Politiques sociales et mondialisation. À propos du livre de Bruno Palier et Louis-Charles Viossat "Politiques sociales et mondialisation"

Social protection systems, which are particularly highly developed in the OECD area, albeit very different in their form and their basic philosophies, are in crisis. With their general aim to reconcile economic efficiency and social progress, they are now facing major challenges as a result of globalisation and its corollary, the need to be competitive, ageing populations and the threats to the future of pension regimes, as well as transformations in the world of work….
The World Bank and the Centre for the Study of French Political Life (Cévipof) jointly organized a seminar to discuss these questions and, in particular, the World Bank’s proposals for coping with the risks of old age and poverty. These proposals generated lively debate which were the subject of a book entitled Politiques sociales et mondialisation, published in 2001 by Futuribles.
Julien Damon here reviews the book and the World Bank proposals, including (naturally) the idea of introducing pension systems based on capitalization alongside “pay-as-you go” schemes, as well as the comments they raised and the alternative and/or complementary proposals put forward by the participants at this high-level meeting.