This paper exploits variation in health outcomes among middle-age men and women to better understand the "production function" by which cigarette smoking transmits harm. In short, the harm done depends on who does the smoking. Outcome is not randomly determined, but rather varies predictably...

The evidence since the mid 1980s contradicts the axiom that firms maximize the arbitrage value of the tax-exempt pension fund. Instead, it suggests the emergence of a new minimum-funding paradigm. A prominent candidate to explain the change is a sequence of escalating reversion taxes enacted...

We look at the survival rate of defined-benefit pension plans with at least 500 participants over the period 1987-1995. We find that termination in favor of defined-contribution plans is a rare event and that the vast majority of these plans survive, albeit often under a different plan sponsor...

Children born in lower socioeconomic strata are more likely to engage in consumption habits that are deleterious to adult health, less likely to attain higher levels of education, and more likely to have lower income and wealth as adults. More recent epidemiological studies suggest a perhaps...

The paper reports on the results of a study of the health status of 4,917 middle age couples in the HRS. The main finding is that savings propensity appears to be a key component to health outcome. Savers make consumption choices that improve their health, accumulate fewer ailments and enjoy...