From the Editor

• Author: Ian S. McDonald
• Position: Editor-in-Chief

The problems created by steadily aging populations and the need to create adequate social safety nets challenge policymakers in many countries. Far-reaching social sector reform is particularly crucial in the former centrally planned economies, where both employment and income have fallen sharply. In the first article in this issue, Christian Keller and Peter S. Heller point out that, although most transition countries had well-developed social sectors under central planning, these were designed for a very different economic system. The authors discuss the steps these countries have already taken and outline what more they need to do to develop effective social safety nets. In the next article, Nicholas Barr takes a hard look at issues of pension reform in industrial countries and considers the choices policymakers face in designing a good plan.

The IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative is the first comprehensive international effort to reduce the debt of the poorest countries. Our third article reviews how the resources being freed through this debt relief will enable governments to spend more on such public services as health care and primary education.

Jagdish Bhagwati, in his Point of View, condemns the persistence of protectionism on the part of rich countries against the labor-intensive products made in poor countries. But he also reminds developing countries that their own trade policies are often the cause of their poor export...