Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

[Review Of The Book Social Security: A Critique Of Radical Proposals], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This book consists of six essays on Social Security. Charles Meyer leads off with a survey of the history of Social Security, its funding problems, and a radical reform proposal by Peter Ferrara to phase out the system. The remaining essays address various features of Social Security.

[Review Of The Book Retirement Income Opportunities In An Aging America: Income Levels And Adequacy], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The slant of this volume will not appeal to everyone. Consider the following: "During the last twenty years, the elderly's financial status has improved substantially. Today those who are over age 65 receive income from more sources and have greater financial independence than previous generations of elderly. . . . This report concludes that the elderly's income levels and sources will continue to improve during the next twenty years or more" (p. v). But what of the poverty that remains among the elderly, especially single individuals? What of the threat to real social security benefit levels? What of the …

[Review Of The Book Forecasting Retirement Needs And Retirement Wealth], Gary Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] This volume enables researchers to learn about some of the latest research findings on specific issues. It is not the place to seek an introduction to current thinking on retirement, pensions, and Social Security—the papers are too narrowly focused for that. But for current or would-he pension specialists, this volume and the larger series of which it is a part are indispensable resources.

[Review Of The Book Private Pension Policies In Industrialized Countries: A Comparative Analysis], Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] John Turner and Noriyasu Watanabe have written numerous articles and books on pensions and employee benefits. In this collaborative effort, they synthesize a great deal of institutional and analytical material on a wide range of countries, including those typically regarded as industrialized (most of the OECD countries are the subjects of case studies and illustrations) and those that would probably be happy to learn that they now fall into that category (in particular, Chile and Argentina). The book is both accessible (there are no equations in sight) and analytical.

The Economics Of Retirement Behavior, Olivia S. Mitchell, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

This paper examines the role of economic factors in determining retirement behavior using a unique new data archive on more than 8,700 workers covered by 10 different pension plans. We build on our earlier work by estimating several different retirement models including both linear and discrete choice formulations. This framework provides new insights into how and why retirement ages differ across firms. We conclude that older workers' income opportunities differ depending on their pension rules, which in turn have a powerful influence on their retirement patterns. In addition, the models indicate that older workers' tastes for income are not uniform, …

Effects Of Social Security Reforms: An Empirical Life Cycle Model For The United States, Gary S. Fields, Olivia S. Mitchell

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The system of publicly-provided old age pensions, known in the United States as "Social Security," faces serious financial difficulties. As in other countries, the problems are of both a short run and a long run nature. The short run problem is that the U.S. Social Security system has very meager financial reserves; the revenues coming into the system are barely enough to cover commitments. In the long run (i.e., after 2010, when the post World War II baby boom generation reaches retirement age), the financial problems of Social Security will intensify, due primarily to population aging and the consequent …

Estimating The Effects Of Changing Social Security Benefit Formulas, Gary S. Fields, Olivia S. Mitchell

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The U.S. Social Security system faces serious financial difficulties in both the short and the long run. The short-run problem is that the system has very meager financial reserves. In the long run—after the year 2010, when the post-World-War-II baby-boom generation reaches retirement age—the financial problems of Social Security will intensify because of population aging and the consequent decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.

These problems have led to proposed reforms aimed at assuring the financial stability of the system. The question addressed here is: what effects would these reforms have on three variables—retirement ages, retirement incomes, …

A Theory Of Socioeconomic Disparities In Health, Titus Galama

Titus Galama

Detailed understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the substantial socioeconomic disparities in health is necessary to design policies effective in reducing those disparities. This requires a unifying theory of socioeconomic status and health, which is currently absent. This thesis in economics aims to develop, in several steps, a theoretical framework of disparities in health by socioeconomic status over the life cycle, using economic principles and founded in health capital theory. The first part of this thesis addresses several serious technical issues with life-cycle models of health, medical care, and socioeconomic status. The second part presents the theoretical framework.

Retirement Effects On Health In Europe, Norma Coe, Gema Zamarro

Gema Zamarro

What are the health impacts of retirement? As talk of raising retirement ages in pensions and social security schemes continues around the world, it is important to know both the costs and benefits for the individual as well as the governments’ budgets. In this paper we use the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) dataset to address this question in a multi-country setting. We use country-specific early and full retirement ages as an instrument for retirement behavior. These statutory retirement ages clearly induce retirement, but are not related to an individual’s health. Exploiting the discontinuities in retirement …