The aim of this paper is to better understand the impact of unemployment on the design of Pay-As-You-Go pension systems, in the context of population aging. We consider a model in which people differ according to age and face in every period a given probability of becoming unemployed. We first determine the optimal pension system, which consists in a payroll tax rate, a pension benefit level and a retirement age and study its comparative statics with respect to a change of the unemployment rate and the length of life. We then characterize the issue-by-issue voting equilibrium and compare it to the optimal pension scheme. It is shown that the median voter in general chooses a retirement age lower than the optimal one as well as a higher payroll tax rate.
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Paper provided by C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers in its series CEPR Discussion Papers with number
6263.
Find related papers by JEL classification: H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
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Juan Antonio Lacomba & Francisco Miguel Lagos, 2005.
"Political Election on Legal Retirement Age,"
ThE Papers
05/10, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
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