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A Dynamic Model of Labor Supply, Consumption/Saving, and Annuity Decisions under Uncertainty

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Author Info
Hugo Benitez-Silva ()
Abstract

This paper presents a dynamic model of labor/leisure, consumption/saving and annuity decisions over the life cycle. Such a dynamic model provides a framework for considering important policy experiments related to the reforms in Social Security. We address the role of labor supply in a life cyle utility maximization model, extending the classical optimal lifetime consumption problem under uncertainty first formalized in Phelps (1962) and later in Hakansson (1970). We introduce the labor decision in the finite horizon consumption/saving problem and solve numerically the stochastic dynamic programming utility maximization problem of the individual. Analytical solutions are infeasible when the individual is maximizing utility over consumption and leisure, given non-linear marginal utility. We illustrate how such a model captures changes in labor supply over the life cycle and show that simulated consumption and wealth accumulation paths are consistent with empirical evidence. We also present a model of endogenously determined annuities for the consumption/saving and labor/leisure framework with capital uncertainty in the presence of bequest motives and Social Security. This provides new insights into the ``annuity puzzle'' and the effects of Social Security on labor supply and welfare.

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Paper provided by SUNY-Stony Brook, Department of Economics in its series Department of Economics Working Papers with number 00-06.

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Related research
Keywords: Life Cycle Models Consumption and Savings Annuities Social Security Labor Supply

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped
H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
D0 - Microeconomics - - General

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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Eric French, 2000. "The effects of health, wealth, and wages on labor supply and retirement behavior," Working Paper Series WP-00-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  2. Hugo Benitez-Silva, 2001. "A Dynamic Model of Job Search Behavior over the Life Cycle with Empirical Applications," Computing in Economics and Finance 2001 100, Society for Computational Economics.
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