Torben M. Andersen - Böcker

Välfärdstjänster som skola, vård och omsorg utgör, tillsammans med socialförsäkringar och bidrag, kärnan i den svenska välfärdsstaten. I takt med att samhället blir rikare och den tekniska utvecklingen fortskrider ökar efterfrågan på välfärdstjänster. Därmed utmanas den framtida finansieringen av välfärdstjänsterna. Hur stora är utmaningarna? Kan välfärdsstaten i sin nuvarande utformning behållas? Hur kan medborgarnas stigande krav på välfärd mötas utan skattehöjningar? SNS Konjunkturråd 2014 presenterar och analyserar olika förslag på lösningar. Fördelningsaspekter är i detta resonemang centrala eftersom tidigare förslag riskerar leda till att inte alla får tillgång till välfärdstjänster av hög kvalitet. Den övergripande frågan blir därmed hur problemet kan bemästras samtidigt som det sociala kontraktet mellan individ och stat upprätthålls. SNS Konjunkturråd 2014 består av Annika Sundén (ordförande), docent i nationalekonomi och verksam vid Pensionsmyndigheten, Torben M. Andersen, professor i nationalekonomi, Århus universitet, och Jesper Roine, docent i nationalekonomi, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm och Stockholm Institute of Transition Economics (SITE).

The price adjustment process is crucial to almost any macroeconomic issue. Current macroeconomic literature freatures widely different models ranking from instantaneous price adjustment to completely rigid prices. Professor Andersen provides a comprehensive analysis of reasons why prices may fail to adjust instantaneously to changes in market conditions. This unified treatment will allow the reader to understand the mechanisms at work without becoming lost in technical details.This volume covers both real and nominal price rigidities and integrates existing results from the literature with new results on causes for failures of price adjustment. The analysis of real price rigidities includes inventories, customer markets, search and collusive behaviour. Due to the focus on macroeconmic implications, the analysis of nominal price rigidities is extensive and includes menu costs, informational problems, asynchronized price setting as well as the interaction between price and wage setting.Andersen's own theoretical work on imperfect information, a prime source of price and wage rigidity, is given prominence in the book. The volume is thus a combinatin of a valuable survey of the literature, and an original expression of future possible research avenues.

The outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008 has had significant effects on economic activity, unemployment, and public finances for all European countries. However, European economies do not form a homogenous region, and any serious analysis of macroeconomic imbalances in Europe must account for the fact that different economic and political models and circumstances operate across the continent. This book focuses on the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) which have a relatively good record of undertaking fiscal and structural reforms after their own financial and debt crises in the 1980s and 1990s. The Nordic countries are small and open economies, well-known for their high income levels, high employment rates, organized labour markets, a relatively equal distribution of incomes, and large public sectors. From this perspective, the book asks whether there are lessons that might be learned from the Nordic economies. Is there a distinctive Nordic model that could be usefully followed, by other small open economies, in terms of fiscal and monetary policy design, labour market policies and reforms, and financial and housing market regulation? It is inappropriate to define the Nordic model in terms of a common set of policies. Since the key characteristics, including the overarching objectives and supporting institutions, have strong historical foundations, copying and pasting them to other countries is not easily done. Even though the Nordic experiences are not directly transferable, they may add new knowledge about the importance of institutional design, fiscal consolidation, and structural reforms not only for macroeconomic performance but also for how to preserve key objectives such as social balance and equity.

The need for pension reform is widely discussed against the backdrop of falling fertility rates and rising longevity. These developments challenge pension systems which in many countries already encounter problems with pension adequacy and financial sustainability. In the debate, reference is often made to Denmark as a model for pension system reform. This book offers the first coherent and in-depth description and analysis of the Danish pension system and its structure and performance. As is well-known to scholars and experts, there is a huge leap from considering general characterisations of pension systems in terms of various performance indicators to understand the structure of particular pension systems. This book aims to introduce these aspects to an international readership, explaining the structure and design of the pension system and its performance, benefit structure, regulation, critical reforms, and macroeconomic implications, as well as investment policies in pension funds in general.

With the design of the pension system critically dependent on objectives and context, and many objectives and trade-offs to consider, real-world pension schemes are complex and rich in institutional detail. Ongoing demographic changes also challenge pension systems, including their performance and outcomes in terms of pension adequacy, poverty prevention, and financial viability. To breakdown all of this, Pension Economics provides an introduction to and overview of the economics of pensions, explaining the basic mechanisms and design issues with a particular focus on distribution, behavioural aspects, and market failures. It introduces different pension systems, ranging from defined benefit, pay-as-you-go schemes to defined contribution-funded schemes; discusses their pros and cons from both an individual and social perspective; and analyses how differences in earnings, behavioural aspects, and market failures may motivate intervention in retirement savings on both equity and efficiency grounds.Torben M. Andersen introduces the political economy of pensions, emphasizing how the horizon of voters, intergenerational linkages, and income distribution may affect support for tax-financed pensions. A specific focus is also lent to the ways in which savings and retirement decisions are affected by possible hazards that may appear over the course of a life, including individual factors such as earnings, health, and length of life, and economy-wide factors, such as rates of return, structural changes, and changing demographics. Pension Economics presents a coherent introduction to the economics of pensions, providing the reader with an understanding of the many purposes of a pension system and the design possibilities available.

With the design of the pension system critically dependent on objectives and context, and many objectives and trade-offs to consider, real-world pension schemes are complex and rich in institutional detail. Ongoing demographic changes also challenge pension systems, including their performance and outcomes in terms of pension adequacy, poverty prevention, and financial viability. To breakdown all of this, Pension Economics provides an introduction to and overview of the economics of pensions, explaining the basic mechanisms and design issues with a particular focus on distribution, behavioural aspects, and market failures. It introduces different pension systems, ranging from defined benefit, pay-as-you-go schemes to defined contribution-funded schemes; discusses their pros and cons from both an individual and social perspective; and analyses how differences in earnings, behavioural aspects, and market failures may motivate intervention in retirement savings on both equity and efficiency grounds.Torben M. Andersen introduces the political economy of pensions, emphasizing how the horizon of voters, intergenerational linkages, and income distribution may affect support for tax-financed pensions. A specific focus is also lent to the ways in which savings and retirement decisions are affected by possible hazards that may appear over the course of a life, including individual factors such as earnings, health, and length of life, and economy-wide factors, such as rates of return, structural changes, and changing demographics. Pension Economics presents a coherent introduction to the economics of pensions, providing the reader with an understanding of the many purposes of a pension system and the design possibilities available.

Demographic change and increasingly international markets are putting severe pressure on developed welfare states in the OECD countries. The contributors to this book assess the magnitude of these challenges and discuss in depth, and in concrete terms, what policy options are open to meet them. Looking at public service production, social insurance, tax policy and debt policy, they examine the main costs and benefits associated with an extensive welfare state and ask whether the same objectives can be reached with a welfare regime that is less costly. They also discuss whether the organization of the welfare state is capable of meeting future challenges facing a changing society. This rigorous analysis draws on empirical material from OECD countries with a focus on the Scandinavian countries.

Demographic change and increasingly international markets are putting severe pressure on developed welfare states in the OECD countries. The contributors to this book assess the magnitude of these challenges and discuss in depth, and in concrete terms, what policy options are open to meet them. Looking at public service production, social insurance, tax policy and debt policy, they examine the main costs and benefits associated with an extensive welfare state and ask whether the same objectives can be reached with a welfare regime that is less costly. They also discuss whether the organization of the welfare state is capable of meeting future challenges facing a changing society. This rigorous analysis draws on empirical material from OECD countries with a focus on the Scandinavian countries.

Growth theory is currently changing directions - the orthodox neoclassical approach is being modified and extended by models of endogenous growth. Along with fresh contributions from the field, this volume provides a survey of the topic. Endogenous Growth covers aspects such as growth effects of different trade, tax and public investment policies, as well as lobbying activities. Moreover, the relationships between growth, talent and income distribution are explored from different perspectives. The emphasis is on the effects of egalitarianism both within and across generation.

This volume examines the causes of the very volatile financial markets and exchange rate crises recently experienced, particularly in a number of European countries, and considers the implications for business cycle fluctuations and economic policy. It will attempt to clarify whether these developments can be attributed to further capital market liberalization, financial innovations, etc., or whether they are the product of business cycle changes in combination with shifts in the focus of economic policy towards less activism and low inflation. Issues related to the functioning of financial and exchange rate markets, the possibility of controlling these markets, the gains from liberalization and the implications for economic policy will also be covered.