Essays on general equilibrium effects of social security

This dissertation examines aspects of social security reform in developing countries. The first essay studies the general equilibrium effects of extending the coverage of social security to uncovered elderly in the informal sector in developing countries. It finds that the introduction of a moderately sized social assistance program decreases steady state output by up to 3.25% and labor supply by up to 2.5%. It also finds that the extension of the social security coverage results in welfare gains for low income households. This finding indicates that the insurance function and the redistribution function of social security dominate the distortionary effects in an environment without adequate risk sharing mechanisms and high inequality.;The second essay studies the issue of generous public sector pensions in Brazil and its macroeconomic implications. It is found that decreasing the generosity of public sector pensions from levels where all civil servants retire at age 55 to levels where they retire at age 65 increases steady state private sector output by about 2%. Apart from a grandfathering effect, transitions indicate a smooth monotone progression between steady state output levels.;The third essay analyzes the crowding-out effects of public transfers and that of inter-household transfers on labor supply of the elderly in developing countries. It argues that leaving-out interactions between the labor/leisure choice and inter-household transfers understates the crowding-out effects. Using the household survey data from Vietnam, it empirically finds that the effect of public transfers on retirement when ignoring the endogeneity of inter-household private transfers.