The Political Economy of Universal Pensions in Bolivia

Abstract

While non-contributory pensions are spreading around the globe, Bolivia is still the only Latin American country with a universal old-age pension scheme. Originally designed twenty years ago and contested more than once, the benefit survived a political regime change from neo-liberalism to new developmentalism and features an interesting political economy. With the commodities boom coming to an end, progressive neo-extractivism and thus, Bolivia’s universal pension, face new challenges.