In the last year and a half the world has witnessed a remarkable reduction in
the valuation of asset prices in developing countries. Measured in dollars, stock
values declined by roughly 30 percent in relatively well managed and politically
stable emerging economies like Poland, and by roughly 75 percent in poorly managed
and politically troubled economies like Indonesia. This international meltdown of
financial markets provides both an occasion and argument for critiquing the World
Bank¡¯s appr oach t o pensi on r ef or m. The reas on i s t hat excl usi ve or predo mi nan
investment in domestic asset markets is a central tenant of that approach and the
source of a variety of equally misguided advice.