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Funded Pensions and Unemployment

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  • Roland Demmel
  • Christian Keuschnigg

Abstract

Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pension schemes are becoming increasingly unsustainable in the face of drastic population aging. Simultaneously, the contribution rates may aggravate an already serious unemployment problem. A regime switch to a funded system could help to alleviate the unemployment problem in addition to restoring sustainability of social security. This paper asks how the transition to a partially funded system is implemented such that all generations may share in the efficiency gains from lower unemployment. We propose a welfare based transition scheme that cuts contributions to the PAYG system and uses public debt to compensate old generations for their previously acquired pension claims. Relying on an overlapping generations framework with union wage setting, we show that this reform reduces unemployment, boosts capital accumulation and yields welfare gains to present and future generations.

Suggested Citation

  • Roland Demmel & Christian Keuschnigg, 2000. "Funded Pensions and Unemployment," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 57(1), pages 22-38, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:mhr:finarc:urn:sici:0015-2218(200009)57:1_22:fpau_2.0.tx_2-h
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Diamond, 1998. "The Economics of Social Security Reform," NBER Working Papers 6719, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    4. Homburg, Stefan, 1990. "The Efficiency of Unfunded Pension Schemes," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 146, pages 640-647.
    5. Francesco Daveri & Guido Tabellini, 2000. "Unemployment, growth and taxation in industrial countries," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 15(30), pages 48-104.
    6. Breyer, Friedrich & Straub, Martin, 1993. "Welfare effects of unfunded pension systems when labor supply is endogenous," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 77-91, January.
    7. Homburg, Stefan & Richter, Wolfram, 1990. "Eine effizienzorientierte Reform der GRV," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 183-191.
    8. Robert Holzmann, 1997. "Pension Reform, Financial Market Development, and Economic Growth: Preliminary Evidence from Chile," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 44(2), pages 149-178, June.
    9. Keuschnigg, Christian, 1994. "Dynamic tax incidence and intergenerationally neutral reform," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 343-366, February.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Eric O'N. Fisher & Mark A. Roberts, 2002. "Funded Pensions, Labor Market Participation, and Economic Growth," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 59(3), pages 371-386, August.
    2. Mark A. Roberts, 2013. "Pareto-improving pension reform through technological implementation," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 60(3), pages 317-342, July.
    3. Walter Fisher & Christian Keuschnigg, 2010. "Pension reform and labor market incentives," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 769-803, March.
    4. Keuschnigg, Christian & Fisher, Walter, 2011. "Life-Cycle Unemployment, Retirement and Parametric Pension Reform," Economics Working Paper Series 1119, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    5. Hans Fehr & Christian Habermann & Fabian Kindermann, 2008. "Social Security with Rational and Hyperbolic Consumers," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 884-903, October.
    6. Christian Keuschnigg & Mirela Keuschnigg, 2004. "Aging, Labor Markets, and Pension Reform in Austria," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 60(3), pages 359-392, September.
    7. Casamatta, Georges & De Paoli, Caroline, 2007. "Choosing the Legal Retirement Age in Presence of Unemployment," CEPR Discussion Papers 6263, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Tetsuo Ono, 2010. "Growth and unemployment in an OLG economy with public pensions," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 737-767, March.
    9. Marko Köthenbürger & Panu Poutvaara, 2002. "Social Security Reform and Intergenerational Trade: Is there Scope for a Pareto-Improvement?," CESifo Working Paper Series 795, CESifo.
    10. Kai A. Konrad & Gert Wagner, 2000. "Reform of the Public Pension System in Germany," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 200, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Antonis Adam & Thomas Moutos, 2009. "Pension Funding In A Unionized Economy," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 56(2), pages 213-231, May.
    12. Yusuke Kinai, 2011. "Design of a Social Security System: Pension System vs. Unemployment Insurance," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 11-12, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods

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