With the consolidation of globalization, competitive pressures to lower labor costs are affecting social protection in both developed and developing countries.

We assess reforms in social protection in five Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico) and five developed countries (Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United States), and explore the link between labor market conditions and pension programs in both developing and more industrialized countries.

Exogenous economic factors have a critical impact on pension systems. Despite formal-legal similarities among pension systems in the industrialized nations and the developing countries of Latin America, there exist tremendous differences in the structures of their labor markets that affect coverage, benefit levels, and eligibility.