In short, Cooper tells us not to worry about our current account or its underlying causes. I have a much darker and, I believe, more accurate view of our current account deficit. While I agree with much of what Cooper says, I disagree most strongly with his central thesis that the current...

In Australia, we debated the issue of sustainability of current account deficits extensively during the 1980s. A lot of the arguments that are being aired at the moment bear a striking similarity to the debate that occurred in Australia throughout the 1980s. Now, two decades on, by and large,...

Two contemporary issues provide reason to focus on national saving and investment: the debate over public pensions, and pensions more generally, in all rich countries; and the large global current account imbalances, conceptually the difference between national savings and domestic investment....

Long gone are the days when most American workers could rely on their employers to manage their retirement savings. Today, most people handle their retirement portfolios themselves, gaining the right and responsibility to determine their own best strategies. Research on retirement planning...

Building and maintaining financial security is increasingly difficult for a growing portion of American households. Wealth is less prevalent in middle-class households and increasing among the already well-to-do. At the same time, poverty is growing and concentrating disproportionately among the...

This paper examines the effect of the last increase in the eligibility age for New Zealand’s public pension, New Zealand Superannuation, on household saving rates. The age of eligibility was increased progressively from 60 to 65 years old between 1992 and 2001, with little forewarning. Drawing...