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English
This article examines the structural pension reforms that have been implemented recently in several Latin American countries. The defining feature of these reforms is the adoption of a privately managed, fully funded pension scheme as a complement or alternative to the public pay-as-you-go system. The article first discusses the relevance of the process of economic globalisation for this particular choice of reform model. It then describes the key design features of the new Latin American pension schemes. Finally, an assessment is offered of the performance of reformed pension systems with respect to their main social functions.

Drawing on empirical evidence from Côte d'Ivoire, this article emphasises the need to reform existing social security systems in low-income economies in order to alleviate poverty and guarantee economic security. Following a background perspective, the article presents a brief overview of existing formal and informal social security systems and examines their merits and limitations. Next, the challenges of globalisation for social security systems in a low-income country context are discussed. (...) The article concludes by suggesting that social security provision in low-income countries should be organised in a complementary way, drawing on the strengths of both formal and informal arrangements. Future reforms should attempt to combine poverty alleviation with measures designed to promote economic development and international economic integration. (Afr Dev/DÜI)

Since the mid-1990s, several steps have been taken towards an integration of social policy in the EU. Yet there is reluctance in many quarters to go further. This article introduces the special issue on integration of EU social policy and explores the case for more comprehensive `Europeanization'. We argue that the norms that underlie the European model provide the rationale for integration, and that the usual focus on the undoubted differences between countries in the approaches to, and delivery mechanisms of, the welfare state are not as great an obstacle as is often assumed. With the advent of EMU and with many common problems to confront, the EU countries have good reasons to adopt a common approach to social policy, even if implementation remains at the national level. The open method of coordination provides the means of reconciling these aims and the article concludes with a discussion of how it might evolve to achieve a more integrated EU policy.

De Belgische verzorgingsstaat wordt geanalyseerd vanuit de combinatie van hoge niveaus van sociale overheidsbestedingen met een uitgebouwde "verzorgingsmaatschappij" (d.i. het geïnstitutionaliseerde middenveld tussen individu en staat) die haar eigen is.
In het eerste deel van deze bijdrage worden een aantal tijdreeksen voorgesteld, ondermeer over de ontwikkeling van het aandeel van sociale overheidsbestedingen in het B.B.P. en over de ontwikkeling van de respectievelijke aandelen van de onderscheiden functies in deze overheidsuitgaven. De factoren die de ontwikkeling van een aantal inkomenswaarborgende programma's hebben bepaald, worden van naderbij bekeken.
De institutionele dimensie van de verzorgingsstaat wordt in een tweede deel bestudeerd. Bijzondere aandacht gaat uit naar een aantal verschuivingen inzake de beginselen die aan de basis van de sociale zekerheid liggen en inzake de zogenaamde "corporatieve democratie" (of overlegeconomie), die het centrale mechanisme is inzake het besluitvormingsproces van de Belgische verzorgingsstaat.

This article examines the structural pension reforms that have been implemented recently in several Latin American countries. The defining feature of these reforms is the adoption of a privately managed, fully funded pension scheme as a complement or alternative to the public pay-as-you-go system. The article first discusses the relevance of the process of economic globalisation for this particular choice of reform model. It then describes the key design features of the new Latin American pension schemes. Finally, an assessment is offered of the performance of reformed pension systems with respect to their main social functions. (Original abstract)