[T]his project ... explore[s] the effects of stylized versions of Medicare and Social Security on wealth and longevity. While most models assume that households will respond to an absence of social insurance in old age by engaging in precautionary saving, our model shows that poor households largely run down their health capital in response to an absent or withdrawn safety net.... With fewer lifetime resources households will both consume less and die earlier. [Working paper no. 2011-252]  MORE >>