Marxists and Accountants: bien étonnés de se trouver ensemble

In a recent issue of this journal, Basu (2013, Metroeconomica, 64 (2), pp. 293–318) presented some conditions under which replacement cost‐based profit rates and historical cost‐based profit rates evolve similarly, making, under these conditions, the choice between them irrelevant when studying long‐term profitability trends. The present note adds some realism to this analysis by allowing depreciation of fixed assets, and shows that the choice between the two profit rate operationalizations becomes relevant. Additionally, the impact of growth on the relation between the two profit rate evolutions is assessed.     

Effets des réglementations sur la rentabilité et le risque des compagnies d'assurances iard

La réglementation des sociétés d'assurances par les autorités de tutelle impose différentes contraintes aux gestionnaires. Il est difficile d'en apprécier les effets finaux si l'on ne dispose pas d'un modèle d'ensemble de l'entreprise. La rentabilité des compagnies d'assurances dépend de la gestion de l'actif et du passif du bilan, portefeuille déplacements et portefeuille d'assurances. La réglementation intervient pour poser des limites à ces choix sous forme de plafonds en pourcentages pour certains types de placements. Cette étude dans le contexte Canadien met en évidence le coǔt économique, en termes de risque et de rendement, d'une réglementation sur les placements. Abstract The control of insurance companies by the regulatory authorities imposes constraints on the manager's decisions. The companies' profitability is a function of the management of both assets and liabilities. Therefore it depends on the relative importance of the diverse lines of insurance - the insurance portfolio - and relative weight of the various assets - the investment portfolio. Portfolio theory demonstrates that the total risk is a non-linear combination of those component risks in a portfolio. This, in turn, determines the pursuit of the optimal portfolio structure, a structure defined by a minimal risk for a given level of profitability. With such a generalized portfolio model for insurance companies, one could simulate the consequences of the modification of any given regulation on either the assets or liabilities. The combination of risk level and profitability accessible to the companies vary as a function of markets constraints and regulations considered. It is therefore possible to demonstrate the effect, in terms of risk and return framework, of various regulations. The first section of this paper discusses the appropriate approach to the portfolio problem applied to insurance. The second section describes the data and the empirical results.