The Excess Burden of Government Indecision

44 Pages Posted: 26 Jan 2007 Last revised: 20 Feb 2022

See all articles by Francisco Gomes

Francisco Gomes

London Business School

Laurence J. Kotlikoff

Boston University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy

Luis M. Viceira

Harvard Business School - Finance Unit; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 2007

Abstract

Governments are known for procrastinating when it comes to resolving painful policy problems. Whatever the political motives for waiting to decide, procrastination distorts economic decisions relative to what would arise with early policy resolution. In so doing, it engenders excess burden. This paper posits, calibrates, and simulates a life cycle model with earnings, lifespan, investment return, and future policy uncertainty. It then measures the excess burden from delayed resolution of policy uncertainty. The first uncertain policy we consider concerns the level of future Social Security benefits. Specifically, we examine how an agent would respond to learning in advance whether she will experience a major Social Security benefit cut starting at age 65. We show that having to wait to learn materially affects consumption, saving, and portfolio decisions. It also reduces welfare. Indeed, we show that the excess burden of government indecision can, in this instance, range as high as 0.6 percent of the agent's economic resources. This is a significant distortion in of itself. It's also significant when compared to other distortions measured in the literature. The second uncertain policy we consider concerns marginal tax rates. We obtain similar results once we adjust for the impact of tax rates on income.

Suggested Citation

Gomes, Francisco and Kotlikoff, Laurence J. and Viceira, Luis M., The Excess Burden of Government Indecision (January 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w12859, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=959591

Francisco Gomes (Contact Author)

London Business School ( email )

Finance Department
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HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/view/francisco-gomes/home

Laurence J. Kotlikoff

Boston University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Boston, MA 02215
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617-353-4002 (Phone)
617-353-4449 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy

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Russia

Luis M. Viceira

Harvard Business School - Finance Unit ( email )

Boston, MA 02163
United States
617-495-6331 (Phone)
617-496-6592 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.people.hbs.edu/lviceira

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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