Defined Contribution Plans and the Distribution of Pension Wealth

Over the past 20 years, the defined benefit (DB) plan has been replaced by the defined contribution (DC) plan as the most popular form of pension plan. This study examines the likely consequences of this transformation for both the level and distribution of future pension wealth using a sample of DB and DC plans from the Survey of Consumer Finances. The results reveal that the shift from DB to DC plans is likely to simultaneously increase the level and inequality of pension wealth at retirement. The evidence also suggests that the shift to DC plans may result in less pension wealth at retirement for low‐income workers, women, and minorities.     

Franco-Chinese Joint-Venture Formation and Shareholder Wealth

The main purpose of this article is to test the stock market reaction to Franco-Chinese joint venture announcements and to determine whether it is correlated with joint venture-specific and partner-specific factors. Certain factors specific either to Franco-Chinese joint ventures' characteristics (such as coastal or inland location of French investors in China, capital ownership of French and Chinese partners in the joint ventures, announcement date, business activity of the Franco-Chinese joint ventures) or to French partners (such as their experience in managing Franco-Chinese joint ventures, their international, European experience, and more particularly their experience of Asia) will be analysed with respect to their shareholder value creation. A research sample was prepared from the publication of information on Franco-Chinese joint venture announcements in the French daily newspapers Les Echos and La Tribune between 1994 and 2000 (seven years were analysed). It is important to stress that the announcements used in this sample corresponded to the sole formation of joint ventures. This research sample was made up of 47 Franco-Chinese joint venture announcements for which the relevant abnormal returns (AAR and CAAR) were evaluated. A negative and significant valuation effect was reported for Franco-Chinese joint venture announcements for a reduced event window spanning 7 days around the day of announcement. Among the eight different variables associated with shareholder value creation, only two of them appear to be statistically significant: announcement date and international experience of French partners. First, two opposite time trends were stated in the stock market reaction (negative reaction from 1994 to 1997 and positive from 1998 to 2000). Second, French companies possessing high international experience benefit from an important and positive stock market reaction.     

The Changing Distribution of Pension Coverage The Changing Distributionof Pension Coverage

Data from the Current Population Surveys reveal that between 1979 and 1993 the gap in pension coverage between workers with less than 12 years of education and those with more than 16 years of education nearly tripled among men and more than quadrupled among women. The empirical analysis reveals that differences in labor market characteristics related to gender and education have grown over time and can account for virtually all the changing distribution of coverage. There is mixed evidence on the extent to which the growth of the 401(k) plan has contributed to the changing distribution of coverage.     

Union Structures and Pension Outcomes in Greece

Even though Greek pensions are particularly unsustainable and inequitable, recent attempts at significant reform have ended in failure, mostly because of union opposition. The article draws on research into the competing role of narrow versus encompassing interests, in order to analyse union policy on pensions in the light of membership composition. It finds evidence of a severe bias of representation in terms of gender, age/cohort, ethnic origin and, in particular, social insurance affiliation and sector of the economy. It concludes that when legitimate interests are imperfectly represented, negotiated reform will tend to reproduce the inegalitarian tendencies latent in Bismarckian pension systems.     

三大财富及其关系研究

财富可以分为劳动财富、自然财富和人文财富三种。其中,劳动财富是人类劳动创造的;自然财富是大自然赋予人类的;人文财富是在人类生活中自然产生的,或者历史遗留下来的。三大财富之间不是孤立的,而是存在既统一又对立的关系。中国应当从过去仅仅关注劳动财富的单一求解向同时关注劳动财富、自然财富和人文财富三大财富的综合求解转变,而为实现这一转变,必须对我们的生产方式、生活方式、发展方式进行重新选择定位。同时,在区域协调发展上,中国应当改变过去那种忽略地区资源禀赋差异的做法,不是在各个地区采用相同发展模式,而是通过建立发展选择机制、市场交换机制、财富平衡机制,实现三大财富的区域统筹。     

经营类型、经营周期和物质财富创造

现代社会企业的经营活动包含生产型经营活动、服务型经营活动、衍生型经营活动三大类,每一种经营活动的经营周期和创造物质财富的方式与速度并不相同。生产型经营活动从开始经营到财富创造需要1到10年不等的经营周期,服务型经营活动需要6个月到3年不等的经营周期,衍生型经营活动有可能在几分钟或几小时内使自己的财富增加。在当今社会中,发展中国家目前主要依靠生产型经营活动来创造财富,发达国家以服务型经营活动为主来创造财富,而美国、英国等老牌发达国家则主要通过衍生型经营活动获得财富。中国仍然处于生产型经营为主的发展阶段,美国金融危机告诉我们,真正增加物质财富的还是生产型经营活动。掌握生产型经营活动的规律性,促进生产型经营活动健康发展,应当是中国人在相当长一段时期共同努力的方向。     

Reverse Mortgages and the Liquidity of Housing Wealth

Housing wealth constitutes most of the non-pension wealth of the elderly population. This study analyzes the potential of reverse mortgages to increase the income and liquid wealth of the elderly by identifying households with relatively high levels of housing equity. Because this article looks at the whole distribution of elderly households and considers debt as well as income, it finds a larger potential market for reverse mortgages than previous studies.
Calculations from the 1990 Survey of Income and Program Participation and Census population estimates show that over six million homeowners in the United States could increase their effective monthly income by at least 20% by using a reverse mortgage. Of these, more than 1.3 million have no children. Furthermore, a reverse mortgage would allow over 1.4 million poor elderly persons to raise their incomes above the poverty line.     

Transitions From Career Jobs to Retirement in Japan

Most Japanese workers are required to retire from their career firm by age 60. Yet the labor force participation rate of older men in Japan is the highest among industrialized countries, and most Japanese express a strong desire to continue working past age 60. One explanation for this paradox is that many firms reemploy their own retirees or provide them with assistance in finding new jobs with their subsidiaries or client firms.     

Indicators of Housing Finance Intergenerational Wealth Transfers

This paper sheds light on intrafamilial gifts for housing. By using Austrian intergenerational survey data various questions are addressed. First, is familial aid more or less widespread in given social strata? Second, what are the determinants and motives for family gifts? And third, what are the possible impacts on the choice set of their recipients? Probit estimates show that gifts significantly depend on the parents lifetime financial position, consistent with life cycle permanent income (LCPI) approaches. Gifts to remove liquidity constraints are more difficult to reconcile with LCPI. “Dynastic” gifts that support household formation and ownership acquisition may be interpreted as intergenerational exchange. They occur more frequently than periodical cash transfers where altruistic behavior cannot be ruled out.     

Health Care and Pension Benefits for Construction Workers: TheRole of Prevailing Wage Laws Health Care and Pension Benefits for Construction Workers

This article examines the affect of state prevailing wage laws (PWLs) on the amount and mix of wages and benefits paid to construction workers. PWLs require contractors who win bids on state-financed construction projects to pay compensation rates equivalent to those prevailing in local construction markets. During 1982-1992, 6 states repealed their PWLs, 9 states who never had a PWL did not enact one, and 32 states kept their PWLs. Data from the Form 5500 series, the Census of Construction Industries, the Current Employment Statistics, and the Current Population Survey are combined to evaluate the effects of PWL repeals on compensation. When comparing the experiences of different states, PWLs enhance both wages and benefits, with the largest percentage increase going toward employer pension contributions. PWLs appear to create an incentive for both employers to pay and workers to accept a larger percentage of their total compensation in the form of benefits.     

高技能人才是国家的宝贵财富—在全国电力行业营业用电专业技能竞赛开幕式上的讲话摘要

2002年11月23日至29日,中国电力企业联合会等四单位联合在云南省昆明市举办了“全国电力行业营业用电专业技能竞赛”,取得了圆满成功。现将这次竞赛的有关内容摘登如下,以期在全国电力行业掀起一个学习专业技能的热潮。     

Early Retirement and Bridge Employment Intentions Among Older Workers in Singapore

This paper examined the relevance of 14 demographic, cognitive, and affective factors in individuals' intentions to voluntarily retire early and to secure bridge employment after retirement. Results based on a sample of 361 respondents aged between 40 and 59 suggested that marital status, perceived negative age-health relationship, gender psychological readiness for retirement, and family orientation were related to early retirement intentions. Work centrality, perceived organisational attitude towards older employees, and psychological readiness for early retirement were related to bridge employment intentions. Implications for research were discussed.     

三大财富平衡与中国产业发展

财富可以分为劳动财富、自然财富、人文财富,评价一个国家发展水平的核心指标应当是分析该国一定时期内创造的三大财富总量,以及三大财富之间是否实现了平衡发展。改革开放以来,中国在劳动财富创造方面取得了巨大的成就,但是在自然财富和人文财富方面却不进反退。目前,三大财富失衡已经成为制约我国产业发展水平提高的根本因素。中国在制定产业发展战略的时候,应摒弃传统的比较优势论,转向三大财富平衡论。一是推动以三大财富协调发展为核心的产业结构调整;二是发展包括自然财富—产品—自然财富和人文财富—产品—人文财富双循环的新型循环经济;三是建立新型生产者责任延伸制度。     

浅析企业年金税收优惠政策

企业年金是企业为职工提供的一种补充养老保险。企业年金的发展无论是对国家、企业还是个人都起着积极的作用。鉴于企业年金的正外部性,我们应给予积极的税收支持。但我国目前的企业年金税收优惠政策还存在很多问题。我们应采取积极的措施改进企业年金税收优惠政策现状,促进企业年金快速稳步发展。     

我国关停小火电机组的形势分析

介绍了我国小火电发展的社会背景和现状,分析了到目前为止我国开展的关停小火电机组工作的情况,以及“十一五”期间我国产业政策、环保法规、电力供需形势和燃料价格等相关因素对关停小火电的影响。     

我国银行理财业务发展趋势研究

对国内商业银行理财业务的发展状况进行了简要概述, 进而对理财业务开展过程中的一些问题进行了分析, 强调指出市场化应该成为银行理财业务转型升级和创新发展的方向, 并提出了实现市场化发展方向的若干具体措施。     

企业家人力资本结构与地区居民富裕程度差异研究

本文比较了全国29个省区企业家人力资本结构与居民富裕程度的关系。分析后发现,通过将企业家人力资本纳入到解释地区居民富裕程度差异的分析框架后,可以改进传统相关研究中人力资本被低估的状况。企业家人力资本的丰裕程度与我国地区居民的富裕程度呈显著正相关。进一步研究发现,企业家人力资本结构中的民营企业家丰度对地区居民的富裕程度有重要影响,用财富存量指标作为对可支配收入这一流量指标的补充可以在一定程度上矫正区际企业家流动对地区居民富裕程度估计的误差,增强这一研究的现实解释力。在相近的经济发展水平下,民营企业家人力资本丰度相对国有和外资企业家人力资本丰度更高的地区,居民的实际富裕程度也更高。因此,落后地区要提升居民的富裕程度,缩小与发达地区的贫富差距,需重视企业家人力资本,尤其要关注民营企业家群体的培育,并努力提升开放经济的质量和水平。