Source: http://www.econ.bbk.ac.uk/pi.
Social security is increasingly debated in terms of alleged effects of public pensions on economic efficiency. The author reviews the history and rationale for public provision of retirement income, then argues that the efficiency effects of such schemes are negligible. Social security reform in itself is not likely to generate increased savings or growth; it is essentially a zero sum game in which some participants gain at the expense of others. Arguments for reform of social security masquerade as economics, while in reality they are political arguments for changing the distribution of costs and benefits.