Annuities and Individual Welfare

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2005
Volume: 95
Issue: 5
Pages: 1573-1590

Authors (3)

Thomas Davidoff (not in RePEc) Jeffrey R. Brown (National Bureau of Economic Re...) Peter A. Diamond (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

Advancing annuity demand theory, we present sufficient conditions for the optimality of full annuitization under market completeness which are substantially less restrictive than those used by Menahem E. Yaari (1965). We examine demand with market incompleteness, finding that positive annuitization remains optimal widely, but complete annuitization does not. How uninsured medical expenses affect demand for illiquid annuities depends critically on the timing of the risk. A new set of calculations with optimal consumption trajectories very different from available annuity income streams still shows a preference for considerable annuitization, suggesting that limited annuity purchases are plausibly due to psychological or behavioral biases.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:95:y:2005:i:5:p:1573-1590
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24