IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/pubfin/v50y2022i2p206-235.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Growth and Welfare Implications of Mortality Differentials in Unfunded Social Security Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Mark C. Kelly

Abstract

Several recent studies have examined the steady-state welfare implications of mortality differentials within unfunded Social Security systems, concluding that these differentials undermine the progressivity of the system and make society worse-off relative to alternative public pension schemes. This study is the first to systematically investigate the long-run implications of mortality inequality within the U.S. Social Security system. Utilizing an OLG endogenous growth model of the U.S. economy, I compare the current pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system to versions of the model without either mortality differentials or income inequality. I find that the assumption of mortality homogeneity biases the equilibrium growth rate and welfare analysis. The PAYG system is also compared to a fully funded system based on capital subsidies. The model predicts that PAYG suppresses growth and that, for a given range of subsidy rates, the fully funded system Pareto dominates PAYG in both the medium-run and the long-run.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark C. Kelly, 2022. "Growth and Welfare Implications of Mortality Differentials in Unfunded Social Security Systems," Public Finance Review, , vol. 50(2), pages 206-235, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:50:y:2022:i:2:p:206-235
    DOI: 10.1177/10911421221101933
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10911421221101933
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10911421221101933?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruce, Neil & Turnovsky, Stephen J., 2013. "Social security, growth, and welfare in overlapping generations economies with or without annuities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 12-24.
    2. Berthold U. Wigger, 1999. "Public Pensions and Growth," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 56(2), pages 241-241, June.
    3. Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2005. "The Relationship Between Education and Adult Mortality in the United States," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 189-221.
    4. Sánchez-Romero, Miguel & Prskawetz, Alexia, 2017. "Redistributive effects of the US pension system among individuals with different life expectancy," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 10(C), pages 51-74.
    5. Santanu Chatterjee & Paola Giuliano & Stephen J. Turnovsky, 2004. "Capital Income Taxes and Growth in a Stochastic Economy: A Numerical Analysis of the Role of Risk Aversion and Intertemporal Substitution," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 6(2), pages 277-310, May.
    6. 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.
    7. Berthold U. Wigger, 1999. "Pay-as-you-go financed public pensions in a model of endogenous growth and fertility," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 12(4), pages 625-640.
    8. Gábor Gyárfás & Marko Marquardt, 2001. "Pareto improving transition from a pay-as-you-go to a fully funded pension system in a model of endogenous growth," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(3), pages 445-453.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Siew Ling Yew & Jie Zhang, 2018. "Health spending, savings and fertility in a lifecycle‐dynastic model with longevity externalities," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(1), pages 186-215, February.
    2. Weizsäcker, Robert K. von & Wigger, Berthold U., 2001. "Rentenfinanzierung und intergenerationelle Gerechtigkeit : Eine wachstumstheoretische Perspektive," Discussion Papers 606, Institut fuer Volkswirtschaftslehre und Statistik, Abteilung fuer Volkswirtschaftslehre.
    3. Yang Zaigui, 2012. "Urban Public Pension and Economic Growth in China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Schönfelder, Bruno & Wild, Frank, 2013. "Volkswirtschaftliche Wirkungen der Alterungsrückstellungen in der Privaten Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung," WIP-Analysen August 2013, WIP – Wissenschaftliches Institut der PKV.
    5. Lei He & Zhengqi Wang, 2023. "The interaction effects of rising life expectancy and the public pension burden on aggregate savings and economic growth," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 22(2), pages 229-250, May.
    6. 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.
    7. Luciano Fanti & Luca Gori, 2012. "Fertility and PAYG pensions in the overlapping generations model," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(3), pages 955-961, July.
    8. Yang Zaigui, 2005. "Pay-As-You-Go Public Pension Systems: Two-sided Altruism and Endogenous Growth," Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-13, June.
    9. Masaya Yasuoka, 2014. "Child-care Policies and Pension in an Endogenous Fertility Model," Discussion Paper Series 114, School of Economics, Kwansei Gakuin University, revised Jan 2014.
    10. 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.
    11. Cigno, A., 2016. "Conflict and Cooperation Within the Family, and Between the State and the Family, in the Provision of Old-Age Security," Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, in: Piggott, John & Woodland, Alan (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Population Aging, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 0, pages 609-660, Elsevier.
    12. Yasuoka, Masaya, 2018. "Endogenous Fertility and Pension System," MPRA Paper 86131, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Robert Stelter, 2016. "Fertility and health insurance types in Germany," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2016021, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    14. Heinrich Hock & David Weil, 2012. "On the dynamics of the age structure, dependency, and consumption," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(3), pages 1019-1043, July.
    15. Giam Cipriani, 2014. "Population aging and PAYG pensions in the OLG model," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 251-256, January.
    16. Brent Berry, 2008. "Financial Transfers from Living Parents to Adult Children: Who Is Helped and Why?," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 207-239, April.
    17. Wei-Bin Zhang, 2019. "Endogenous Population In A Neoclassical Growth Model With Wealth And Time Values," Noble International Journal of Economics and Financial Research, Noble Academic Publsiher, vol. 4(5), pages 47-63, May.
    18. repec:bla:econom:v:71:y:2004:i:281:p:261-273 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Vincenzo Galasso & Roberta Gatti & Paola Profeta, 2009. "Investing for the old age: pensions, children and savings," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 16(4), pages 538-559, August.
    20. Filoso, Valerio & Papagni, Erasmo, 2015. "Fertility choice and financial development," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 160-177.
    21. Miriam Steurer, 2009. "Fertility Decisions and the Sustainability of Defined Benefit Pay-as-You-Go Pension Systems," Discussion Papers 2009-06, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    social security; mortality differentials; growth; demography; JEL Classification Number:; H55; D31; E60; O40;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:pubfin:v:50:y:2022:i:2:p:206-235. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.