The paper summarizes the main factors behind the projected increase civil service pension costs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It discusses the benefits and potential downsides to unifying civil service and national pension systems, drawing on regional and international best practices and...

The paper summarizes the main factors behind the projected increase civil service pension costs in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It discusses the benefits and potential downsides to unifying civil service and national pension systems, drawing on regional and international best practices and...

Schwarz surveys U.S. experience with directed credit as background for a larger study of the Asian experience. Almost half of net credit lent in the United States annually is directly affected by government policies - half of net credit covering budget deficits, and half falling under various...

Countries around the world are reforming their pension systems. Most are reforming to reduce thefiscal costs of their existing pension systems. A few young countries are establishing new systems or are increasing the generosity of their current systems, although perhaps not always taking into...

Pension systems in Europe and Central Asia are facing unprecedented demographic change. While many of the countries in the region have undertaken reforms when the economy faces difficult times, these reforms are frequently reversed when the economy improves. The demographic challenges that the...

Europe's pension systems -among the most celebrated features of its social welfare model- face tremendous challenges. With only 11 percent of the world's population, Europe spends about 60 percent of global outlays on social protection, largely in pensions. In many countries, pension rules have...