Social Security and Economic Integration

E-print/Working paper (2013)

Optimal Fertility along the Lifecycle

in Economic Theory (2013)

Policy Implications of Changing Longevity

in CESifo Economic Studies (2013), 59(4),

The economics of long-term care: A survey

in Nordic Economic Policy Review (2012), (2), 108-148

Myopia, regrets, and risky behaviors

in International Tax and Public Finance (2012), 19

Taxing Sin Goods and Subsidizing Health Care

in Scandinavian Journal of Economics (2012), 114(1), 101-123

Accidental bequests

in Scandinavian Journal of Economics (2012), 114('), 1435-1459

The public economics of increasing longevity

in Hacienda Pública Española / Revista de Economía Pública (2012), 200(1/2012), 35-68

One of the greatest success stories in our societies is that people are living longer, life expectancy at birth being now above 80 years. Whereas the lengthening of life opens huge opportunities for ... [more ▼]

One of the greatest success stories in our societies is that people are living longer, life expectancy at birth being now above 80 years. Whereas the lengthening of life opens huge opportunities for individuals if extra years are spent in prosperity and good health, it is however often regarded as a source of problems for policy-makers. The goal of this paper is to examine the key policy challenges raised by increasing longevity. For that purpose, we first pay attention to the representation of individual preferences, and to the normative foundations of the economy, and, then, we consider the challenges raised for the design of the social security system, pension policies, preventive health policies, the provision of long term care, as well as for long-run economic growth. [less ▲]

Measuring poverty without the mortality paradox

E-print/Working paper (2011)

Under income-differentiated mortality, poverty measures reflect not only the "true" poverty, but, also, the interferences or noise caused by the survival process at work. Such interferences lead to the ... [more ▼]

Under income-differentiated mortality, poverty measures reflect not only the "true" poverty, but, also, the interferences or noise caused by the survival process at work. Such interferences lead to the Mortality Paradox: the worse the survival conditions of the poor are, the lower the measured poverty is. We examine several solutions to avoid that paradox. We identify conditions under which the extension, by means of a fictitious income, of lifetime income profiles of the prematurely dead neutralizes the noise due to differential mortality. Then, to account not only for the "missing" poor, but, also, for the "hidden" poverty (premature death), we use, as a fictitious income, the welfare-neutral income, making indifferent between life continuation and death. The robustness of poverty measures to the extension technique is illustrated with regional Belgian data. [less ▲]

Pauvreté et mortalité différentielle chez les personnes âgées

E-print/Working paper (2011)

Cette note a pour objectif d’illustrer, dans le cas de la Belgique et de ses régions, un problème particulier posé par la mesure de la pauvreté. Etant donné que la mortalité varie selon le niveau de ... [more ▼]

Cette note a pour objectif d’illustrer, dans le cas de la Belgique et de ses régions, un problème particulier posé par la mesure de la pauvreté. Etant donné que la mortalité varie selon le niveau de revenu – les personnes aux revenus plus élevés vivant plus longtemps, en moyenne, que les personnes aux revenus plus faibles – les taux de pauvreté calculés pour les classes âgées dépendent non seulement de ce que l’on pourrait appeler la vraie pauvreté, mais aussi de la sélection induite par la mortalité différentielle selon le revenu. En calculant les taux de pauvreté que l’on observerait si des personnes avec différents niveaux de revenus avaient toutes la même espérance de vie, on peut ainsi estimer la vraie pauvreté, en neutralisant les interférences dues à la mortalité différentielle. Cet ajustement des mesures de pauvreté est particulièrement intéressant pour la Belgique, où les écarts de longévité entre Flamands et Francophones et entre riches et moins riches sont importants. [less ▲]