By the mid-twentieth century, the idea that governments should be responsible for providing at least a modicum of income support for their older citizens was widely accepted. As populations aged and as families declined in size and were increasingly limited in the care they could give, many governments recognised that they needed to intervene and provide income support to their elderly citizens. This development was supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which actively promoted the adoption of statutory pensions around the world. As these became more common, few challenged the principle of state responsibility. Social insurance pensions were the most popular but in some countries, means tested pensions were introduced and in others mandatory savings funds known as provident funds were established. In addition, pension policy was mostly uncontroversial, and academic debates in the field were largely limited to discussing the merits of insurance versus means tested pensions, or questioning the desirability of converting provident funds into social insurance schemes.

In the 1980s, everything changed. The popularisation of market liberal ideas in the Western world, increased indebtedness coupled with the imposition of structural adjustment programmes in the Global South, and the so-called ‘reform’ of the Chilean social insurance system by the Pinochet military regime sparked vigorous debates about pensions. These intensified when the World Bank began to promote pension marketisation through its technical assistance and lending policies. Academic involvement in the field increased exponentially and a plethora of scholarly publications appeared arguing for or against marketisation and for a radically different view of the role of the state in pension policy. Since then, the comparative academic literature on the subject has expanded further and the diversity of the field has become increasingly apparent. This development has been accompanied by the adoption of new policy approaches by different governments creating an even more complex field of policy discourse.

This book makes an important contribution to the social protection literature by focusing on recent pension policy developments in a number of developing and transition countries. It is the latest in a series of books sponsored by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) dealing with diverse aspects of social policy in the developing world. Following a useful introduction by Katja Hujo, the editor, the book contains a series of country case studies of pension reform initiatives which range broadly and eclectically over different nations and types of statutory programmes. These case studies are grouped into three categories, namely those dealing with the political economy of pension reform, those that focus on the BRICS countries and finally a section which examines the resurgence of state involvement in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The book concludes with a short chapter by the editor which seeks to draw the material together. While her introduction and summary are well written and interesting, the division of the chapters into these three categories is unconvincing. It not clear that the chapters in the first political economy section are any more focused on issues of political economy than the others and whether the final section on ‘bringing the state back in’ differs substantively from other chapters which also show how the role of the state is being redefined and revitalised. A more significant problem however, is the vaguely formulated notion of ‘reform’ which serves ostensibly as an organising theme for the book. The term is used by some but not all the authors and it is not clear whether it refers to marketisation (as has often been the case) or administrative change. In the case of Argentina and Chile, the term implies what the editor describes as the ‘re-reform’ of the pension system. In Argentina, this involves a complete re-nationalisation of the previously privatised pension system with questionable consequences for elders and their welfare. Despite the popularity of the notion of ‘reform’ in social policy circles in recent times, the book could just as easily and perhaps more meaningfully have been organised thematically around wider issues of pension policy change. Also, despite the editor's helpful efforts to integrate the material, the book remains a largely eclectic collection of case studies that focus on very different aspects of pension policy change.

However, these comments should not detract from the book's overall value which is to document recent developments in pension policy in different parts of the developing world (and in ‘transition’ countries such as Hungary and Poland). In this, it succeeds admirably by providing up-to-date information, which will be extremely useful to researchers and policy makers wishing to know about trends in other countries, and especially countries for which information is not readily available. For example, the chapter by Loewe on the Middle East and North African region provides a valuable update of pension policy in a number of countries that are not well known to Western readers. Similarly, the chapter by Lloyd-Sherlock and Artaraz on Bolivia and Hujo and Rulli's account of recent events in Argentina and Chile provide fascinating insights in the fluidity of pension policy today. Other chapters such as Caetano's descriptive review of pension policy in Brazil are a valuable resource even though the author does not focus on issues of ‘reform’. While some of the chapters deal with countries for which a good deal information is already available, they also raise interesting issues. For example, much has already been published on Chinese pension policy but the author's discussion of the possibility of introducing a notional pension model to ensure the system's long-term sustainability makes for interesting reading.

Despite its eclectic nature and high price, the book is a valuable reference resource which will be appreciated by researchers trying to keep up with the rapidly changing world of pension policy, especially in the Global South. In addition, the editor and various chapter authors address themes that are of great importance. Some of these are explicated by the editor in the introduction and conclusion of the book and are reiterated by several of the chapter authors. They include discussions of how best to fund pensions in aging populations, how to extend coverage and ensure equity particularly with reference to gender and how to design pension policies that contribute to economic development while at the same time enhance the wellbeing of elders. The book shows there are no easy answers to the complex issues of pension policy but it paves the way for more systematic analyses in the future. Combined with its compendious descriptive content, its analytical discussion of these issues comprises a valuable resource that should be widely consulted by anyone interested in pensions– and more generally in issues of social protection today.