United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-01-18 monographic deposited born digital 68 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-372 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372 P0b002ee1803836dc f:d08372 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372 GAO-08-372 Entitlement programs Foreign governments Foreign policies International law International relations Planning Policy evaluation Procurement planning Program evaluation Strategic planning Other Written Product A79936 Looking to the future, our nation faces large and growing structural deficits and escalating federal debt due primarily to rising health care costs and known demographic trends. Slowing the growth of entitlements is an essential part of the solution to these challenges. GAO was asked to identify useful insights from the entitlement reform processes in other countries. Specifically, GAO was asked to analyze (1) other countries' major efforts to reform entitlement programs, (2) the pressure(s) that led countries to undertake the reforms, (3) how reform proposals were developed, and (4) to what extent enacted reforms built in triggers requiring future actions under certain conditions; and where such trigger mechanisms did not exist, whether some adjustments nonetheless occurred. GAO conducted a literature review focusing on developed, high-income Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries facing similar fiscal challenges. To gain a more in-depth understanding of reform process, GAO selected three efforts for further study: Sweden's pension reform in 1998, Germany's pension reform in 2004, and the Netherlands' disability reform in 2005. For these cases GAO interviewed government officials, reform participants, and experts knowledgeable about the reforms. GAO is making no new recommendations in this report. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372.pdf GAO-08-372 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-372 Other Written Product GAO-08-372; Entitlement Reform Process: Other Countries' Experiences Provide Useful Insights for the United States; Entitlement programs Foreign governments Foreign policies International law International relations Planning Policy evaluation Procurement planning Program evaluation Strategic planning Public Law 107-306