A History of the German Public Pension System: Continuity amid Change

(Hardback)

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A History of the German Public Pension System: Continuity amid Change provides the first comprehensive institutional history of the German public pension system from its origins in the late nineteenth century to the major reform period in the early twenty-first century. Relying on a wide range sources, including many used for the first time, this study provides a balanced account of how the pension system has coped with major challenges, such as Germanys defeat in two world wars, inflation, the Great Depression, the demographic transition, political risk, reunification, and changing gender roles. It shows that while the pension system has changed to meet all of these challenges, it has retained basic characteristicsparticularly the tie between work, contributions, and benefitsthat fundamentally define its character and have enabled it to survive economic and political turmoil for over a century. This book also demonstrates that the most serious challenge faced by the pension system has consistently been political intervention by leaders hoping to use it for purposes unrelated to its mission of providing the insured with secure and adequate retirement income.

Reviews

Mierzejewski is well equipped to tell this story, drawing on extensive research in German archival and printed primary sources and demonstrating a complete mastery of this complex topic and its rich historiography throughout his narrative.... [T]his is a readable, well-organized, authoritative, and original book on the German public pension system. With its chapters on pensions during National Socialism, military occupation, and in East Germany, it makes a novel and much welcomed contribution and earns this book the distinction of being the first truly complete history of the German pension system in any language, one that should find wide readership in history, economics, political science, and sociology. * American Historical Review *
This comprehensive, readable history is likely the single most thorough analysis of any national pension system yet written. Its sophisticated analysis of the German experience makes for an important addition to the literature on the political economy of the welfare state as well as being of interest to anyone attempting to understand the challenges and tradeoffs that confront today's social security systems. -- Steven Livingston, Middle Tennessee State University
This thorough account is the first integrated history of the German public pension system since its founding in the nineteenth century. It combines knowledge of all important scholarly literature on the history of the German public pension system with a lucid analysis of its main characteristics, providing an interpretation that takes into account various political battles and economic changes over the past 125 years. -- Ulrike Haerendel, Protestant Academy of Tutzing
Alfred C. Mierzejewski has created a seamless narrative of an overlooked but major institution across an entire centurynot a small achievement, given that this period deals with six distinct regimes. This work will be of enduring significance. -- Roland Spickermann, University of Texas of the Permian Basin

Author Bio

Alfred C. Mierzejewski is professor of modern German history at the University of North Texas.