2006-09 Macroeconomic dimensions of social economics : saving, the stock market, and pension systems

Saving, investment, and pensions are avenues by which households build up claims to future income and consumption. Such claims are important in a number of respects: they broaden people’s options, reduce their insecurities about material living standards, and enhance their ability to live with dignity in old age. As such, understanding the multiplicity of factors that shape how people save, invest and acquire pension rights is important for understanding their access to well-being and the ways in which social arrangements improve or undercut that access. This paper reviews social-economics perspectives on these macroeconomic issues, highlighting contributions of existing research and identifying fruitful directions for future work.