This paper examines changes to value of the state pensions and poverty rates for older men and women during the two terms of the Fianna Fáil Progressive Democrat coalition government in Ireland between 1997 and 2007. It is shown that despite consistent increases in the value of the state...

In this paper we analyze the influence that incentives play in the timing of the transition to retirement in Spain. We use the Continuous Sample of Working Histories 2006 (CSWH “Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales”, in Spanish) to construct incentive measures from the Social Security...

Strong bequest motives can explain low retirement spending, but so equally can strong precautionary motives. Given this identification problem, the recent tradition has been largely to ignore bequest motives. We develop a rich model of spending in retirement that allows for both motives, and...