New paper on the influence of armed conflicts on the expansion of pension systems in the Global South

03/10/2026

Carina Schmitt shows in a new study together with her colleagues Jakob Frizell, Aline Grünewald and Herbert Obinger that armed conflicts are often associated with the expansion of pension systems in the Global South. Researchers analysed pension policy data from 82 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America between 1900 and 2014 and found that pension reforms are more likely to occur during wars and especially in the years following them. The results show that this relationship is particularly strong in civil wars. Governments appear to use pension reforms as a tool to stabilise societies and strengthen political legitimacy in post-conflict periods.