This paper examines the economics of investing the central trust fund of Social Security in private securities. We note that switching from a policy of having the trust fund invest solely in special issue Treasury bonds to one where some of the portfolio holds common stocks amounts to an asset...

This paper describes the likelihood and duration of nursing home admissions experienced by Americans after age 65. Our analysis generates predictions for a representative population, not for one selected to be at high risk of institutionalization, and should therefore be of direct relevance to...

It is well known that disability rates among the American elderly have declined over the past decades. The cause of this decline is less well established. In this paper, we test one important possible explanation--that the decline in disability occurred because of chronic disease prevention...

The price sensitivity of demand for nursing home care is a subject of considerable policy interest. Standard methods for measuring price responsiveness are difficult to apply to nursing home care, since accurate price information is usually unavailable and prices may reflect unmeasured quality...

Life tables with specific causes of death, particularly when adjusted for demographic and other personal characteristics, can be important components of cost-effectiveness and other economic studies. However, there are few sources of nationally representative information that can be used to...