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Harmonizing public debt and public pension schemes in the European community

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Abstract

We analyze the problem of harmonizing public debt and public pension schemes in a multi-jurisdictional setting. Our main findings are that harmonization seems to be necessary on efficiency grounds if households can freely migrate between the jurisdictions. On the other hand, harmonization is unnecessary if households are immobile or if migration is prohibited on political grounds. This suggests that harmonization is an important issue for EC member states but not for, say, Japan or the United States.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl VWL I, Universität Magdeburg, Postfach 4120, 0-3010, Magdeburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    Stefan Homburg

  2. Universität Dortmund, Postfach 500 500, W-4600, Dortmund 50, Federal Republic of Germany

    Wolfram F. Richter

Authors
  1. Stefan Homburg
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  2. Wolfram F. Richter
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Homburg, S., Richter, W.F. Harmonizing public debt and public pension schemes in the European community. J Econ 58 (Suppl 1), 51–63 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03052291

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