Risk Aspects of Investment-Based Social Security Reform

Campbell, John Y. (EDT); Feldstein, Martin S. (EDT)

ISBN 10: 0226092550 / ISBN 13: 9780226092553

Published by University of Chicago Press, 2000

Unread book in perfect condition. Seller Inventory # 642475

Synopsis:

Our current social security system operates on a pay-as-you-go basis; benefits are paid almost entirely out of current revenues. As the ratio of retirees to taxpayers increases, concern about the high costs of providing benefits in a pay-as-you-go system has led economists to explore other options. One involves "prefunding", in which a person's withholdings are invested in financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds, the eventual returns from which would fund his or her retirement. The risks such a system would introduce - such as the volatility in the market prices of investment assets - are the focus of this offering from the NBER. Exploring the issues involved in measuring risk and developing models to reflect the risks of various investment-based systems, economists evaluate the magnitude of the risks that both retirees and taxpayers would assume. The insights that emerge show that the risk is actually moderate relative to the improved return, as well as being balanced by the ability of an investment-balanced system to adapt to differences in individual preferences and conditions.

About the Authors: John Y. Campbell is the Morton L. and Carole S. Olshan Professor of Economics at Harvard University, and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Martin Feldstein (1939-2019) was the George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University. From 1977 to 2008 he was president and CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 to 1984. In 2006 he was appointed to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under George W. Bush, and in 2009 he was named to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board by Barack Obama. He was the editor of many books published by the University of Chicago Press.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Risk Aspects of Investment-Based Social ...
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: As New