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Capital Accumulation and Annuities in an Adverse Selection Economy

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  • Eichenbaum, Martin S
  • Peled, Dan

Abstract

This paper suggests that adverse selection problems in competitive annuity markets can generate quantity-constrained equilibria in which some agents, whose length of lifetime is uncertain, find it advantageous to accumulate capital privately. This occurs despite the higher rates of return on annuities. The welfare properties of these allocations are analyzed. It is shown that the level of capital accumulation is excessive in a Paretian sense. Policies that eliminate this inefficiency are discussed. Copyright 1987 by University of Chicago Press.

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  • Eichenbaum, Martin S & Peled, Dan, 1987. "Capital Accumulation and Annuities in an Adverse Selection Economy," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(2), pages 334-354, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:v:95:y:1987:i:2:p:334-54
    DOI: 10.1086/261458
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    Cited by:

    1. Steinorth, Petra, 2012. "The demand for enhanced annuities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 973-980.
    2. Oliver Fabel, 1995. "Disability insurance in an optimal pension scheme," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 157-183, June.
    3. Schuhmacher, Petra, 2008. "The Demand for Enhanced Annuities," Discussion Papers in Business Administration 7954, University of Munich, Munich School of Management.
    4. Stéphane Verani & Pei Cheng Yu, 2024. "What’s Wrong with Annuity Markets?," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(4), pages 1981-2024.
    5. Pashchenko, Svetlana, 2013. "Accounting for non-annuitization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 53-67.
    6. Cagetti, Marco & De Nardi, Mariacristina, 2008. "Wealth Inequality: Data And Models," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(S2), pages 285-313, September.
    7. Ben Heijdra & Laurie Reijnders, 2013. "Economic Growth and Longevity Risk with Adverse Selection," De Economist, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 69-97, March.
    8. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5369 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Finkelstein, Amy & Poterba, James & Rothschild, Casey, 2009. "Redistribution by insurance market regulation: Analyzing a ban on gender-based retirement annuities," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 38-58, January.
    10. Ben J. Heijdra & Jochen O. Mierau, 2009. "Annuity Market Imperfection, Retirement and Economic Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series 2717, CESifo.
    11. Dan Anderberg, 1999. "Adverse selection, competition, and linear self-insurance," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 3-15, Spring.
    12. Amy Finkelstein, 2002. "When Can Partial Public Insurance Produce Pareto Improvements?," NBER Working Papers 9035, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Nurin Haniah Asmuni & Ken Seng Tan & Sachi Purcal, 2022. "The Impact of Health Impairment on Optimal Annuitization for Retirees," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, April.
    14. Mariacristina De Nardi & Giulio Fella, 2017. "Saving and Wealth Inequality," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 26, pages 280-300, October.
    15. Hugo Benitez-Silva, 2000. "A Dynamic Model of Labor Supply, Consumption/Saving, and Annuity Decisions under Uncertainty," Department of Economics Working Papers 00-06, Stony Brook University, Department of Economics.
    16. Thomas Url, 2014. "Vorteile der Risikoübernahme in der klassischen Lebensversicherung," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 60603, March.
    17. Mariacristina De Nardi, 2015. "Quantitative Models of Wealth Inequality: A Survey," NBER Working Papers 21106, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Toan Phan, 2016. "Information, Insurance and the Sustainability of Sovereign Debt," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 22, pages 93-108, October.
    19. Pecchenino, Rowena A & Pollard, Patricia S, 1997. "The Effects of Annuities, Bequests, and Aging in an Overlapping Generations Model of Endogenous Growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 107(440), pages 26-46, January.
    20. Hugo Benitez-Silva, 2000. "A Joint Model of Labor Supply and Consumption Decisions Under Uncertainty," Econometric Society World Congress 2000 Contributed Papers 0196, Econometric Society.
    21. Roozbeh Hosseini, 2015. "Adverse Selection in the Annuity Market and the Role for Social Security," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 123(4), pages 941-984.
    22. Hugo Benítez-Silva, 2003. "The Annuity Puzzle Revisited," Working Papers wp055, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
    23. Oded Palmon & Avia Spivak, 2007. "Adverse selection and the market for annuities," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 32(1), pages 37-59, June.

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