We consider a two-period overlapping generations model in which individual voters differ not only according to age but also productivity. In such a setting, a (redistributive) Pay-As-You-Go system is politically sustainable, even when the interest rate is larger than the rate of population...

This paper studies the design of a nonlinear social security scheme in a society where individuals differ in two respects: productivity and degree of myopia. Myopic individuals may not save "enough" for their retirement because their "myopic self" emerges when labor supply and savings decisions...

In a number of developing countries, an important part of the economy is informal both in terms of production and of social protection. In this paper we consider introducing a universal pension system in the formal sector. It is shown to have two main effects: first, it makes the formal sector...

This paper proposes a simple OLG model which is consistent with the essential facts about consumer behavior, capital accumulation and wealth distribution, and yields some new and surprising conclusions about fiscal policy. By considering a society in which individuals are distinguished according...

We forecast income growth over the period 2000-2050 in the US, Canada, and France. To ground the forecasts on relationships that are as robust as possible to changes in the environment, we use a quantitative theoretical approach which consists in calibrating and simulating a general equilibrium...

We investigate the balanced growth effects of pension plans on the rate of growth and on equalityin a closed economy where individual decisions about education are the engine of growth. We distinguish between pay-as-you-go and fully-funded pension systems and differentiate between three...

It is generally accepted that moving from an unfunded to a funded social security sys- tem implies a welfare loss for the transition generation, that is the generation that has to pay twice: first, saving for its own retirement and second, contributing to the pensions of the then retired...

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical evaluation of theoretical modelshowing that shifting from pay-as-you-go to funded social security schemes can be made Pareto-improving. Further, it argues that what often makes a reform toward funded schemes attractive is a number of additional...

The European Union consists of a wide variety of welfare states with social insurance schemes ranging from those providing earnings related benefits (Bismarckian)to flat rate benefits (Beveridgean)systems. The conventional wisdom is that with factor mobility poor people have incentives to move...

This paper analyses the interaction between comparative advantages, social protection and the political system.