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Are family allowances and fertility-related pensions perfect substitutes?

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  • Fenge, Robert
  • Meier, Volker

Abstract

This paper discusses alternative ways to deal with the positive externalities of having children in a pay-as-you-go pension system. Family allowances are compared to introducing a fertility-related component into the pension formula. In an endogenous labor supply setting, both instruments are shown to be equivalent if general pensions are related to previous contributions. In contrast, if general pensions are of the flat-rate type, making pensions contingent on the number of children is generally preferable to family allowances because the latter creates a larger tax load on labor supply.

Suggested Citation

  • Fenge, Robert & Meier, Volker, 2009. "Are family allowances and fertility-related pensions perfect substitutes?," Munich Reprints in Economics 20340, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:20340
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Michele BOLDRIN & Mariacristina DE NARDI & Larry E. JONES, 2015. "Fertility and Social Security," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(3), pages 261-299, September.
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    6. Tomas Kögel, 2004. "Did the association between fertility and female employment within OECD countries really change its sign?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 17(1), pages 45-65, February.
    7. Robert Fenge & Volker Meier, 2005. "Pensions and fertility incentives," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 38(1), pages 28-48, February.
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    9. Alessandro Cigno & Luca Casolaro & Furio C. Rosati, 2002. "The Impact of Social Security on Saving and Fertility in Germany," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 59(2), pages 189-211, May.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Meier, Volker & Wrede, Matthias, 2010. "Pensions, fertility, and education," Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 75-93, January.
    2. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:9:y:2008:i:7:p:1-7 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Robert Fenge & Beatrice Scheubel, 2017. "Pensions and fertility: back to the roots," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 93-139, January.
    4. Tim Buyse, 2014. "Pensions and fertility: a simple proposal for reform," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 14/888, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    5. Luciano Fanti & Luca Gori, 2014. "Endogenous fertility, endogenous lifetime and economic growth: the role of child policies," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(2), pages 529-564, April.
    6. 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.
    7. Andras Simonovits, 2015. "Optimal Child-Related Transfers with Endogenous Fertility," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1514, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    8. Peter J. Stauvermann & Ronald R. Kumar, 2017. "Enhancing growth and welfare through debt-financed education," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 207-222, January.
    9. Andras Simonovits, 2015. "Optimal Child-Related Transfers and Personal Income Tax with Endogenous Fertility," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1524, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    10. Peter J. Stauvermann & Frank Wernitz, 2019. "Why Child Allowances Fail to Solve the Pension Problem of Aging Societies," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-16, December.
    11. Luciano Fanti & Luca Gori, 2013. "Fertility-related pensions and cyclical instability," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 1209-1232, July.
    12. Leran Wang, 2016. "Fertility, Union Wage Setting and Social Security System," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(9), pages 1-10, September.
    13. Andras Simonovits, 2013. "Savings, Child Support, Pensions and Endogenous (and Heterogeneous) Fertility," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1335, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    14. Luciano Fanti & Luca Gori, 2010. "Public Education, Fertility Incentives, Neoclassical Economic Growth And Welfare," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 59-77, January.
    15. Oliwia Komada, 2023. "Raising America's future: search for optimal child-related transfers," GRAPE Working Papers 84, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    16. Fanti, Luciano & Gori, Luca, 2012. "PAYG pensions, tax-cum-subsidy and A-Pareto efficiency," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 65-71.
    17. Makoto Hirazawa & Koji Kitaura & Akira Yakita, 2014. "Fertility, Intra‐Generational Redistribution, and Social Security Sustainability," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(1), pages 98-114, February.
    18. Masaya Yasuoka, 2018. "Fertility and education investment incentive with a pay-as-you-go pension," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 8(1), pages 37-50, April.
    19. Peter J. Stauvermann, 2013. "How a Pay-As-You-Go Pension System Can Lead To a Pareto Improvement in an OLG Model with Endogenous Fertility," Economic Research Guardian, Weissberg Publishing, vol. 3(1), pages 61-69, June.
    20. Andras Simonovits, 2015. "Socially Optimal Child-Related Transfers and Personal Income Tax with Endogenous Fertility," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1537, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    21. Stauvermann, Peter J. & Ky, Sereyvath & Nam, Gi-Yu, 2013. "The Costs of Increasing the Fertility Rate in an Endogenous Growth Model," MPRA Paper 46381, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    22. Simonovits, András, 2014. "Gyermektámogatás, nyugdíj és endogén/heterogén termékenység - egy modell [Child support, pensions and endogenous (and heterogeneous) fertility. A model]," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(6), pages 672-692.
    23. Peter J. Stauvermann & Ronald R. Kumar, 2016. "Sustainability of A Pay-as-you-Go Pension System in A Small Open Economy with Ageing, Human Capital and Endogenous Fertility," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 2-20, February.
    24. Stauvermann, Peter Josef & Kumar, Ronald, 2013. "Financing human capital development via government debt: a small country case using overlapping generations framework," MPRA Paper 47453, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    25. Andras Simonovits, 2014. "Optimal Child Allowances with Heterogeneous Fertilities," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 1401, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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