PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS,PENSION AWARENESS,AND CHANGING PERSONAL FINANCES

Workers with 401(k)s and similar defined contribution pensions adjust contributions facing large fluctuations in personal finances. Using administrative tax records linked to the Health and Retirement Study, this paper shows that adjustments differ for contributors who are aware and unaware of their pension coverage. Unaware contributors are more likely to stop contributing facing deteriorating finances, but adjust contributions similarly along the intensive margin. For example, 25% of unaware contributors stop contributing facing earnings declines, but only 15% of aware contributors do so. These findings have implications for policies like automatic enrollment and information campaigns that encourage retirement savings. (JEL D14, J14, J32, D83)     

人口老龄化对中国经济的 持久性影响及其对策建议

基于人口普查和联合国的人口预测,本文分析了人口老龄化对劳动力供给、资本积累、支柱产业和技术进步等方面的不利影响。应对快速人口老龄化,必须树立科学人口发展观,分阶段放开一胎化生育政策,循序提高退休和领取养老保险年龄,同时制定与实施和人口结构变化相适应的产业规划,发展老龄产业,调整产业结构。     

湖南省耕地变化的趋势及其政策选择

经济社会发展加快了土地利用,造成耕地资源的进一步减少,要实现经济、社会协调发展,就必须了解耕地的变化和利用状况。文章应用相关分析方法对湖南省总人口、房地产投资、城市化水平、国民生产总值指数进行分析,结果表明它们与湖南省年末实有耕地面积变化具有很大的相关性;同时又应用多元线性回归方法定量分析了湖南经济社会发展对耕地利用数量的变化状况,并根据模型预测了2010—2030年湖南省年末实有耕地面积的变化。在此基础上,提出了保护耕地的政策选择是控制人口增长、适时加快城市化进程、调整土地利用结构、提高土地效应、提高农业用地效益等。     

多层次养老保险协同发展的联动机制及配套政策研究

全面建成多层次社会保障体系是党的十九大报告确定的重要指导原则,推进养老保险多层次协同发展是深化社会保障改革的重中之重。本文通过对基本养老保险实际费率和替代率的测算发现补充养老保险发展存在较大空间;通过分解个人账户基金现值及权益,尝试在多层次体系下建立不同养老保险制度间的转换衔接通道。本文研究发现,允许个人账户基金纵向转续是弱化多层次挤出效应的重要方式,能够在保证第一层次覆盖率的前提下促进二三层次扩面。     

人口老龄化、养老金与国际资本流动： 影响机制与实证研究*

本文详细梳理了人口老龄化对国际资本流动的影响机制,并利用1993-2012年98个国家或地区的面板数据实证分析其相关关系,同时验证了以养老金为中介变量的影响机制。研究发现：人口老龄化主要通过资本-劳动比率和经常账户余额影响国际资本流动;不管是中高收入和中低收入国家,人口老龄化程度越高,资本越倾向流出;随着实行现收现付（PAYG）养老制度国家的深入改革,作为资金池的养老金规模逐渐扩大,其对外投资活动也越活跃。     

THE INSTABILITY IN THE MONETARY POLICY REACTION FUNCTION AND THE ESTIMATION OF MONETARY POLICY SHOCKS

We extend Romer and Romer's (2004) analysis of the estimation and the effects of monetary policy shocks by controlling for (1) changes in the monetary policy reaction function and (2) changes in the response of output and prices over time with an extended data set. The results suggest that the post 1979 responses of output and prices to a monetary policy shock are significantly different from what has been reported for the whole sample: While output and prices respond significantly and negatively if their response is estimated for the whole sample period (1969–2005), the response of output is insignificant for the period of 1979–2005, and the response of prices is much weaker. The analysis of the changes in the monetary policy conducted over time allows us to partly attribute the diminished price and output responses to a successful monetary policy which led to a less volatile economy during the great moderation. (JEL E52, E32, C50)     

A QUALITY POLICY FOR AMERICA

This paper describes Total Quality Management (TQM) and its benefits. It then outlines a three-point proposal for a national quality policy: (i) implementing TQM throughout the U.S. government, (ii) creating a set of nationally recognized certifications for employees' quality skills, (Hi) creating a set of nationally recognized supplier quality certifications.     

企业经营机制转换的前提和关键

虽然我国去年的国民生产总值增长速度较快,但国营大中型企业的经济效益低下的状况仍没有得到根本扭转,其中的一个根本原因就是企业的经营机制还没有得到根本转变。本文认为企业经营机制转换的前提是政府取能转变,转换的关键是还权于企业,转换的条件是实现由传统管理向现代管理的转变。文章从政府和企业两方面对实现企业经营机制的转换,提出了一些有价值的建议。     

THE NUMBER OF FIRMS AND THE POLITICS OF STRATEGIC TRADE POLICY

Incorporating home firms' lobbying in a country into a third market model of oligopoly, this paper studies how such lobbying affects the government's strategic export policy scheme. We pay special attention to the home firms' lobby formation and its effect on domestic welfare. The home firms can organize a lobby more easily when the number of their rival foreign firms is larger than that of them, and/or when the government is overly concerned with political contribution relative to domestic welfare. The strategic export policy under lobbying cannot improve the domestic welfare, which depends on the number of firms, the government's concern about political donation and the level of socially wasted lobbying costs.     

RISK OF ACCIDENTS AND THE POLICY OF FORCED RETIREMENT

In 1960, the Federal Aviation Administration put in place the Age 60 rule forcing airline pilots to retire upon reaching the age of 60 years. This paper uses data from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration to determine if having pilots above 59 years of age carries a social cost. Statistical evidence indicates that the severity of aircraft accidents is related to pilot age for some classes of pilots but not for others. Findings are that small-airplane accidents tend to be more severe for pilots over 59 with private and commercial licenses than for younger pilots with equal qualifications. Thus, some (though not convincing) evidence suggests that private and commercial pilots above 59 years of age impose a greater social cost on the flying public than do younger pilots. However, among ATP pilots—that is, those who are licensed to fly large airplanes—no evidence indicates that pilots over 59 have more severe accidents when flying small airplanes than do younger ATP pilots flying such airplanes. Moreover, no evidence indicates that age is a factor in serious and fatal accidents for ATP pilots flying large airplanes up to the mandatory retirement age of 60 years. The extra screening and training of ATP pilots may explain the differences in accident severity between these and other pilots.     

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.     

BANK EFFICIENCY AND THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MONETARY POLICY

Advances in information technology and bank consolidation have altered the way banks operate by necessitating that banks control costs and provide services efficiently to remain competitive. Given the unique role bank operations play in the transmission of monetary policy, a key unresolved question is whether bank efficiency alters monetary policy outcomes. Using a stochastic frontier approach to measure cost‐efficiency and panel data of U.S. bank balance sheets, we show that banks with greater cost‐efficiency are more sensitive to monetary shocks. (JEL E52, E44, E51)     

货币信贷运行特点与货币政策操作取向

本文回顾了2009年中国货币政策操作的主要措施,说明了2009年金融运行情况和特征,分析了2010年货币政策运行环境,提出了货币政策建议。本文认为,2009年,为了应对国际金融危机的不利影响,中国人民银行实行了适度宽松的货币政策,货币环境宽松,有力地支持了经济企稳回升。2010年,随着经济形势的变化,中国人民银行需要在保增长、调结构和防风险之间取得平衡,因此需要在保持货币政策的连续性和稳定性的同时,进一步增强货币政策的前瞻性、针对性和灵活性,保持货币信贷的合理均衡增长,促进经济稳定发展。