The collapse of the models. Re-shaping social protection in Europe and Latin America

The 2010-decade was a challenging period for the world. Latin America’s economy was doing relatively well at the beginning of the decade. However, the region’s economy is stagnated. The European Union has been struggling too. Besides economic stagnation, right-wing populist candidates have been on the rise. The populists’ slogans on preserving national identity and tackling uncontrolled immigration have gained traction. Further, the Brexit movement has made analysts and pundits question the European Union model of economic interconnectivity. Reforms have been significant since 2000 among the OECD countries. In a nutshell, between 2015 – 2017 six countries modified their retirement age, one-third changed contributions to pension funds, and one-third changed the benefit levels for all or some retirees. Several of these reforms have been reversed by political pressure. In particular, Brazil, Chile, and France are in the middle of this reform wave. This publication examines those cases.