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Contested universalism: from Bonosol to Renta Dignidad in Bolivia
- Author:
- MULLER Katharina
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 18(2), April 2009, pp.163-172.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Bolivia is the only Latin American country to feature a universal old-age pension scheme. Though strikingly modest, originating at US$248 per annum, this benefit runs counter to the prevailing targeting paradigm. Ten years after the scheme's controversial start in South America's poorest country, this article is the first to focus on the interesting political economy of the universal benefit. The introduction of the benefit was not motivated by social policy considerations but by the desire to privatise state-owned enterprises and pensions. Conceived by neoliberal structural reformers, the benefit was challenged first by the international financial institutions and then by Bolivia's developmentalist government, before the latter found a way to reconcile its re-nationalisation project with a re-branded universal pension.
From the state to the market? Pension reform paths in central-eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
- Author:
- MULLER Katharina
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 36(2), April 2002, pp.156-175.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
In central-eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, the process of economic transformation has put great strain on the existing retirement systems. Interestingly, the paradigm choices made in post-socialist pension reform reflect considerable diversity. Observable reform choices include parametric reforms of the existing public schemes, the introduction of notional defined contribution schemes, and the establishment of fully funded schemes on a voluntary or mandatory basis. The number of transition countries that have introduced far-reaching systemic and parametric reforms is significant, when compared with the difficulties facing more modest pension reform attempts in western industrialised countries. Yet some of the radical reforms recently enacted in post-socialist countries still suffer from significant implementations problems. More significantly, a closer look reveals that embarking on radical reform, the transition counties did not necessarily tackle the most pressing issues facing their pre-form, pension schemes.