Efficient Consolidation of Incentives for Education and Retirement Savings

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
Year: 2023
Volume: 15
Issue: 3
Pages: 153-90

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We study optimal tax policies with human capital investment and retirement savings for present-biased agents. Agents are heterogeneous in their innate ability and make risky education investments, which determines their labor productivity. We demonstrate that the optimal distortions vary with education status. In particular, the optimal policy encourages human capital investment with savings incentives. Our implementation uses income-contingent student loans and existing retirement policies, augmented by a new tax instrument that subsidizes retirement savings for college graduates. The instrument mimics the latest policy proposals by allowing employers to offer 401(k) matching contributions proportional to student loans repayment.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejmac:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:153-90
Journal Field
Macro
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-26