Resource Accounting in Measures of Unsustainability: Challenging the World Bank's Conclusions

The World Bank has recently published acomprehensive study of environmental and resourceaccounting, covering 103 countries (World Bank1997a). The study concludes that many Sub-Saharan,Northern African and Middle East countries have hadnegative `genuine' saving rates over the last 20years and therefore fail to pass the test of weaksustainability. This paper argues that the Bank'sconclusions depend on a method for computing usercosts from resource exploitation that is challengedby two competing ones (the `El Serafy'-method andthe method of Repetto et al.) and is inferior to oneof its rivals. Resource rents are re-computed usingthe `El Serafy'-method for 14 countries and theSub-Saharan and Northern African and Middle Eastregions. The results are that both regions andalmost all countries either stop exhibiting signs ofunsustainability or their unsustainability can beexplained without having recourse to resourceaccounting. However, for Congo, Ecuador, Gabon,Nigeria, Mauritania and Trinidad and Tobago there isa lesson: These countries did not adequately use theopportunities they were given through their naturalresource endowments and should learn from theirmistake for the future depletion of their remainingreserves of natural resources.     

中国居民储蓄行为误差修正模型

近几年来，居民储蓄持续增加成为人们关注的焦点，央行七次降息且以20％的税率对利息征税，效果不显著。本文用整理论研究了中国居民储蓄行为，建立了误差修正模型，得到了结论。     

浅析邮政储蓄客户资源管理

客户不仅是邮政储蓄的利润之源,也是发展之基。加强客户资源管理,不仅是竞争形势所迫,而且是生存发展所需。因此客户资源管理是客户经济时代下邮政储蓄发展的核心理念,认真研究邮政储蓄客户管理现状,并找出问题所在,针对问题制定切实可行的策略,培育并提升邮储客户忠诚度,对于提高邮储的市场竞争力是至关重要的。     

我国股票市场的财富效应研究

股票价格影响居民消费的潜在作用机制包括直接财富效应、信贷约束和预防性储蓄。理论模型表明,不同作用机制隐含的子样本异质性特征存在显著差异。使用2013年、2015年和2017年中国家庭金融调查数据进行实证研究,结果表明：股票财富对家庭消费产生显著正影响,股票资产的边际消费倾向估计值为0.0269,主要作用机制是直接财富效应。然而,由于股票财富占我国居民资产比例较低且分布不均等,股票直接财富效应的作用范围仍有限。     

The quantity approach to financial integration: The Feldstein-Horioka criterion revisited

This paper applies the Feldstein-Horioka criterion, that is, the role of savings-investment correlations, to assess the degree of financial integration in the European Community. We establish a link between the Feldstein-Horioka criterion and three other criteria for financial integration: the covered, uncovered, and real interest parity condition. Subsequently, we evaluate the Feldstein-Horioka criterion for financial integration on the basis of its underlying assumptions. The paper performs both cross-section and time-series analyses of savings-investment correlations. The time-series analysis relies on the concept of cointegration. Our major finding is that the Feldstein-Horioka criterion—contrary to what is usually found in world financial markets—is able to explain an increasing degree of financial integration in the European Community.Symbols S gross national savings - I gross domestic investment - C total private and government final consumption expenditure - M import of goods and services - X export of goods and services - Y gross domestic product - CA current account of the balance of payments - GNP gross national product - NCT net current transfers from the rest of the world - NFI net factor income from the rest of the world - FCF gross fixed capital formation - ST increase in stocks - S_p gross national savings by the private sector - S_g gross national savings by the public sector - I_p gross domestic investment by the private sector - I_g gross domestic investment by the government sector - corrected for a nonzero value of the statistical discrepancy     

Mandatory Pensions and Personal Savings in The Netherlands*

The Netherlands has a relatively generous social security system and a wide coverage of individuals by private (occupational) pension schemes. Total household savings are rather high and fairly stable, although the amount of contractual savings apears to be going up at the expense of non-contractual (free) savings. Using an approach originally pioneered by Feldstein (1974) we employ microdata to investigate the displacement effect of security and pension wealth on free household savings. It turns out that the data available are too noisy to make precise statements about the displacement effects. Our results do suggest, however, that a one-for-one displacement of free savings by social security is consistent with the data. For pensions such a complete offset is less likely. This suggests that increase of coverage by private pensions is an effective way of raising savings.     

英国“第二支柱”职业养老金改革及其效果分析--以《2008年养老金法案》为例

20世纪70年代以来,随着人口老龄化的加剧和财政压力的加重,英国由国家养老金、职业养老金和个人养老金组成的三支柱养老保险体系的改革呈现出私有化的特点,尤其鼓励大力发展职业养老金和个人养老金计划。《2008年养老金法案》中关于英国职业养老金计划的改革具有划时代的意义,其中“国家职业储蓄信托”提升了职业养老金计划的整体投资绩效;“自动加入”机制作为职业养老金计划由自愿性转向强制性的标志,极大地提高了职业养老金计划的参与率和覆盖面、增加了职业养老金计划的储蓄额。可以说,《2008年养老金法案》对英国职业养老金计划的发展起到了非常大的推动作用。     

Saving less when there is more foreign lending? Foreign debt and savings in developing countries

Although literature has given considerable attention to the effects of foreign debt on growth, we still know little about its effects on the internal potential for capital formation. Literature suggests a number of channels through which the availability of foreign financing could affect domestic savings. We test empirically this relationship using data for Sub‐Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean over 1975–2004. Controlling for endogeneity, we find that foreign debt adversely influences domestic savings especially in the long run. The results are not susceptible to the choice of countries, although few outliers should be noted.     

Less frequent dosing of erythropoiesis stimulating agents in patients undergoing dialysis: a European multicentre cost study

Abstract

Objective: To calculate the variable costs involved with the process of delivering erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESA) in European dialysis practices.

Methods: A conceptual model was developed to classify the processes and sub-processes followed in the pharmacy (ordering from supplier, receiving/storing/delivering ESA to the dialysis unit), dialysis unit (dose determination, ordering, receipt, registration, storage, administration, registration) and waste disposal unit. Time and material costs were recorded. Labour costs were derived from actual local wages while material costs came from the facilities’ accounting records. Activities associated with ESA administration were listed and each activity evaluated to determine if dosing frequency affected the amount of resources required.

Results: A total of 21 centres in 8 European countries supplied data for 142 patients (mean) per hospital (range 42–648). Patients received various ESA regimens (thrice-weekly, twice-weekly, once-weekly, once every 2 weeks and once-monthly). Administering ESA every 2 weeks, the mean costs per patient per year for each process and the estimates of the percentage reduction in costs obtainable, respectively, were: pharmacy labour (€10.1, 39%); dialysis unit labour (€66.0, 65%); dialysis unit materials (€4.11, 61%) and waste unit materials (€0.43, 49%).

Limitation: Impact on financial costs was not measured.

Conclusion: ESA administration has quantifiable labour and material costs which are affected by dosing frequency.     

Sources and uses of equity extracted from homes

In this paper, we present estimates of the disposition of thefree cash generated by home equity extraction to finance consumerspending, outlays for home improvements, debt repayment, acquisitionof assets, and other uses. We estimate free cash as cash availablenet of closing costs and repayment of other mortgage debt. Wehave also extended the quarterly data series for gross equityextraction, presented in our earlier paper (Greenspan and Kennedy,2005), back to 1968.