Financialisation of pensions: The case of Turkey

Saritas S.

GLOBAL SOCIAL POLICY, vol.20, no.1, pp.60-79, 2020 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 20 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2020
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/1468018119856042
  • Journal Name: GLOBAL SOCIAL POLICY
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, CINAHL, EconLit, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Geobase, Index Islamicus, PAIS International, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Sociological abstracts, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.60-79
  • Keywords: Ageing, financialisation, pension funds, public pensions, social policy
  • Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study contributes to the literature on pension reforms by evaluating the Turkish case within a theoretical framework drawing on financialisation as extensive and intensive accumulation of finance assets. Financialisation refers to the expansion of finance into ever more areas of economic and social life while increasing its depth through more sophisticated financial operations. The Turkish pension reform, which has been run under the influence of global policy actors, illustrates the integration of finance with social policy. The intensification of dependence upon finance is demonstrated by the Turkish pension funds that stimulate innovation of financial instruments through demand-side impacts on capital markets. The critical analysis of financialised pensions reveals that the social policy advice of international financial institutions, with motives to extend financial markets, exacerbates class and gender inequalities.