Description
Book SynopsisIn the 1990s many Latin American countries decided upon full or partial pension privatisation, and a similar wave of reforms is currently taking place in Eastern Europe.
Privatising Old-Age Security aims to examine what may account for this paradigm change in an area previously considered difficult to reform.
Attempting to explore and explain the similarities and differences in pension policy both intra- and inter-regionally, this book analyses the political economy of radical pension reform in using case studies from Argentina, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Peru, Poland and Uruguay. By shedding light on the political viability of market-oriented reforms the book is a valuable and unique contribution to the understanding of the political economy of policy reform.
With its unprecedented selection of case studies and application of theoretical insights, this book will appeal to researchers and academics of economics, public finance, social policy administration and transition studies. Moreover, policymakers will be intrigued by the up-to-date analysis of recent pension reforms.
Trade Review'This is a fine comparative political economy interpretation of policy reform applied to pension systems in eight bold reformer countries of Latin America and Eastern Europe. The author shows great skill and sensible caution in showing what a multi-faceted, sometimes elusive undertaking reform is, involving many different actors with often conflicting goals. Considered within the specific policy and economic contexts, the analysis shows remarkable dexterity in confronting pension system reforms in countries that have being going through important or deep systemic transformation, and that have used pension system reform also to pursue broader and deeper changes and macroeconomic stabilisation.' -- Bruno Dallago, University of Trento, Italy
'Privatising Old-Age Security
is a fine example of contemporary political economy. Its theoretical perspective is equally sensitive to political and economic factors, and the cases are researched in uncommon depth. Its comparison of Eastern Europe and Latin America is unique in the literature on pension reform but obviously important. It will stand as a landmark example of sophisticated policy analysis.' -- Barry Ames, University of Pittsburgh, US
'This book follows the reform of pension systems in eight countries. All cases were slightly different but, despite substantial differences in starting points and political conditions, there was a surprisingly high degree of similarity in a common trend towards partial privatisation. The author does not discuss whether such reforms could lead to better pension systems. That issue appears to have been of little relevance to their adoption. Instead, she focuses on factors that did influence the political processes in the countries concerned. The result is an important contribution towards an understanding of policy transfer in different institutional settings. It is an excellent example of the power of the comparative approach for examining how far the World Bank and other international financial institutions can persuade governments to accept their thinking.' -- Martin Myant, University of Paisley, UK
'Katharina Mueller opens our eyes to the political and economic forces at work in the privatization of pension schemes, casting light on processes that were previously obscure.' -- Elaine Fultz, International Labour Office, Budapest, Hungary
Table of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction Part I: The Conceptual Framework 2. From State to Market: Explaining Policy Reform 3. Understanding Pension Reform Part II: Privatising Old-Age Security in Latin America 4. Regional Background: Old-Age Security in Latin America 5. Pension Privatisation in the Southern Cone 6. Pension Privatisation in the Andean Region Part III: Privatising Old-Age Security in Eastern Europe 7. Regional Background: Old-Age Security in the Transition Countries 8. Pension Privatisation in East-Central Europe 9. Pension Privatisation in South-Eastern Europe Part IV: Comparative Analysis and Conclusions 10. The Political Economy of Pension Privatisation 11. Conclusions References Index
