Time consistent policies and reforms of intergenerational transfers are analyzed in an overlapping generation model. Governments have preferences, which give much weight to the living generations, and they cannot commit themselves to future taxes and transfers, which will be decided by future...

A Malthusian model clarifies the effects of an epidemic on fertility and on the age structure. An HIV/AIDS epidemic leads to a decrease in fertility, a result consistent with the case of sub-Saharan Africa but sensitive to national conditions. The fall of fertility might be limited to one...