Social Security privatization is now receiving much attention in policy circles. Proposed privatization plans range from modest changes in the mix of assets held by the Social Security trust fund to the phased-in replacement of all Social Security benefits and taxes with mandatory Individual...

Reviews the current state of research on the relationship between capital gains realization and the capital gains tax rate and offers a theoretical framework to guide future empirical research. Concludes that realizations are probably quite responsive to the tax rate in the short run, but that...

The purpose of this paper it to help better focus the Social Security privatization debate on pertinent issues. It is shown that retirement systems based either on mandatory private retirement accounts or on traditional publicly administered defined benefits can be designed so as to have similar...

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) mandates government-sponsored insurance for all defined-benefit pensions in the United States. This paper argues that the purpose of ERISA's pension insurance, to reduce income uncertainty in retirement, would be better accomplished...