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Social security in an analytically tractable overlapping generations model with aggregate and idiosyncratic risks

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  • Daniel Harenberg
  • Alexander Ludwig

Abstract

When markets are incomplete, social security can partially insure against idiosyncratic and aggregate risks. We incorporate both risks into an analytically tractable model with two overlapping generations. We derive the equilibrium dynamics in closed form and show that the joint presence of both risks leads to overproportional risk exposure for households. This implies that the whole benefit from insurance through social security is greater than the sum of the benefits from insurance against each of the two risks in isolation. We measure this through interaction effects which appear even though the two risks are orthogonal by construction. While the interactions unambiguously increase the welfare benefits from insurance, they can increase or decrease the welfare costs from crowding-out of capital formation. The net effect depends on the relative strengths of the opposing forces. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Harenberg & Alexander Ludwig, 2015. "Social security in an analytically tractable overlapping generations model with aggregate and idiosyncratic risks," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 22(4), pages 579-603, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:22:y:2015:i:4:p:579-603
    DOI: 10.1007/s10797-015-9368-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Harenberg & Alexander Ludwig, 2019. "Idiosyncratic Risk, Aggregate Risk, And The Welfare Effects Of Social Security," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 60(2), pages 661-692, May.
    2. Daniel Harenberg & Alexander Ludwig, "undated". "Social Security and the Interactions Between Aggregate and Idiosyncratic Risk," Working Papers ETH-RC-14-002, ETH Zurich, Chair of Systems Design.
    3. Krueger, Dirk & Ludwig, Alexander & Villalvazo, Sergio, 2021. "Optimal taxes on capital in the OLG model with uninsurable idiosyncratic income risk," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).
    4. Richard Jaimes, 2021. "Does idiosyncratic risk matter for climate policy?," Vniversitas Económica 19276, Universidad Javeriana - Bogotá.
    5. Staveley-O’Carroll James & Staveley-O’Carroll Olena M., 2021. "International Welfare Spillovers of National Pension Schemes," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 21(1), pages 363-397, January.
    6. Oliwia Komada & Krzysztof Makarski & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2017. "Welfare effects of fiscal policy in reforming the pension system," GRAPE Working Papers 11, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    7. Bommier, Antoine & Harenberg, Daniel & Le Grand, François, 2017. "Household Finance and the Value of Life," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168189, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    8. Anna Batyra & David de la Croix & Olivier Pierrard & Henri Sneessens, 2016. "Structural changes in the labor market and the rise of early retirement in Europe," DEM Discussion Paper Series 16-13, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    9. Makarski, Krzysztof & Tyrowicz, Joanna & Komada, Oliwia, 2021. "Efficiency versus Insurance: Capital Income Taxation and Privatizing Social Security," IZA Discussion Papers 14805, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. James Staveley-O'Carroll & Olena Staveley-O'Carroll, 2019. "International Welfare Spillovers of National Pension Schemes," Working Papers 1903, College of the Holy Cross, Department of Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social security; Idiosyncratic risk; Aggregate risk; Welfare; Insurance; C68; E27; E62; G12; H55;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C68 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computable General Equilibrium Models
    • E27 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Forecasting and Simulation: Models and Applications
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

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