Review of Economic Studies Vol. 55 No. 2 1988
Bequests, Gifts, and Social Security
Abstract
This paper analyses the very long run, or "stationary state, " impact of an unfunded social security system. We use an overlapping generations model framework. A key feature is that while parents care about their children and can leave non-negative bequests to them, children also care about their parents and can make non-negative "gifts" to them. We show that the possibility of negative "net bequests" may make social security less harmful to private wealth accumulation than would otherwise be the case. A subsidiary finding is that risk-loving behaviour may emerge for some households due to the nature of intergenerational transfers within family lines.
- DOI
- 10.2307/2297582
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 275
- Sources
- bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref