Government Spending on the Elderly [Hardcover]

This book examines the aging of the US population as a primary domestic public policy issue. An increase in the proportion of the elderly in the total population will potentially result in a significant growth in the number of beneficiaries in major federal entitlement programs, leading to fiscal pressures and challenges for economic growth.Economic Perspectives on Aging: An Overview; D.B.Papadimitriou PART I: WELFARE STATE AND THE INCENTIVES TO RETIRE European State Welfare Regimes and their Generosity Towards the Elderly; A.Boersch-Supan Comment; S.Nistic? Global Demographic Trends and Provisioning for the Future; L.R.Wray Comment; R.Startz PART II: ASPECTS OF ECONOMIC WELL-BEING AND GENDER DISPARITIES AMONG THE ELDERLY Net Government Expenditures and the Economic Well-Being of the Elderly in the United States, 1989-2001; H.Kum, E.N.Wolff & A.Zacharias Comment; R.Haveman Differing Prospects for Women and Men: Young Old-Age, Old Old-Age, and Eldercare; L.B.Shaw Comment; R.Antonopoulos PART III: CHANGING PATTERNS OF RETIREMENT BEHAVIOR Working for a Good Retirement; B.A.Butrica, K.E.Smith & E.Steuerle Comment; L.G.Schmidt Net Intergenerational Transfers from an Increase in Social Security Benefits; L.Gan, G.Gong & M.Hurd Comment; D.L.Thornton PART IV: INTERACTION BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PROVISIONING The Changing Role of Employer Pensions: Tax Expenditures, Costs and Implications for Middle Class Elderly; T.Ghilarducci Comment; Z.Bodie Retiree Health Benefit Coverage and Retirement; J.Marton & S.A.Woodbury Comment; B.Wolfe PART V: BUDGETARY AND MACROECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF AGING Population Forecasts, Fiscal Policy and Risk; S.Tuljapurkar Comment; C.Burdick Wage Growth and the Measurement of Social Security's Financial Condition; J.Gokhale Comment; S.A.Kelton PAT VI: RETIREMENT SECURITY: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS The Adequacy of Retirement Resources among the Soon-to-Retire, 1983-2001; E.N.Wolff Comment; B.Harrington Minimum Benefits in Social Securitlós