Social Security Trust Fund Flows and the Welfare Costs of Rent Seeking

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-1-2002

Department

Political Science, International Development, and International Affairs

Abstract

The current study provides estimates from a Parks regression (using panel data) that suggest that the welfare costs due to rent seeking efforts by interest groups to obtain Social Security trust fund flows ranged from approximately $132 million (per two-year federal election cycle from 1985-1994) to a theoretical expectation of $66 billion, all in real terms. These welfare costs are in addition to any other social costs that may be present, including the reduced levels of national saving that Social Security may induce.

Publication Title

Applied Economics

Volume

34

Issue

8

First Page

975

Last Page

979

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