This paper explores the optimal risk sharing arrangement between generations in an overlapping generations model with endogenous growth. We allow for nonseparable preferences, paying particular attention to the risk aversion of the old as well as overall “life-cycle” risk aversion. We provide...

The abolition or reform of unfunded pensions will generally make members of a transitional generation worse-off, because of the "double burden" of funding their own retirement along with that of paying off the unfunded pension liability. Reform will also lower the time-path of interest rates,...

This paper asks whether tax cycles can represent the optimal policy in a model without any extrinsic uncertainty. I show, in an economy without capital and where labor is the only choicevariable (a Lucas-Stokey economy), that a large class of preferences exists, where cycles are optimal, as well...

The paper studies a fiscal policy instrument that can reduce fiscal distortions without affecting revenues,in a politically viable way. The instrument is a private contract (tax buyout), offered by the governmentto each citizen, whereby the citizen can choose to pay a fixed price in exchange for...

Government-nanced bank restructuring programs, occasionally costing up to 50% of GDP,are commonly used to resolve banking crises. We analyze the Ramsey-optimal paths of bankrecapitalization programs that weigh recapitalization benets and costs under dierent nancingoptions. In our model bank...

BEA’s national economic statistics provide a comprehensive view of U.S. production, consumption, investment, exports and imports, and income and saving. These statistics are best known by summary measures such as gross domestic product (GDP), corporate profits, personal income and spending,...

This study analyses the development of the economic well-being of the elderly in Swedensince 1990 - a period characterized by increased influence from the financial market andextreme economic events - using data from the Household Income Survey. The elderly werenot isolated as pensions were cut,...

A pay-as-you-go (paygo) pension program may provide intergenerational pooling of risks toindividuals´ labor and capital income over the life cycle. By means of a model that providesilluminating closed form solutions, we demonstrate that the magnitude of the optimal paygoprogram and the nature...

We look at the effect of the 2000 repeal of the earnings test above the normal retirement age(NRA) on retirement expectations of male workers in the Health and Retirement Study(HRS). Using administrative records on Social Security benefit entitlements linked to the HRSsurvey data, we can...

In this paper we examine the sustainability of euro area public finances against thebackdrop of population ageing. We critically assess the widely used projections of theWorking Group on Ageing Populations (AWG) of the EU's Economic PolicyCommittee and argue that ageing costs may be higher than...