The Political Economy of Pension Financialisation

The Political Economy of Pension Financialisation addresses – for numerous countries – how and why pension reforms have come to rely more on financial markets, how public policy reacted to financial crises, and regulatory variation. The book demonstrates how the process of pension financialisation reveals that pension policy is not only a social policy that affects retirement income, but also a financial policy that impacts savings rates, corporate finance and the economy. The chapters shed light on pre-funded private pensions as one key component of financialisation, as they turn savings into investments via financial services providers. Readers will also see how pension financialisation and the broader financialisation of the economy are here to stay, despite negative developments during and after the financial crisis.A systematic and comparative overwiew of the financialisation of pensions, The Political Economy of Pension Financialisation is ideal for scholars and postgradues working on Political Economy, Public Policy and Finance. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of European Public Policy.

1. The political economy of pension financialisation: public policy responses to the crisisAnke Hassel, Marek NaczykAnd Tobias Wiß2. Reinforcement of pension financialisation as a response to financial crises in Germany, the Netherlands and the United KingdomTobias Wiß3. Multipillarisation remodelled: the role of interest organisations in British and German pension reformsBernhard Ebbinghaus4. Re-assessing the role of financial professionals in pension fund investment strategiesMargarita Gelepithis5. Countering financial interests for social purposes: what drives state intervention in pension markets in the context of financialisation?Pieter Tuytens6. Insuring individuals… and politicians: financial services providers, stock market risk and the politics of private pension guarantees in GermanyMarek Naczyk And Anke Hassel7. EU pension policy and financialisation: purpose without powers?Waltraud Schelkle8. Financialisation meets collectivisation: occupational pensions in Denmark, the Netherlands and SwedenKaren Anderson

Anke Hassel is Professor of Public Policy at the Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, Germany. Her research centres on public policy and comparative political economy as well as on the institutional foundations of business systems, labour rights and corporate social responsibility.Tobias Wiß is Assistant Professor in Political Science at the Institute of Politics and Social Policy, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria. His research areas include comparative welfare state analysis and comparative political economy with a focus on pensions and family policy.