Social Security and the Stock Market: How the Pursuit of Market Magic Shapes the System Alicia H. Munnell and Steven A. Sass First Chapter | Table of Contents 171 pp. 2006 $40.00 cloth 978-0-88099-291-6 $18.00 paper 978-0-88099-290-9 "The 1994–1996 Social Security Advisory Council, which I chaired, recommended three different approaches for using equity investments to help solve the long run Social Security finance issue. As it happens, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada have taken steps that roughly parallel the three approaches. Munnell and Sass evaluate the experience in these three countries. Their conclusions may not be the conclusions of everybody else, but this is a very interesting book and everybody else should read it." –Edward M. Gramlich, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute; Professor Emeritus of Economics and Public Policy, University of Michigan "Optimal social security design needs to look at the tradeoff between risk and return of retirement benefits. Munnell and Sass provide an excellent and lucid exposition of the issues which arise when seeking higher returns through riskier benefit designs. This is the book to turn to in order to review international experience so as to understand the pluses and minuses of equities." –J. Michael Orszag, Head of Research, Watson Wyatt LLP "I've seen first hand the importance of using equities to fund national retirement income programs. Munnell and Sass make a fresh and extremely valuable contribution by providing perspective on how equities have been included in the past—:primarily through employer defined benefit pension plans—and how policy makers are now attempting to incorporate equities into Social Security programs." –Annika Sunden, Senior Economist, Swedish National Social Insurance Board "Setting this analysis of the reform experiences in Australia, Canada and the UK in the context of the histories and projections of their retirement programs makes the analysis valuable for anyone wanting to learn from their experiences for future U.S. reform." –Peter Diamond, Institute Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Highly recommended reading for practicing pension policy advisers and aficianados around the world." –Journal of Pension Economics and Finance |