Igor Guardiancich on the Rise and Fall of Private Pensions in Central and East Europe

Korbel School of International Studies

Location: Sie 150

Please join the Center for the Study of Europe and the World (CSEW) on Monday, Feb. 13 at 12 Noon in Sie 150, for a lecture by Igor Guardiancich on "The Rise and Fall of Private Pensions in Central and East Europe."
Pizza will be served.
Abstract: During the heyday of neoliberalism, the World Bank advocated a multi-pillar structure as model for the modernization of fiscally unsustainable PAYG (pay-as-you-go) pension systems. The blueprint entailed the partial privatization of pension systems and the introduction of individual funded accounts. The Bank presented the new pillar as a panacea: it would outperform public pensions and solve the problems of pensions in ageing societies. Following the World Bank's advice and Latin American experience, Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe eagerly embraced privatization and individualization. However, the neoliberal experiment was more hazardous than expected: implementation was troublesome, returns disappointing and the reforms prone to political abuse. After years of uncertainty, the financial crisis and the inflexibility of European accounting rules sounded the death knell for mandatory private pensions in the region, triggering a thorough rethinking of their future role and design.
Bio: Igor Guardiancich is a post-doctoral fellow at the Political Science Dept. of the University of Michigan. He has professional experience at the European Commission (2005), the European Trade Union Institute (2008) and the Academic Careers Observatory of the EUI's Max Weber Programme (2010-11). His most recent publications include Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe: From Post-Socialist Transition to the Global Financial Crisis (Routledge 2012); 'The Survival and Return of Institutions: Examples from Pension Reforms in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe', West European Politics 34, 2011; 'Pan-European Pension Funds: Current Situation and Future Prospects', International Social Security Review 64, 2011