Generational Accounting is less than seven years old, but it has spread around the world, from Norway to New Zealand. So far, 19 countries have constructed or are currently constructing generational accounts. Most of these accounts have been produced by, or with the help of, government...

America's aging coupled with high and growing old–age health and pension benefits augers for much higher payroll taxes, with damaging effects on the U.S. economy. This prognosis is supported by our analysis of a detailed dynamic life–cycle general equilibrium model. The FairTax, which...

Social Security needs to be fundamentally reformed without undermining its legitimate mission — forcing people to save and insure and providing forms of social insurance that the private market would either not provide or provide poorly. Although the system has done great good, it is...

Takes a critical look at Administration and Congressional proposals to increase U.S. saving. Discusses why one should care about the rate of U.S. saving and describes the U.S. saving problem using corrected measures of the U.S. net national saving rate. Concludes with some alternative...

Illustrates challenges faced by economists involved in the tax policy process, with a focus on two central issues (revenue measurement and the distributional effect of proposed tax changes).

The recently completed Mirrlees Review focuses on reforming the UK tax system. It represents an unusual blend of “best practice” application of economic theory and evidence to realistic policy design; it lays out policy proposals with sufficient justification and specificity that they go...

Points to the growth of three programs (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security) as the source of the projected long-term U.S. fiscal imbalance. Evaluates the effect of policy changes on this imbalance, and finds that the long-run imbalance will persist and waiting to adopt policy changes will...

Following through on pledges made during his election campaign, President Bush proposed and Congress passed a substantial tax cut in 2001, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA). Much has been written about the size of the tax cut, its impact on the federal budget, its...

Considers why so many questions about the economic effects of tax reforms remain unanswered, and draws implications for how economics can be used to evaluate and design changes.

This paper provides alternative measures of federal budget surpluses over 10-year and long-term horizons. Official baseline budget forecasts are based on a series of statutory requirements that may be at variance with reasonable expectation. More plausible notions of current policy toward...