September 2018

08Sep

Still Attached? Are Social Safety Nets Working? Labor Force Participation in European Regions

By Benjamin Hilgenstock (Institute of International Finance) & Zsoka Koczan (International Monetary Fund (IMF)) The paper examines the evolution and drivers of labor force participation in European regions, focusing on the effects of trade and technology. As in the United States, rural regions within European countries saw more pronounced declines (or smaller increases) in participation than urban regions. Unlike in the United States, however, trade and technology, captured here using novel measures of initial exposures to routinization and offshoring, did...

September 8, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Slider-Left, ,
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03Sep

State Pension Accounting Estimates and Strong Public Unions

By Samuel B. Bonsall (Pennsylvania State University - Department of Accounting), Joseph Comprix (Syracuse University) & Karl A. Muller (Pennsylvania State University - Department of Accounting) Concerns are commonly raised that strong public unions extract generous pension benefits from state governments and are the cause of states’ burdensome pension obligations. Prior research (Anzia and Moe 2015) finds evidence supporting such concerns. Consistent with incentives to minimize such perceptions, our findings suggest that state pension plans with stronger public unions select...

September 3, 2018
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August 2018

25Aug

Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: The Relationship to Youth Employment (National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report)

By por Jonathan Gruber ,‎ David A. Wise  Many countries have social security systems that are currently financially unsustainable. Economists and policy makers have long studied this problem and identified two key causes. First, as declining birth rates raise the share of older persons in the population, the ratio of retirees to benefits-paying employees increases. Second, as falling mortality rates increase lifespans, retirees receive benefits for longer than in the past. Further exacerbating the situation, the provisions of social security...

August 25, 2018
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25Aug

Financial Literacy: Empowerment in the Stock Market

By Ali Saeedi &‎ Meysam Hamedi  This book provides an overview of current issues associated to financial literacy improvement. In selecting and structuring the material to include, the primary criterion has been applicability of topics and recommendations and accuracy of trends toward better financial literacy level. Each chapter is dedicated to a particular component of financial literacy from education to capability. Throughout the book, there are many practices initiated around the world which, regardless of their superiority, are all useful initiatives...

August 25, 2018
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25Aug

Population Aging, Social Security and Fiscal Limits

By Burkhard Heer (University of Augsburg; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)), Vito Polito (Cardiff Business School) & Michael Wickens (University of Cardiff; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)) We study the sustainability of pension systems using a life-cycle model with distortionary taxation that sets an upper limit to the real value of tax revenues. This limit implies an endogenous threshold dependency ratio, i.e. a point...

August 25, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Slider-Left, Sustainability, System Sustainability, ,
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18Aug

The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda

By Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, and Avi Goldfarb Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have advanced rapidly over the last several years. As the technology continues to improve, it may have a substantial impact on the economy with respect to productivity, growth, inequality, market power, innovation, and employment. In 2016, the White House put out several reports emphasizing this potential impact. Despite its importance, there is little economics research on the topic. The research that exists is derived from past technologies (such...

August 18, 2018
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18Aug

The Relationship Between Financial Planner Use and Holding a Retirement Saving Goal: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

By Kyoung Tae Kim (University of Alabama), Tae-Young Pak (University of Alabama), Su Hyun Shin (University of Alabama) & Sherman D. Hanna (Ohio State University (OSU)) It has been well established in the literature that financial advice leads to informed decision making and improved financial outcomes. However, there is limited evidence regarding the link between financial planner use and attitudes towards retirement saving. As financial planners provide comprehensive advice for the long-term benefits of clients, their clients may become more...

August 18, 2018
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18Aug

Financial Fraud among Older Americans: Evidence and Implications

By Marguerite DeLiema, Martha Deevy, Annamaria Lusardi, Olivia S. Mitchell The consequences of poor financial capability at older ages are serious and include making mistakes with credit, spending retirement assets too quickly, and being defrauded by financial predators. Because older persons are at or past the peak of their wealth accumulation, they are often the targets of fraud. Our project analyzes a module we developed and fielded in the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Using this dataset, we evaluate...

August 18, 2018
Aging, Articles, Labor Market, Savings, Slider-Left, ,
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11Aug

Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: Working Longer

By Courtney Coile This is the introduction and summary to the eighth phase of an ongoing project on Social Security Programs and Retirement Around the World. This project, which compares the experiences of a dozen developed countries, was launched in the mid 1990s following decades of decline in the labor force participation rate of older men. The first several phases of the project document that social security program provisions can create powerful incentives for retirement that are strongly correlated with...

August 11, 2018
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11Aug

Financial Incentives and Earnings of Disability Insurance Recipients: Evidence from a Notch Design

By Philippe Ruh Most countries reduce Disability Insurance (DI) benefits for beneficiaries earning above a specified threshold. Such an earnings threshold generates a discontinuous increase in tax liability—a notch—and creates an incentive to keep earnings below the threshold. Exploiting such a notch in Austria, we provide transparent and credible identification of the effect of financial incentives on DI beneficiaries’ earnings. Using rich administrative data, we document large and sharp bunching at the earnings threshold. However, the elasticity driving these responses...

August 11, 2018
Articles, Labor Market, Pension design,
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