Pension Reform in Argentina and Moldova: Searching for New Meanings

Abstract

The 1980s and 90s saw worldwide debate on the need to reform pension systems. International institutions such as the World Bank played a major role in shaping a movement toward pension privatization and pressuring developing countries to implement it. Market reforms in Argentina and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to first attempts to save the pension system from bankruptcy. Among the actors who participated in the reform effort, international organizations were most important in defining the terms of the debate. Nevertheless, domestic factors shaped crucial differences between the countries, making them more or less receptive to outside pressure. Pre-existing policies and institutions had a decisive effect on pension reform. In both Argentina and Moldova, the course of reform strayed significantly from the initial plans, due to the need to compromise with veto actors such as parliaments. The results are imperfect and have pushed some categories of people out of the pension system. In English, extensive summary in Russian.