Political and Economic Forces Sustaining Social Security

Casey Mulligan and Xavier Sala-i-Martin

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2004, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-56

Abstract: What economic forces create and sustain old-age Social Security as a public program? We relate political, efficiency, and narrative theories of Social Security to empirical results reported in our companion paper in this volume. Political theories, including rational majority voting and pressure group theories, feature a redistributive struggle among groups. "Efficiency theories," which model SS as a full or partial solution to market failure, include optimal redistribution, retirement insurance, and alleviating labor market congestion. Finally we analyze three "narrative" theories.

Date: 2004
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DOI: 10.2202/1538-0637.1289

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