Lebensstandardsicherndes Niveau der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung erforderlich

The German government appointed a pension scheme commission to deliver a new reliable “generation agreement”. But the critics of the contribution scheme overlook the increasing real income in the long term that makes the higher contribution possible. A new solution is not necessary; the government should rather refrain from making any reductions to the legal pension scheme.     

Überfordern höhere Rentenniveaus die Jungen und sind sie nicht finanzierbar?

Higher pension payments can be borne because the effects of the demographic development, e.g. a higher share of pensioners, will be compensated by rising real incomes. Furthermore, the government projection of pension payments through 2045 shows that abolishing the Riester system will be cheaper than keeping it. The beneficial side effect will be the prevention of poverty.     

Auswirkungen des demografischen Wandels auf die Finanzierung der Erwerbsminderungsrente

The latest pension reform plan proposed by the German government aims to raise benefits for people with reduced earning capacities due to invalidity. While this reform is an improvement for future pensioners, it does not tackle the major financial problem of the current system. It is argued that demographic change would not cause financial problems in a pay-as-you-go invalidity insurance scheme comparable to the problems of the current pension insurance scheme. Therefore, separating the risk of longevity and the risk of invalidity would allow a higher invalidity pension level.     

Work: The process and the person

For the most of us, work is an entirely non-discretionary activity, an inescapable and irreducible fact of existence. According to E. F. Schumacher one of the darkest aspects of contemporary work life is the existence of an appalling number of men and women condemned to work which has no connection with their inner lives, no meaning for them whatever. Work for too many people is perceived as down-time, something that has to be done, but seldom adding to who they are. And yet recent surveys indicate that 74% of the work force would chose to work even if they were not financially required to do so. Why? This paper contends that people want to work because they are intuitively aware that work, be it “bad” or “good,” helps to shape them. It gives them a sense of direction and allows them the opportunity for personal creativity and fulfillment. Work is the “axis of human self-making.” Work molds the person and work is the mark of a person. Satisfaction with life seems to be related to satisfaction with our work and the quality of our lives seems dependent on the quality of work that we do.     

Änderungen an der Grundsicherung im Alter statt unsystematischer Rentenkonzepte

There is discussion in Germany about the future threat of widespread poverty among the elderly. Some argue that the social pension system will not be able to provide sufficiently for low-wage workers. At the same time, applying for welfare payments is seen as unfair in light of the lifetime achievements of the elderly. There are two basic approaches to deal with these concerns: adjusting the rules for welfare payments or changing the social pension system. Present proposals prove to be inadequate. Proposals to reform the social pension system in particular are inconsistent with basic principles. I present a proposal that will provide the right incentive while respecting the fundamental structure of the system. All other income arising from retirement provisions should be only partially credited against the welfare claim.     

The Economic Inefficiency of Secrecy: Pension Fund Investors’ Corporate Transparency Concerns

In the wake of recent corporate scandals, this paper traces the growing power of pension funds to provide managerial oversight of the firms they hold in their investment portfolios. Increasingly pension funds are exercising their legitimate rights as owners to raise the corporate governance standards of the firms they invest in. Within corporate governance generally, pension funds are shifting their attention away from managerial accountability and toward measures that increase transparency in firm-level decision-making. Pension funds use transparency to ensure that shareholders are the primary interest being served by the firm. Transparency not only aligns managers and owners, it also raises issues of firm behaviour that allow other stakeholders to engage the corporation more broadly. I contend that secrecy is economically inefficient. When organizations are opaque and interests are secret, decision-making can and does distort efficiency. I examine recent pension fund corporate governance campaigns with particular reference to the California Public Employees Retirement System. Dr. Hebb is a senior research associate at the Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard University and the Oxford University Centre for the Environment. She is researching the role of US public sector pension funds and urban revitalization as lead investigator on a two-year Rockefeller and Ford Foundation grant. Her doctoral work at Oxford University examined the impact of pension fund corporate engagement on the corporate governance, social and environmental standards of firm behaviour. She was a Clarendon Scholar at Oxford University and was awarded the prestigious William E. Taylor Fellowship (2003) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Government of Canada. Dr. Hebb is also a recipient of the York University Schulich School of Business National Research in Financial Services and Public Policy Scholarship (Canada). Dr. Hebb is also the Director of the Capital Strategies Program at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci), Carleton University, Canada. Here her work focuses on the financial and non-financial impact of pension fund economically targeted investment in Canada as part of a three-year SSHRC Initiatives in the New Economy grant.     

Drei Irrtümer über die gesetzliche Rente

In the public debate on old-age poverty in Germany there are three often-heard preconceptions about the statutory pension system: first, raising the legal retirement age to 67 automatically leads to lower pensions. Second, the average level of statutory pension is lower in Eastern Germany. Third, an expansion of the social contribution ceiling would improve the financial situation of the statutory pension system. In this study, we clarify and discuss these three preconceptions.     

Contributing to the Delinquency of Borrowers

What contributes most to borrower delinquency—“excessive”borrowing that results in greater financial stress or unforeseen negative income and wealth shocks? Using data from the 1998 Survey of Consumer Finances, this paper provides evidence that consumer delinquency problems are mainly the result of unexpected negative events that neither the lender nor the borrower could have anticipated at the time the credit request was evaluated. The size of the household payments burden has an insignificant effect on delinquency risk and very little effect on default risk. Finally, household financial assets that can be used as a buffer against negative shocks also serve as a very important predictor of delinquency risk.     

Sustainability via Intergenerational Transfers in a Stock‐Flow‐Consistent Model

Sustainability is about meeting present needs without compromising the needs of future generations. Achieving sustainability is thus bound to have distributional consequences. But to what extent is it possible to correct the ex‐post distribution via transfers between generations? Starting from a numerical example, the analysis uses a stock‐flow‐consistent model with a view to investigate the limitations and consequences of such transfers. It shows that inter‐generational transfers face significant limitations which render compensation payments practically impossible. Moreover, the analysis allows some conclusions regarding the effects of introducing a pension systems and/or a more explicit role of public investment in capital accumulation.     

中国养老保险制度的困境与发展对策

中国养老保险制度的改革滞后于经济与政治体制改革。主要体现在保险的覆盖面 ,基金的征集、管理、运营等方面 ,对养老保险的可持续发展构成了严重的障碍。根据我国的国情及经济发展状况 ,在廓清理论框架的前提下 ,加大个人帐户的比重 ,提高养老基金的运作效率 ,在此基础上扩大养老保险的覆盖范围 ,使养老保险系统在我国经济与政治生活中发挥其应有作用     

The asymmetric effect of warranty payments on firm value: The moderating role of advertising,R&D,and industry concentration

Changes in firms’ warranty payments are informative signals that enable investors to form timely expectations about potential changes in product quality. The authors’ survey shows that warranty payments affect potential investors’ product quality assessments and stock investment likelihood. Their quantitative analysis reveals an asymmetric stock market reaction: unanticipated increases in warranty payments (which signal quality “losses”) lower stock returns but unanticipated decreases do not affect stock returns. Two important factors moderate this relationship. First, boosting advertising spending attenuates the negative stock return effect of unanticipated increases in warranty payments. Second, unanticipated decreases in warranty payments, which signal quality “gains”, translate into higher stock returns when the industry has become less concentrated. Interestingly, changes in R&D spending do not moderate investors’ response to unanticipated increases or decreases in warranty payments. The authors advise firms to use advertising to lessen the harm from warranty payment increases and to strongly communicate warranty payment decreases in the face of intensified competition. The authors also caution that offering warranties in general does not ensure greater firm value as declining quality firms that myopically offer warranty programs experience lower firm value than those that do not provide warranties.     

Raising the Mandatory Retirement Age and its Effect on Long‐run Income and Pay‐as‐you‐go (PAYG) Pensions

In this paper we study the effects of raising the mandatory retirement age in the neoclassical growth model context. It is shown that postponement of the retirement age may be harmful for long‐run income and even for pensions. Our findings show that the retirement age might be reduced, thereby obtaining a higher income and even higher pension benefits. This suggests that the idea that a higher mandatory age of retirement is always beneficial in the long run for income and pension payments is theoretically controversial.     

Das Rentenpaket 2014 — eine ökonomische Beurteilung

The 2014 pension reform has three main components. First disability pensions have been increased by about two earnings points, an average monthly gain of 40 euros. In addition low wages in the four years preceding disability-related retirement will now be disregarded. However, since these new rules only apply to retirement after July 2014 they fail to fight poverty among current disability-related retirees. Second an additional credit for all births before 1992 (“mothers’ pension”) is extremely costly and unnecessary. Poverty prevention is weak due to a strict income test in the welfare system for the elderly. Third early retirement at age 63 without actuarial adjustment has been reintroduced This is a costly measure with negative effects on both equality and efficiency. The additional child credit and early retirement provisions reduce the financial and social sustainability of the German public pension system.     

Austritt einzelner Länder aus der Währungsunion: ein Szenario

The exit of a member state from the eurozone is often depicted as a catastrophic event that would lead to uncontrollable havoc in the financial markets. In this contribution, an alternative scenario is developed based on a consensual understanding. It describes a multi-year transition period during which all member states’ payments were automatically realised on the basis of a basket consisting of the euro and the new currency. In the remaining eurozone countries, the relative weight of the euro would increase over time, while it would decrease in the exit state. The hope is that the possibility of a smooth exit path would increase the bargaining power to change the governance rules of the eurozone.     

社会统筹养老金供给的两难困境与政策选择

在中国养老保险制度建立与完善过程中,其主要矛盾仍然是如何筹资和如何给付的问题。社会统筹主要通过提高缴费率和扩大覆盖面两条途径来增加基金供给,而现行制度却面临着养老金供给的两难困境。一是提高缴费率增加了基金收入,但不利于经济增长与扩大覆盖面;二是不同群体实行差别费率有利于扩大覆盖面,但加剧了养老金收支的失衡。经数理模型与实证分析,社会统筹缴费率应该保持适度水平,同时应该对不同群体实行差别费率的政策进行调整,以建立养老保障的长效机制。     

Football – marketplace icon?

Football has always been an important part of consumer culture, in many countries producing a global audience for World Cups and millions of people celebrating annual football competitions. It was once described by iconic Liverpool Football Club (FC) football manager Bill Shankly as follows, “Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that.” This marketplace icon contribution puzzles over whether football truly represents a marketplace icon and if so how does this effect the world’s most popular sports game? The commentary explores the significance of the beautiful game asking the reader to consider that it is not only a marketplace icon but much more than that, likened here to a “supra socio-cultural phenomenon” which rises above market logic or as Foer argues Football explains the world.     

Europäischer Zinslastenausgleich — eine sinnvolle Alternative zu EZB-Anleihekäufen

The eurozone’s public debt crisis is not over yet - as displayed in the still substantial yield spreads between “northern” and “southern” euro government bonds. Whereas the ECB tried to tackle this problem by announcing (in Sept. 2012) its willingness to conduct unlimited “outright monetary transactions” to the benefit of the southern countries, the German “Institut für Weltwirtschaft (IfW)” offered a less risky option in its “Kiel policy brief” (Jan. 2013): it suggested narrowing this yield spread by establishing a “yield spread compensation fund”, which would balance out interest payments among euro countries. Though this may sound like the first concrete eurozone bailout mechanism, the idea really is a risk-free debt alleviation tool, matching windfall gains with windfall profits without too much of a bailout.     

Rentenreform — mit welchem Fokus?

The demographic imbalance is aggravating, and by 2060 the old-age dependency ratio will double to approximately 70%. This development has consequences for the state pension system: growing contribution rates to social security coupled with lower pension levels, but at the same time a higher retirement age. The German pension scheme is mandatory for all wage and salary earners, but since 2001, no reasonable indicator for measuring the pension level exists any more. As a consequence of this, old-age pension has lost its traditional function as a replacement for earnings. The recent pension reforms have dropped the pension level sharply. Further reductions have been announced with the consequence of increasing old age poverty. Against this background it is proposed to raise the pension level so that the pensioners can maintain their standard of living. But any pension reform involves issues of distribution between and often also within generations, which cannot be addressed without explicit equity criteria. Some authors consider the past reforms as a mistake, others suggest adjustments.     

Rentenpaket: die Bundesregierung auf Irrwegen

In the summer of 2014 Germany will witness the most substantial expansion of pension expenditures since the 1950s. Yet, while this reform package was motivated mainly by the dismal prospect of rising old age poverty rates, it does little to alleviate this problem. On the contrary, its two central elements, an expansion of the pension claims of mothers whose children were born before 1992, and access to early retirement at age 63 for workers with a long insurance history, tend to benefit rather privileged groups of the insured. These measures endanger the sustainability of the German pension system and will necessitate future generations to work even longer than would have been the case otherwise.     

The robustness of the asymmetrically dominated effect: Buying frames,phantom alternatives,and in‐store purchases

Given a choice set of two alternatives, the addition of a third alternative that is clearly inferior to one of the existing alternatives (but not the other), can result in a shift of preference to the alternative that dominates the new alternative. The basic asymmetrically dominated effect, as it is called, is first demonstrated under two different buying frames of mind (“What would you buy?” and “What would most people buy?”). It is then shown that the third alternative may be recognized as an unavailable option, yet still cause a preference shift. Finally, the asymmetrically dominated effect is demonstrated for real, in‐store purchases. It is concluded that the effect is robust, has a wide scope, is quite sizeable, and is of practical significance. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.