Interview with alumni
Oleksiy SLUCHYNSKY, (KSE’1998), Senior Economist of the World Bank (based in Washington D.C.).
- How did the education, which you received at KSE and Harvard University influence your career and life?
Both schools contributed significantly to my career. At Kyiv School of Economics (which at the time was called EERC), I was part of the first cohort of students when the new Master’s program in Economics was just launched in 1996. It was a small group of people and we all felt very special and privileged to be there. We met with a lot of influential and interesting people from Ukraine and outside of the country, which formed high expectations on both sides in terms of our future after that program. Another significant aspect of studying at both KSE and Harvard was having a very selective group of bright people to study with. The network that forms during and after the studies really means a lot and is a great asset. It is the support that you get and knowledge that you share with your fellow students that really count. Both schools do have the ability to select best of the best and then facilitate the alumni network. When we graduated, KSE helped us in making choices about the future career. A lot of my colleagues went for studies at Ph.D. programs and succeeded. I felt compelled to use my skills in the country, so I worked for a year on a USAID-funded project in Ukraine (including on issues of the pension reform). To a significant extent, the school facilitated my ability to find a job that I wanted and I liked, which eventually formed my career interests. Later, I applied for several Ph.D. programs and a Master’s program at Harvard University and got several invitations, including from Harvard. I opted to go there and ended up having three master’s — my first degree was in engineering, then EERC and then Master of Public Administration and International Development from the Kennedy School of Government. The last one was a very practical and applied degree with PhD level courses.
2. You’ve made a great career at the World Bank. What kind of experience is that? What are your key areas of work, as a Senior Economist?
When I applied to a Young Professional’s program at the World Bank in 2003, having three masters degree was a significant asset, in addition to my extensive hands-on experience of working on a pension reform and project in former Yugoslavia. This is a very competitive program — out of 10,000 applicants they select around 30 best candidates each year. It is an entry point to the Bank, after which you become a full time staff. World Bank is a great institution. Many would say it is the best development agency in the world. I started right away working in the Middle East region and my first work-related trip was to Iran. Other countries I worked on initially were Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine. Later, when I moved on to work on South Asia, I worked in Afghanistan, Maldives, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Starting from 2012, I began working in Europe and Central Asia, and here the first country I worked in was Russia up until late 2013. Other countries, which I covered here include Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Romania. From 2015, I started spending a lot of time working on Ukraine, specifically on pension reform. Overall, I focus on social protection, which includes social insurance (pensions) and social assistance. I have expertise in policy, institutional, and administrative issues of implementing broad national reform programs.
3. From your point of view, what changes are needed in pension system in Ukraine to make it sustainable?

There are issues at many different levels, but importantly of financial sustainability and social sustainability. I’ve been working on pension system here since 2015 but my work on pensions in Ukraine goes back to 1998, and we are still fixing the same old problems. We have relatively low pension age compared to other countries in the region. Increasing the pension age should emphasize not only savings but should mean something tangible for people: they should know that they would retire later but with higher benefits, — and this is what contributes to social sustainability of the reforms. A significant number of new retirees retire every year with the benefit that is below the subsistence minimum, even after working full career. Today, 70 percent of all retirees receive a supplement to bring them to the level of subsistence. The wages are growing but the pensions are not. As of January, the average total pension was only 30 percent of the average wage. Part of it is the unfavorable demography but a big part of it is mismanagement, which includes both ad-hoc measures of benefit increases in the past and short-sighted cost saving measures. The decision-making here is very reactive, rather than proactive and strategic. The vision is often missing. A consensus is hard to form. A complicated politics, rather than a careful planning, is often in the driving seat of decision-making.
4. How can Ukraine in general improve its cooperation with the World Bank?
I think, the World Bank is seen in Ukraine as a reliable and trusted partner. It brings not only financial resources but, importantly, the expertise and international best practices. It also often helps to consolidate and mobilize other development partners around the ideas that are good for the country. How the policies can be improved — it is the question to the politicians and policy makers. We can bring more resources to certain areas but it is ultimately only to support the ideas that are out there. Any project is about the vision of a reform and capacity to implement it. We can help with technical and strategic advice but the vision has to be formed and owned by this country and its government.
5. Which way KSE can contribute to this process and strengthen economic and business environment of the country?

I think the programs at KSE have grown significantly from what was just us back in late 1990s to a major player in terms of the body of its graduates in the country and the influence those graduates extend in their current positions on the processes in the country. KSE has graduates working in the government, central bank, academia, private sector. That itself is an achievement, that the school and the community of the graduates were able to establish themselves as the major contributors to economic, business, and political life in the country and outside of the country.
6. How do you usually spend your free time, which hobbies do you have?
I have a family, including a three-year old daughter, meaning that all free time goes to the family. Work is work but family eventually becomes an important priority. And I would like to encourage the graduates to take seriously all the choices, not only about the career and education, but also about personal life, your partner, and your current or future family. Don’t spend all your time on studies and dissertations. Personal choices are even more important than all your professional decisions. I’m also lucky to have a job that I like very much. It combines the things that I have always wanted to do and to focus on. I travel a lot on my job and travelling is certainly something that I have always liked. Overall, I feel privileged to be in my current position, to work with the people I work, and to see all the new places that my job has taken me to. I feel very privileged to be part and a product of the effort of many people who worked hard to make the KSE a success.

