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Pension reform in an OLG model with heterogeneous abilities

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  • BUYSE, TIM
  • HEYLEN, FREDDY
  • VAN DE KERCKHOVE, RENAAT

Abstract

We study the effects of pension reform on hours worked, human capital, income and welfare in an open economy populated by four overlapping generations: three active generations (the young, the middle aged and the older) and one generation of retired. Within each generation we distinguish individuals with high, medium or low ability to build human capital. Our simulation results prefer a pay-as-you-go pension system with a particular earnings-related linkage above a fully-funded private system. This pay-as-you-go system conditions pension benefits on past individual labor income, with a high weight on labor income earned when older and a low weight on labor income earned when young. Uncorrected, however, such a system implies welfare losses for current low-ability generations and rising inequality. Complementing or replacing it by basic and/or minimum pension components is negative for aggregate employment and welfare. Better is to maintain the tight link between individual labor income and the pension also for low-ability individuals, but to strongly raise their replacement rate. An additional correction improving the welfare of low-ability individuals would be to maintain for these individuals equal weights on past labor income.

Suggested Citation

  • Buyse, Tim & Heylen, Freddy & Van De Kerckhove, Renaat, 2017. "Pension reform in an OLG model with heterogeneous abilities," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 16(2), pages 144-172, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jpenef:v:16:y:2017:i:02:p:144-172_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Brecht Boone & Freddy Heylen, 2019. "Cross‐Country Differences in Unemployment: Fiscal Policy, Unions, and Household Preferences in General Equilibrium," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(3), pages 1270-1302, July.
    2. Arthur JACOBS & Freddy HEYLEN, 2025. "Demographic change, secular stagnation, and inequality: automation as a blessing?," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 91(4), pages 508-548, December.
    3. Willem DEVRIENDT & Freddy HEYLEN, 2020. "Macroeconomic and Distributional Effects of Demographic Change in an Open Economy - The Case of Belgium," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 86(1), pages 87-124, March.
    4. Minglu Wang & Peng Jing & Xi Lin, 2025. "The effectiveness of child policies to boost child quality and quantity in the PAYG pension system," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Chen, Yanran & Lyu, Youji, 2025. "Grandchild care and grandparents’ labor supply," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    6. Joanna Tyrowicz & Krzysztof Makarski & Marcin Bielecki, 2018. "Inequality in an OLG economy with heterogeneous cohorts and pension systems," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 16(4), pages 583-606, December.
    7. Loumrhari, Ghizlan, 2016. "Vieillissement démographique et réforme paramétrique des retraites. Les enseignements d’un modèle EGC-GI pour le Maroc [Ageing and pension reform. A computational olg model for Morocco]," MPRA Paper 74077, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Kim, Jae-Yoon & Lee, Dongwoo, 2024. "Pension systems revisited in the age of automation and an aging economy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    9. Schön, Matthias, 2020. "Long-term outlook for the German statutory pension system," Discussion Papers 22/2020, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    10. Gustafsson, Johan, 2021. "Implications of Pension Illiteracy for Labor Supply and Redistribution," Umeå Economic Studies 993, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    11. Johan Gustafsson, 2023. "Public pension policy and the equity–efficiency trade‐off," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 125(3), pages 717-752, July.
    12. Gustafsson, Johan, 2023. "Public pension reform with ill-informed individuals," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    13. Heylen, Freddy & Van de Kerckhove, Renaat, 2019. "Getting low educated and older people into work: The role of fiscal policy," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 586-606.
    14. Pieter Van Rymenant & Freddy Heylen & Dirk Van de gaer, 2022. "On the macroeconomic and distributional effects of federal estate tax reforms in the United States," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 22/1052, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    15. Devriendt, Willem & Heylen, Freddy & Jacobs, Arthur, 2023. "Coping with demographic change: macroeconomic performance and welfare inequality effects of public pension reform," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 425-449, July.
    16. Freddy Heylen & Pieter Van Rymenant & Brecht Boone & Tim Buyse, 2016. "On The Possibility And Driving Forces Of Secular Stagnation - A General Equilibrium Analysis Applied To Belgium -," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 16/919, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    17. Al-Hassan, Hassana & Devolder, Pierre & Nayrko, Christiana & Nokoh, K. Sagary, 2023. "A Simple Two Period Overlapping Generation (OLG) Model For Public Pension Scheme (PAYG)," LIDAM Discussion Papers ISBA 2023033, Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Statistics, Biostatistics and Actuarial Sciences (ISBA).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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