The Political Economy of Social Pension Reform in Asia

Abstract

Social pensions are expanding in rapidly ageing Asia as a means to protect older persons from poverty and social exclusion. Although social pensions are widely viewed as useful instruments to reduce old-age poverty and to include those traditionally excluded from contributory pension insurance, little attention has been paid to why certain initiatives get onto political agendas, who or what drives reform, and which factors determine the nature of reform or whether proposed reforms are implemented and consolidated, particularly in the Asian context. (…)