The paper evaluates the theoretical literature on public pension schemes. First, the terms pay-as-you-go and capital reserve are made precise. These two systems are then compared, followed by a consideration of their efficiency properties. Thereafter conversion policies are discussed.

Public pension schemes can be designed either as capital reserve systems or as unfunded (or pay-as-you-go) schemes. In the literature it has been alleged that unfunded schemes are intergenerationally efficient in Pareto's sense. Here we show that this holds only if contributions to the system...

The Federal Ministry proposes a new basic exemption for income tax purpuses. In the article it is shown that the interplay of this exemption with the so-called exemption with progression implies marginal tax rates beyond one hundred percent.

Recent proposals for capital income tax reform are considered. The analysis focusses on German taxes, but experiences from abroad as well as the European Savings Directive are also taken into account. Given the present complexity of capital income taxation, the crucial question is whether or not...

The article investigates whether compulsory old age provisions are justified from an economic point of view. According to a standard argument, some people would not provide sufficiently for their old age in the absence of a compulsory pension system – they would become a charge to the public....