Retirement systems should be conceived of as long-term financial contracts under which workers' contributions today are exchanged for benefits paid to the elderly tomorrow. Such contracts are said to be well-managed if the transactions are handled in an affordable, reliable, and efficient...

This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that, on efficiency grounds, taxing individuals is always preferred to taxing households in a progressive income tax. The reason is that tax design affects the input of family members' time not only into market production and consumption of leisure...

We develop a general equilibrium tax model to evaluate the impacts of equal yield base broadening in indirect taxes from high rate narrow based (typically manufactures) taxes to broad based taxes (including services) such as a VAT. We capture differences in choice of mode of supply between...

In this paper we analyze income tax design in a two member household labor supply model where time spent on consumption together by the two household members is valued differently from time spent apart. We treat consumption as a non excludable public good to members of the household; one example...

Prior literature on asset patterns among the elderly often overlooks housing wealth as a determinant of retiree wealth, particularly in the Japanese context. Yet releasing equity in housing may be a natural mechanism to boost consumption, reduce public pension liability, and mitigate the demand...

In this paper we derive and compare the value of life annuity products in an international context. Our specific goal is to assess the money's worth and adverse selection impact of annuities in two countries Singapore and Australia that have mandatory DC-type retirement plans. This similarity in...

Over the last half-century, around the world, many nations have seen plummeting fertility rates and mounting life expectancies. These two factors are the engine behind unprecedented global aging. In this paper, we explore how the demographic transition may influence financial markets and, in...

As the level of retirement-related assets has grown, so too has public and private interest in so-called "Socially Responsible Investment" (SRI), an investment strategy that employs criteria other than the usual financial risk and return factors when selecting firms in which to invest. This...

More than half of the world's old live in Asia, and around 35% in India and China alone. As demographic transition proceeds regionally and globally, the development of a robust and reliable longevity insurance market will become essential. Although the need for such insurance is most pressing in...