Our previous study (Auerbach, Gokhale and Kotlikoff 1991) introduced the concept of generational accounting, a method of determining how the burden of fiscal policy falls on different generations. it found that fiscal policy in the U.S. is out of balance, in terms of projected generational...

The authors consider Social Security’s treatment of postwar Americans under alternative tax increases and benefit cuts that would help bring the system’s finances into present-value balance. The alternatives include immediate tax increases, eliminating the ceiling on taxable payroll,...

An application of the generational accounting method of fiscal policy analysis to projected spending paths for Social Security and Medicare suggesting that, under realistic assumptions for these programs, future generations as well as current young Americans could bear a significantly larger...

Does it pay to work? This is a tough question because of the complexity of the tax code and the plethora of dynamic linkages involved: 1) Earning more today typically alters current saving and, therefore, future capital income taxes. 2) Earning more today generally alters future consumption and,...

How much should Americans save prior to retirement? Given Social Security's shaky financial condition, this is a critical question for baby boomers. A financial planning program-ESPlanner-is applied to data from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS) to consider the amount that households...

Auerbach et al. (1995), document the dramatic postwar increase in the annuitization of the resources of America’s elderly. Gokhale et al. (1996) suggest that greater annuitization may explain the significant postwar rise in the consumption propensity of the elderly out of remaining lifetime...