The Trends of Pension Reform Strategies in the OECD

This thesis analyses pension reform strategies since the 1990s across the OECD using a new approach. The thesis utilises existing data available in Pensions at a Glance and ISSA Country Profiles to construct a new dataset which allows us to explore pension reforms both comparatively and historically among OECD countries. Using fuzzy-set ideal type analysis (FSITA), this thesis constructs a new categorisation that captures trends towards the socialisation and individualisation of social risks for pension reforms across the OECD from the 1990s to the mid-2010s.

Based on contextual and empirical analysis, this thesis reveals the following findings. First, the fuzzy-set analysis reveals that individualisation reforms were the most dominant trend for the last 25 years. However, this was not the whole story. Both the socialisation of social risks and stability was observed. Secondly, deterministic path-dependence was not observed in pension reforms as reform strategies converged regardless of regimes or pension typologies. Lastly, the relationship between old-age poverty and pension reforms are identified. Building up on Bonoli and Shinkawa’s (2005) findings, the study indicates that the poverty levels of older people could be one of the influential factors that shape pension reforms within the prevailing pressure of fiscal austerity.