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Optimal social security in a dynastic model with human capital externalities, fertility and endogenous growth

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  • Yew, Siew Ling
  • Zhang, Jie

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the optimal scale of pay-as-you-go social security in a dynastic family model with human capital externalities, fertility and endogenous growth. Human capital externalities reduce the return to human capital investment and hence lead to under-investment in human capital and over-reproduction of the population. If the taste for the number of children is sufficiently weak relative to the taste for the welfare of children, social security can be welfare enhancing by reducing fertility and raising human capital investment per child.

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  • Yew, Siew Ling & Zhang, Jie, 2009. "Optimal social security in a dynastic model with human capital externalities, fertility and endogenous growth," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3-4), pages 605-619, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:93:y:2009:i:3-4:p:605-619
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    6. Richard C. Barnett & Joydeep Bhattacharya & Mikko Puhakka, 2018. "Private versus public old-age security," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 703-746, July.
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    18. Spataro, Luca & Renström, Thomas I., 2012. "Optimal taxation, critical-level utilitarianism and economic growth," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(9-10), pages 727-738.
    19. Jingwen Yu & Kaiming Guo, 2019. "Social Security, Intergenerational Transfers, and Growth," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 20(1), pages 437-463, May.
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    22. Thomas Renstrom & Luca Spataro, 2015. "An analysis on optimal taxation and on policy changes in an endogenous growth model with public expenditure," Public Finance Research Papers 12, Istituto di Economia e Finanza, DSGE, Sapienza University of Rome.
    23. Yew, Siew Ling & Zhang, Jie, 2013. "Socially optimal social security and education subsidization in a dynastic model with human capital externalities, fertility and endogenous growth," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 154-175.

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