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Aging Anxiety : Much Ado About Nothing ?

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  • Monika BÜTLER
  • Georg KIRCHSTEIGER

Abstract

Social security systems in most industrialized countries face severe financial problems due to adverse demographic changes. The increase in old-age dependency, however, will be spread over a period of approximately 50 years. The degree of technological progress necessary to offset the negative effects of aging might therefore be small. Using models with endogenous labor supply and with capital accumulation, we demonstrate that under plausible assumptions, current living standards can be maintained with a moderate rate of technological progress. The necessary rate of growth increases both in the size of the program and in the fraction of agents who exclusively depend on public pensions in retirement.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika BÜTLER & Georg KIRCHSTEIGER, 2000. "Aging Anxiety : Much Ado About Nothing ?," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 00.11, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    • Handle: RePEc:lau:crdeep:00.11
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    2. Christine Mayrhuber & Thomas Url, 2000. "Umverteilung und Beitragsäquivalenz in der Alterssicherung," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 73(9), pages 547-557, September.
    3. Alois Guger & Christine Mayrhuber, 2001. "Arbeitsmarktperspektiven und Pensionsfinanzierung bis 2030," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 74(9), pages 553-565, September.
    4. Kunibert Raffer, 2011. "Neoliberal Capitalism: A Time Warp Backwards to Capitalism’s Origins?," Forum for Social Economics, Springer;The Association for Social Economics, vol. 40(1), pages 41-62, April.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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