scholarly journals The Effects of Investing Social Security Funds in the Stock Market When Fixed Costs Prevent Some Households from Holding Stocks

2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew B Abel
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Equilibrium Model ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Equity Premium ◽  
Fixed Costs ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Security Funds

With fixed costs of participating in the stock market, consumers with high income will participate in the stock market, but consumers with lower income will not participate. If a fully funded defined-contribution Social Security system tries to exploit the equity premium by selling a dollar of bonds per capita and buying a dollar of equity per capita, consumers who save but do not participate in the stock market will increase their consumption, thereby reducing saving and capital accumulation. Calibration of a general-equilibrium model indicates that this policy could reduce the aggregate capital stock substantially, by about 50 cents per capita. (JEL H55)

The Retirement Puzzle

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Stock Market ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Occupational Pension ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Defined Contribution Plans ◽  
Occupational Plans

This chapter provides an overview of the book's main themes. This book analyzes the three paths followed by the development of old-age income security over the half century since the New Deal: occupational plans were adopted as a supplement to Social Security; their assets were invested by employers into the stock market; and, most recently, they were turned into 401(k) plans. In particular, it addresses three historical questions: Why was the collectively-bargained occupational pension system established after World War II in the place of real increases in Social Security benefits? Once these private systems were established, what explains the subsequent employer consolidation of pension fund control and the shift of their investment into the stock market, mimicking the investment trends in corporate finance? Why, within the system of employer-provided pensions, was there a subsequent shift toward much riskier defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, away from the traditional defined-benefit plan in the late 1970s and 1980s. The book offer answers to each of these questions and provides a more general explanation of pension marketization through the use of comparative historical analysis.

scholarly journals Addressing Longevity Risk: How Best to Annuitize Defined Contribution Assets?

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 686-686
Author(s):  
Alicia Munnell ◽  
Gal Wettstein ◽  
Wenliang Hou
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Longevity Risk ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Economics Of Aging ◽  
Distribution Rules ◽  
Lifetime Income ◽  
The Social ◽  
Defined Benefit Pensions ◽  
Deferred Annuity

Abstract Unlike defined benefit pensions, 401(k) plans provide little guidance on how to turn accumulated assets into income. The key risk that retirees face is outliving their assets. Insurance against such risk is available through several routes, including immediate annuities, deferred annuities, and additional Social Security through delayed claiming. Under this Social Security bridge option, participants would tap their 401(k) for payments equal to their Social Security to delay claiming. This paper compares these three options in simulations against a baseline in which no assets are used to obtain lifetime income. In each option, assets not allocated to purchasing lifetime income are consumed following the Required Minimum Distribution rules. The analysis finds that, when market and health shocks are included alongside longevity uncertainty, the Social Security bridge option is generally the best for households with median wealth. Wealthier households can benefit from combining the bridge option with a deferred annuity. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Economics of Aging Interest Group.

Does the National Flood Insurance Program Have Redistributional Effects?

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Okmyung Bin ◽  
John Bishop ◽  
Carolyn Kousky
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Management ◽  
Capita Income ◽  
Federal Emergency Management Agency ◽  
Flood Insurance ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
National Flood Insurance Program ◽  
Insurance Policies ◽  
Insurance Program ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Zip Code

AbstractThis study examines possible redistributional effects of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), using a nationwide database of flood insurance policies and claims between 2001 and 2013 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Applying methods from the tax and transfer progressivity literature, we use the departure from per capita income proportionality at the zip code level as our measure of progressivity. Our findings indicate that premiums as a percentage of coverage purchased are regressive: premium shares are larger than income shares for lower-income zip codes. Payouts, however, also as a percentage of coverage purchased, are progressive, meaning lower-income zip codes receive a larger portion of claims paid. Overall net premiums (premiums – payouts) divided by coverage are also regressive. Our findings are driven by certain aspects of the current rate structure of the NFIP, as well as how income is related to risk. We discuss potential policies to provide assistance to lower-income households in purchasing flood insurance.

scholarly journals Growth Through Inter-sectoral Knowledge Linkages

2018 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 1827-1866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Cai ◽  
Nan Li
Keyword(s):  
General Equilibrium ◽  
Technological Change ◽  
Equilibrium Model ◽  
New Products ◽  
General Equilibrium Model ◽  
Fixed Costs ◽  
Aggregate Model ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Firm Innovation ◽  
Aggregate Growth

Abstract The majority of innovations are developed by multi-sector firms. The knowledge needed to invent new products is more easily adapted from some sectors than from others. We study this network of knowledge linkages between sectors and its impact on firm innovation and aggregate growth. We first document a set of sectoral-level and firm-level observations on knowledge applicability and firms’ multi-sector patenting behaviour. We then develop a general equilibrium model of firm innovation in which inter-sectoral knowledge linkages determine the set of sectors a firm chooses to innovate in and how much R&D to invest in each sector. It captures how firms evolve in the technology space, accounts for cross-sector differences in R&D intensity, and describes an aggregate model of technological change. The model matches new observations as demonstrated by simulation. It also yields new insights regarding the mechanism through which sectoral fixed costs of R&D affect growth.

scholarly journals Aging, Social Security Design, and Capital Accumulation

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Dedry ◽  
Harun Onder ◽  
Pierre Pestieau
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Security Design
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