In a two-period model with agent heterogeneity we analyze a pension reform toward a stronger link between contributions and benefits (as recently observed in several countries) in a pension system with a Bismarckian and a Beveridgian component. We show that such a policy change reduces the...

Using a sample of high-school students from North Rhine-Westphalia, I find evidence that noncognitive skills significantly increase performance in school and success in professional life as well as happiness at age forty-three. Since test scores for cognitive skills are available for the...