This paper provides a new econometric specification and new evidence on the impact of 401(k) plans on household wealth. We allow the impact of 401(k)s to vary over both time and earnings groups. Our specification--motivated by a variety of theoretical considerations and data...

This paper provides a new examination of the adequacy of households? saving for retirement. We develop a stochastic, life-cycle simulation model in which people save both for retirement and as a precaution against uncertain future earnings and uncertain lifespan. The model shows that, even among...

This paper provides a new examination of the adequacy of households' saving for retirement. We develop a stochastic, life-cycle simulation model in which people save both for retirement and as a precaution against uncertain future earnings and uncertain lifespan. The model shows that, even among...

This paper focuses on two aspects of the tax changes enacted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86). First, the TRA86 phased out tax deductions for interest on consumer debt, which contributed to a marked shift in the composition of household debt. Second, the TRA86 restricted the tax...

Social Security is the largest federal government spending program and one of the most popular. The earmarked payroll taxes that finance Social Security currently exceed benefit payments. By the end of 1996, the Social Security trust fund had accumulated about $566 billion in assets and was...

American Saving Rates have recently fallen to their lowest levels since 1950. After averaging roughly 8 percent in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the net national saving rate fell to about 4.5 percent in the 1980s and has fallen below 2 percent since 1990. The personal saving rate has also...

This paper evaluates research examining the effects of tax-based saving incentives on private and national saving. Several" factors make this an unusually difficult problem. First, households that participate in, or are eligible for, saving incentive plans have systematically stronger tastes for...

Does government debt affect interest rates? Despite a substantial body of empirical analysis, the answer based on the past two decades of research is mixed. While many studies suggest, at most, a single-digit rise in the interest rate when government debt increases by one percent of GDP, others...

This paper provides a new econometric specification and new evidence on the impact of 401(k) plans on household wealth. We allow the impact of 401(k)s to vary over both time and earnings groups. Our specification - motivated by a variety of theoretical considerations and data patterns -...

This paper provides a new examination of the adequacy of households? saving for retirement. We develop a stochastic, life-cycle simulation model in which people save both for retirement and as a precaution against uncertain future earnings and uncertain lifespan. The model shows that, even among...