Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/26283 
Year of Publication: 
2008
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 2238
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
The present paper studies the growth, welfare and efficiency consequences of the recent introduction of tax-favored retirement accounts in Germany in a general equilibrium overlapping generations model with idiosyncratic lifespan and labor income uncertainty. We focus on the implicit differential taxation of specific savings motives, the mandatory annuitization of benefits and the impact of special provisions for low-income households. The simulations indicate that the reform improves overall economic efficiency by about 0.6 percent of aggregate resources, but welfare decreases significantly for future generations. Finally, we show that special provisions could be very effective in raising the participation of low-income households despite their low budgetary cost.
Subjects: 
individual retirement accounts
annuities
stochastic general equilibrium
JEL: 
H55
J26
Document Type: 
Working Paper
Appears in Collections:

Files in This Item:
File
Size
324.08 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.