This paper reviews what is known about the relationship between capital gains realizations and the capital gains tax rate for given levels of economic activity, and offers a theoretical framework to guide future empirical research. With regard to the existing empirical evidence, it is concluded...

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) mandates government-sponsored insurance for all defined-benefit pensions in the United States. This paper argues that the purpose of ERISA's pension insurance, to reduce income uncertainty in retirement, would be better accomplished...

Reviews the current state of research on the relationship between capital gains realization and the capital gains tax rate and offers a theoretical framework to guide future empirical research. Concludes that realizations are probably quite responsive to the tax rate in the short run, but that...

The purpose of this paper it to help better focus the Social Security privatization debate on pertinent issues. It is shown that retirement systems based either on mandatory private retirement accounts or on traditional publicly administered defined benefits can be designed so as to have similar...