THE PRESIDENT'S COMMISSION ON PENSION POLICY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY 1979: NET WEALTH DISTRIBUTIONS BY TYPE AND AGE FOR THE UNITED STATES

A household survey was done for the U.S. President's Commission on Pension Policy (1979-81). This paper reports on the net wealth of families in the United States for the year 1979, the first wave of the survey. The survey was begun in September 1979 and was a two-wave, nationwide random sample of households in the United States. The survey instrument gathered information on income, wealth, labor supply, participation in pension plans, vesting status, entitlement to various benefits, attitudinal views on retirement, social security wealth, and individual demographic characteristics. Details of the survey methodology are reported. A response rate of sixty-two percent was achieved among the 6,384 dwelling units in the first wave. Imputations are made to calculate the wealth embodied in private and public employee-based pensions. Included in this valuation is an adjustment for expected vesting status in the pension plan. Net wealth is examined by type and age of the head of household. The average net wealth of the family is $53,956, and the average value of retirement wealth is $3,281 which comprises about 5 to 6 percent of net wealth. The striking changes in the portfolio of net wealth are depicted over the cross-section of age cohorts. The oldest age cohort, 65 and over, is found to have for retirement wealth the lowest frequency of ownership, the lowest proportion of their portfolio in this form of wealth, and the second to lowest average value.     

Political conflict,urban structure,and the fiscal crisis1

Les gouvernements locaux ont pour rǒle d'encourager d'une part la croissance économique, d'autre part l'intégration politique. Cette double fonction devient potentiellement contradictoire dans des conditions qui sont soit celles de la croissance, ou de la récession économique. Les gouvernements locaux sont donc organisés, et pour empěcher l'émergence de conflits politiques urbains intenses, et pour assurer l'adaptation continue aux besoins changeants de la croissance économique. Plusieurs mesures structurelles des politiques étatiques vont en ce sens:

• 1 la décentralisation conditionelle de la fiscalité et des dépenses
• 2 la ségrégation structurelle de l'économique et du politique remplissant ces fonctions.

Mais ces měmes mesures ont produisent aussi, dans le měme temps, des contraintes fiscales, qui sont ainsi l'une des traductions des conflits politiques possibles. Dans cette perspective, la crise fiscale est analysée en tant que stratégie de gestion politique des fonctions contradictoires des gouvernements urbains.     

A simulation study of income tax evasion

In a game-simulation context, tax evasion behavior of 15 subjects was observed. Large fines were found to be more effective deterrents than frequent audits. The decision to underreport income appears to be influenced by different factors than the magnitude of underreporting. Tax evasion behavior differed widely among individuals.     

For Almost Two Centuries the U.S.had the Monroe Doctrine - Now China has its Xi Doctrine

James Monroe was the fifth president of the United States. Under his administration what became known as the Monroe Doctrine was first stated in 1823. The doctrine became a long-standing tenet of U.S. foreign policy. It declared that the Western Hemisphere was America＇ s area of influence. The premise of the Monroe Doctrine was that further efforts by European nations to colonize or interfere in North or South America would be viewed by the United States as acts of aggression, thereby necessitating American intervention The establishment of the Monroe Doctrine was a defining moment in U.S. foreign policy Turning the clock almost 200 years later, China is aggressively implementing its own form of the Monroe Doctrine, not just for countries with which it shares borders, but extending throughout East Asia, South Asia and even into countries bordering the Indian Ocean.     

Life Expectancy in the Future

Abstract

The public responsibility of life insurance actuaries has changed from supervisory compliance with detailed state laws to certifying adherence to more general regulatory objectives complemented by actuarial standards of practice.