Social security, welfare and economic growth

Abstract

This thesis examines the implications of social security in a dynastic family model with altruistic bequest and endogenous fertility. The first chapter focuses on the optimal scale of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) social security with human capital externalities and endogenous growth. The second chapter explores the optimal PAYG social security and education subsidization. The last chapter considers life expectancy as an endogenous variable and investigates long-run optimal tax rates of PAYG social security and public health and explores how they affect fertility, life expectancy, capital intensity, output per worker and welfare in a dynastic model with altruistic bequests and endogenous fertility. All these chapters show that social security can be welfare enhancing when social security reduces fertility.