| The Distributional Aspects of Social Security and Social Security Reform Contributor(s): Feldstein, Martin (Editor), Liebman, Jeffrey B. (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0226241068 ISBN-13: 9780226241067 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $89.30 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2002 Annotation: Social security is one of the largest and one of the most popular programs administered by the United States government. It is also under significant pressure to reform: given projected increases in both individual life expectancy and the sheer number of retirees, the current system faces the possibility of an eventual overload. Alternative proposals have emerged, ranging from reductions in future benefits to a rise in tax revenue to various forms of investment-based personal retirement accounts. As this volume suggests, the distributional consequences of these proposals are substantially different, and may disproportionately affect those groups who depend on social security to avoid poverty in old age. Together, these studies persuasively demonstrate that appropriately designed investment-based social-security reforms could effectively reduce the long-term burden of an aging society on future taxpayers, increase the expected future income of retirees, and mitigate poverty rates among the elderly. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Public Policy - Social Security - Political Science | Political Economy - Political Science | American Government - General |
| Dewey: 368.430 |
| LCCN: 2002016568 |
| Series: National Bureau of Economic Research Conference Report |
| Physical Information: 1.24" H x 6.24" W x 9.24" (1.69 lbs) 469 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Social security is the largest and perhaps the most popular program run by the federal government. Given the projected increase in both individual life expectancy and sheer number of retirees, however, the current system faces an eventual overload. Alternative proposals have emerged, ranging from reductions in future benefits to a rise in taxrevenue to various forms of investment-based personal retirement accounts. As this volume suggests, the distributional consequences of these proposals are substantially different and may disproportionately affect those groups who depend on social security to avoid poverty in old age. Together, these studies persuasively show that appropriately designed investment-based social security reforms can effectively reduce the long-term burden of an aging society on future taxpayers, increase the expected future income of retirees, and mitigate poverty rates among the elderly. |
Contributor Bio(s): Feldstein, Martin: - Martin Feldstein (1939-2019) was the George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University. From 1977 to 2008 he was president and CEO of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He was chairman of President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 to 1984. In 2006 he was appointed to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under George W. Bush, and in 2009 he was named to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board by Barack Obama. He was the editor of many books published by the University of Chicago Press. |