<i>'This book might have been published ten years ago, but we are reviewing it in this edition because it is even more relevant now than it was then. . . Given the importance of pensions in relation to social welfare, employment incentives, savings incentives, tax rates, and much else, it really is essential that the work of the Pensions Commission continues, and equally essential that this book is on its members' reading list.'</i>
- Citizen's Income,
<i>'. . . the book adds considerable value in providing simple economic models and numerical examples to illuminate the complexities of pensions and population ageing.'</i>
- John Piggott, Australasian Journal on Ageing,
The analysis of pensions presents many complex problems. A major aim of this book is to demonstrate how reasonably simple economic models can be designed and used to shed some light on the issues involved in population growth and pension provision. The basic analytics of population growth and pension structure are first explored. Projections for Australia are examined and used to model ageing and social expenditure and to estimate the 'burden' of aged care on future workers. The author goes on to investigate pensions and pension finance, and examines several types of economic model before turning to the analysis of alternative pension arrangements using a lifetime simulation model. The results of the study suggest that both lower contribution rates and a universal pension encourage a later retirement age.
This book will prove invaluable to students and scholars of public sector economics, welfare economics, social economics and public finance.