This paper considers the (slowly) emerging reverse mortgage market from the perspective of this financial planning and risk management perspective. Agency problems, moral hazard issues, adverse selection, and uncertainty about housing market conditions are factors that affect the development of...

This paper explores how economic development facilitates the creation of interest groups that seek to improve their “capabilities” that, as Amartya Sen has explained, can enhance human freedom. Mancur Olson's work shows that long periods of political stability can foster “distributive...

This paper explores the sources of income inequality among households aged 65 and older and the extent to which individual actions, competitive markets, and public policy can improve the financial well-being of those with low income. Three different types of retirement wealth are identified on...

Objective: This article examines the role Social Security plays in alleviating poverty among retirees in the context of threats to its solvency. Method: Examining long-term employment trends, declining access to defined benefit pensions and saving behavior can determine if in the more future...

Income inequality is exacerbated by labor market trends that increase the demand for high skill occupations and those in low skill service occupations. This hollowing out of the middle of the income distribution means that an increasing portion of households will be less prepared for retirement...

Income households’ share of national income has grown dramatically since 1970 while the bottom 80 percent has seen their share decline. This paper examines economic, social, and demographic changes that almost assure that the income would be increasingly concentrated at the top. Occupations...

Births to unmarried women have increased 10-fold, from about four percent in 1960 to 40 percent in 2018. Apart from teenagers, women of every age, race and ethnic group, and education level have contributed to this trend. A substantial literature reveals that children raised in two parent...

It seems that America names a Tsar whenever we decide to focus on a policy problem, as though that title is associated with effective policies which are well administered. The appointment of a drug Tsar, the implicit policies that are associated with the War on Drugs, and the political...

The relationship between city size, urban growth, and the metropolitan income distribution is discussed in this paper. Drawing on basic economic theory we develop the 'monopoly' hypothesis which suggests that increases in city size and urban growth will lead to greater income inequality. The...