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Rational Pension Policies

Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics volume 152, pages 103–124 (2016)Cite this article

Summary

Aim of this keynote is to develop a framework how to approach the design of pension policies as rationally as possible. The first step is to realize and accommodate endogenous adjustments. The second step is to align the root causes of demographic change with corresponding reform steps which include but are not confined by pension reform. The third step is to separate the issues as best as possible to strengthen the political feasibility of reform.

The paper shows that relatively few and moderate reform steps suffice to solve the demographic problem in countries such as Germany and Switzerland. This is in striking contrast to the widespread resistance to reform. We falsify some of the myths, prejudices and misperceptions which make reforms politically so hard to put into place.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max-Planck-Institute for Social Law and Social Policy; Technical University of Munich (TUM); and National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Cambridge, Mass., USA

    Axel Börsch-Supan

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  1. Axel Börsch-Supan
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Additional information

Keynote speech at the Annual Congress 2015 of the Swiss Society for Economics and Statistics on “The Solvency of Pension Systems” Basel, 3 June 2015.

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Börsch-Supan, A. Rational Pension Policies. Swiss J Economics Statistics 152, 103–124 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03399424

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03399424