The objective of the paper is to explore the saving and consumption responses of a representative household to a range of policy interventions such as changes in taxes and pension settings. To achieve this, it develops a two-period life-cycle model. The representative household maximises...

Historic debates about the measurement of capital are even more complicated in the case of education and human capital. As extensive research demonstrates, education resources are not consistently related to student performance in existing elementary and secondary schools. This inefficiency in...

Do IRAs increase savings or are they merely a windfall for otherwise well-off taxpayers? A major objective of universal IRAs was to encourage saving for retirement. A spirited debate has ensued over the use of IRA tax deductions as a means of promoting private savings. The crucial policy issue...

This paper summarizes the authors work on the effect of IRA and 401(k) contributions on net personal saving. They consider many different nonparametric approaches to controlling for heterogeneity in individual saving behavior and conclude that the weight of the available evidence suggests that...

This paper examines how workers use 401(k) plans by examining their participation, contribution, and withdrawal decisions. Sixty-five percent of eligible workers participate in 401(k) plans. Employee participation rises with income, age, job tenure, and education. While participation also rises...

Selecting the best age to begin social security benefits is an important election for lower-income individuals. These individuals are especially vulnerable to the timing and magnitude of critical cash flow. Unfortunately, the decision models and measures being used by individuals to analyze...

Firms' matching contributions to employees' defined contribution pension plans are an important spur to employee retirement savings. Firms frequently match employees' defined contribution pension plan using company stock and prohibit employees from selling; employees sometimes voluntarily invest...

Today's retirees face the daunting task of determining appropriate investment and spending strategies for their accumulated savings. Financial economists have addressed their problem using an expected utility framework. In contrast, many financial advisors rely instead on rules of thumb. We show...

Contribution rates and asset allocation choices of participants in individual retirement saving accounts have important implications for the adequacy of retirement income. This paper presents econometric evidence on the role that participant investment choice plays in three critical aspects of...

The present paper reviews key issues in pension design and pension reform encountered all across the world. The paper heavily refers to the recent U.S. Social Security reform debate in general and to the Personal Retirement Accounts proposal in particular. A particular emphasis is put on...