Public Sector Pensions

This course will explore a broad variety of issues related to public sector pensions. These will include the history and structure of existing plans, the actuarial approaches that govern funding decisions, labor market consequences of various benefit structures, and a comparative analysis across the U.S. public sector, between the public and private sectors, and with other countries. We will study the policy consequences and political and process feasibility of a variety of approaches to addressing the problems that many of these systems face. The course will be conducted seminar-style.  It will rely heavily on student participation, and all students will be expected to  prepare a comprehensive analysis of the ramifications of and obstacles to a particular policy proposal. This course will be limited to 20 students.