Demographic decline and the sustainability of pension systems: three cases from Eastern Europe

This paper analyses three examples of the development and implementation of pension systems in an older demographic environment. The analysis starts with a history focus on the demographic history of the human population in the last centuries. After that, the situation in Italy is used to show the progressive ageing of the population that some parts of the world are facing and the influence that it has had on the sustainability of social security systems. The following chapter focuses on the history and development of pension systems, highlighting the standard World Bank framework that is still used today. After that the paper analyses the past and present situation of three countries from eastern Europe: Croatia, Lithuania, and Hungary. Each has different political and economic backgrounds that influence their demography and the development of their social security systems. In the final part, these different approaches are discussed to understand issues and prospects better.