Although the market for inflation-linked bonds has expanded enormously, nominal bonds are still the main instrument to finance public debts. This paper seeks to explain why. It focuses on the Eurozone countries for which the standard argument that inflation-linked bonds may help to reduce...

It is common to limit the cost sharing in health insurance schemes by a cap on co-insurance payments. This paper derives the economic and welfare effects of such a cap, adopting a model of which two features are crucial. First, health care demand is price-elastic. Second, demand is less elastic...

In many countries population ageing creates an implicit public debt. That is, if policies remain unchanged, the public debt will ultimately become unsustainable. This paper explores the optimal way to achieve debt sustainability. In particular, it asks when policy reforms should be made, how...