Intergenerational risk sharing and fiscal policy

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bohn, Henning
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2009.06.010
• 发表日期: 2009
• 页码: 805-816
• 关键词: Aggregate risks; Optimal risk sharing; intergenerational transfers; overlapping generations; Social Security; fiscal policy

摘要

Risk-sharing implications of alternative fiscal policies are compared in a stochastic production economy with overlapping generations. Ex ante efficiency is shown to be achievable with optimal transfers, regardless of distributional concerns. For CRRA preferences, stylized real-world policies (notably safe debt and safe pensions) are found inefficient in the direction of imposing not enough productivity risk on retirees and too much on future generations. Safe transfers can be rationalized as efficient if preferences display age-increasing risk aversion, such as habit formation. The ubiquity of safe transfers suggests that governments treat the young as more risk tolerant than older cohorts. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.