of reform, with the major emphasis being on a shift towards funding.