The design of new pension systems in African countries requires choices between defined benefit and defined contribution schemes, between funding or pay-as-you-go schemes, and between public and private management. But those choices are less important than the basic challenge of improving...

If China implements a partially funded multipillar pension system, that reform must go hand-in-hand with reform of the financial sector and restructured investment procedures that emphasize the right mix of competition, diversification, and regulation. Otherwise, pension reform will ultimately...