Full Citation

Title: It Sucks to Be Single! Marital Status and Redistribution of Social Security

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2017

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI:

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: In this paper, we study the labor supply effects and the redistributional consequences of the U.S. social security system. We focus particularly on auxiliary benefits, where eligibility is linked to marital status. To this end, we develop a dynamic, structural life cycle model of singles and couples, featuring uncertain marital status and survival. We account for the socio-economic gradients to both marriage stability and life expectancy. We find that auxiliary benefits have a large depressing effect on married women’s employment. Moreover, we show that a revenue neutral minimum benefit scheme would moderately reduce inequality relative to the current U.S. system.

Url: https://swopec.hhs.se/hastec/papers/hastec2017_001.pdf

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Groneck, Max; Wallenius, Johanna

Series Title: SSE Working Paper Series

Publication Number: 2017:1

Institution: Stockholm School of Economics

Pages:

Publisher Location: Stockholm, Sweden

Data Collections: IPUMS CPS

Topics: Family and Marriage, Other

Countries: