The Russian Federation faces important economic and social challenges. By 1998 national income was little more than half its level in 1990. Life expectancy for men is now about 61 years, compared to 65 years a decade ago. The rate of suicide and self-inflicted injuries is more than three times...

At the end of 1997, Korea was hit by a major financial and economic crisis, which resulted, among other things, in a huge rise in unemployment. The event caught the country’s labour and social institutions unprepared, so that many workers and their families were hit hard. The economy has now...

Reforms to China’s enterprises are central to the effort to complete the transformation to a market economy that has been underway since 1978. Reforms have become all the more urgent with the severe financial problems now being suffered by a large portion of China’s businesses, and with...

This book reviews recent trends, reforms and lessons learned in the 29 OECD countries as they relate to ageing. Recent reforms have been driven mainly by fiscal factors - to adjust systems such as pensions and long-term care to the ageing of the baby boom generation. This remains a main concern...

This review provides an analytical perspective of the current situation, including the construction of a database, in order to help the Greek government define reforms to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and fairness of selected social programmes. The review identifies gaps and overlaps in...