Search the News Archive

Guaranteed Trouble: The Economic Effects of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Excerpt: This paper examines the economic rationale for, historical experience of, and current pressures facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).... The paper then discusses potential ways to reform the PBGC so that it operates more in concert with basic economic principles.

Overview of a NBER 'Simplification Raises Saving Rates'

Excerpt: Criticisms of America's low national savings rate often hinge on the assumption that this low savings is driven by Americans' proclivity for excessive spending. But according to researchers with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the complexity of establishing a savings plan can also play a role in deterring saving.

Health, Economic Resources and the Work Decisions of Older Men

Excerpt: In this paper, we specify a dynamic programming model that addresses the interplay among health, financial resources, and the labor market behavior of men in the later part of their working lives. Unlike previous work which has typically used self reported health of disability status as a proxy for health status, we model health as a latent variable, using self reported disability status as an indicator of this latent construct.

Abstract of International Social Security, Demographic Trends, and Economic Growth

Excerpt: The worldwide problem with pay-as-you-go (PAYG) social security systems isn't just financial. This study indicates that these systems may have exerted adverse effects on key demographic factors, private savings, and long-term growth rates.

Parental Leave: Economic Incentives and Cultural Change

"The distribution of parental leave uptake and childcare activities continues to conform to traditional gender roles.... [G]iving each parent a non-transferable endowment of parental leave or only paying for the length of time equally taken by each parent would both dramatically increase men's share whereas decreasing childcare costs has almost no effect."

How Do Economic Shocks Affect Family Health Care Spending Burdens?

"[This study finds] evidence that the change in the out-of-pocket spending burden is sensitive to income shocks, and that income changes rather than changes in health spending per se appears to drive changes in the out-of-pocket burden."

How Is Economic Hardship Avoided by Those Retiring before the Social Security Entitlement Age?

"[Four] out of five people who have zero earnings at pre-entitlement ages are able to find a way to lift their incomes over the poverty line. For men, pension and annuity income is important while for women, spousal income helps most to get them over the line. Reaching the early retirement entitlement age at 62 also has a significant impact on poverty avoidance."

How Ordinary Consumers Make Complex Economic Decisions: Financial Literacy and Retirement Readiness

Excerpt: This paper reports on several self-assessed and objective measures of financial literacy newly added to the American Life Panel (ALP), and it links these performance measures to efforts consumers make to plan for retirement. We evaluate the causal relationship between financial literacy and retirement planning by exploiting information about respondents' financial knowledge acquired in school - before entering the labor market and certainly before starting to plan for retirement. Results show that those with more advanced financial knowledge are those more likely to be retirement-ready.

Valuing Assets in Retirement Saving Accounts from an Economic Perspective

Working paper. Excerpt: Many studies compare household balances in tax-deferred retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans with financial assets held outside these accounts, but these different asset components are not directly comparable.... [A] dollar held inside a retirement account may be less valuable in supporting retirement income than a dollar held in a similar asset outside these accounts.

The Taxation of Executive Compensation

Link to a Working Paper that is available for downloading from the National Bureau of Economic Research - 3/13/2000