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Illusory Gains from Privatizing Social Security when Reform is Politically Unstable

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  • Bielecki Marcin
  • Tyrowicz Joanna

    (University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland)

  • Makarski Krzysztof

    (National Bank of Poland, Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

With compulsory funded public social security systems, pension savings constitute a large stock of assets. In this paper we consider an economy populated by overlapping generations, which may decide about abolishing the funded system and replacing it with the pay-as-you-go scheme (i.e. unprivatizing the pension system). We compare politically stable as well as politically unstable reforms and show that even if the funded system is overall welfare enhancing, the cohort distribution of benefits along the transition path may turn privatizing social security politically unsustainable.

Suggested Citation

  • Bielecki Marcin & Tyrowicz Joanna & Makarski Krzysztof, 2018. "Illusory Gains from Privatizing Social Security when Reform is Politically Unstable," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 24(2), pages 1-12, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:pepspp:v:24:y:2018:i:2:p:12:n:3
    DOI: 10.1515/peps-2018-0008
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    pension system reform; time inconsistency; welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • C68 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computable General Equilibrium Models
    • E17 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • E27 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications

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