Political Economy of Pension Reform in Central–Eastern Europe

Katharina Müller, Professor of Social Policy, Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Germany

• Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Reforming Old-Age Security: Design Choices and Policy Blueprints 3. Approaching the Political Economy of Pension Reform 4. Pension Reform in Hungary 5. Pension Reform in Poland 6. Pension Reform in the Czech Republic 7. Central–Eastern European Pension Reforms in a Comparative Perspective 8. Conclusions: The Political Economy of Pension Reform in Central–Eastern Europe References Index

'This book provides a nice introduction to the process of reforming pension systems. Muller offers a brief but neat summary of the main policy choices, the reasons why reforms should be undertaken, and the main differences between the reform approaches of political scientists and economists. The book offers accessible and timely material on an interesting subject. Pension reform is a new topic, and research is often only presented in specialized journals and World Bank publications, so this work will be welcomed by students of transition. In addition, it will be useful to policymakers and government officials in countries that are only now thinking about making changes to their pensions schemes.'