Zu den zwei Versicherungsbegriffen von Werner Mahr und ihrer Bedeutung in der heutigen Zeit

Werner Mahr differentiates between two notions of insurance based upon either the mutuality or the speculation principle. While Mahr however supposes that these two principles melt into the pure insurance-technological economics through the interplay of the probability principle, the differences will be stressed. In the first step, the (theoretical) distinctions are elaborated between the “ideal” insurance model of K. J. Arrow, based on the mutuality principle, and the “classical” insurance model of K. Borch, building on the speculation principle or the reserve theory according to A. Willett. In the second step, these differentiations are elucidated with the help of three examples: uncertainty about the risks, correlated risks, and macroeconomic, in particular demographic risks.     

Viewer Preference Segmentation and Viewing Choice Models for Network Television

Abstract

Individual viewing decisions have a direct impact on the media planning of television advertisers and, consequently, on the revenues of the major television networks. This paper represents an attempt to better understand these decisions. We use Nielsen people meter data to build a perceptual space for programs. That space is then used to develop models explaining viewers' decision to watch television and their choice of programming. The program-choice model is a clusterwise logit model which searches for segments with similar viewing preferences. A segment-level logit model is then used to model the on-off decision. These models can be used by advertisers and advertising agencies to understand the viewing audience better, and thus to help guide their advertising media placement decisions. The models can also help television networks design programs and program schedules that are more attractive to viewers (and thus advertisers).     

Aufschwung bleibt moderat — Wirtschaftspolitik wenig wachstumsorientiert

The German economy is experiencing a moderate upturn. Gross domestic product is expected to increase by 1.6 per cent this year and by 1.5 per cent in 2017. The upturn will be driven by private consumption, which will benefit from continued employment growth, sizeable increases in wage and transfer income, and also purchasing power gains thanks to lower energy prices. Fiscal policy will also be expansively oriented, partly due to rising costs related to refugee immigration. Public budgets will still post significant surpluses in the forecasting period, however. Failing to use this room for manoeuvre to promote growth, as seen in recent years, is not a sustainable path. In view of the continuous slack in the euro area economy, the monetary policy stance is considered to be appropriate. Should it become obvious in the course of this year that production does not return to normal capacity and that the inflation rate does not move towards two per cent, further measures to stimulate growth might become necessary. The scope for further monetary policy measures has been widely exhausted, though. A further economic stabilization could only be achieved through a combination of expansionary fiscal and monetary policy. This could severely damage the credibility of monetary policy, however.     

Manufactured regional crises: The Middle East and North Africa under global food regimes

The current agrarian and food crisis in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has been interpreted through a number of tropes. Within the dominant mainstream discourse, the MENA region is often depicted as a homogenous geographical area characterized by dryness, infertile lands and poor water resources. How did imperialism, colonialism and the Cold War influence the MENA food systems? What were the effects of trade liberalization and neoliberalism on the agricultural systems in the region? These are some questions that this paper will try to answer using a geographical and historical-comparative analysis, through a food regimes lens. Understanding contemporary social relations dynamics cannot be limited to the recent period. Agriculture and food in the MENA region are anchored in the history of power relations ruled by flows of capital and the shaping of ecological transformations during the longue durée of capitalism and its corresponding modes of control and regulation.     

Consumer Standards as a Strategic Device to Mitigate Ratchet Effects in Dynamic Regulation

Strategic delegation to an independent regulator with a pure consumer standard improves dynamic regulation by mitigating ratchet effects associated with short‐term contracting. A pure consumer standard alleviates the regulator's myopic temptation to raise output after learning the firm is inefficient. Anticipating this tougher regulatory behavior, efficient firms find it less attractive to exaggerate costs. This reduces the need for long‐term rents and mitigates ratchet effects. A welfare standard biased toward consumers entails, however, allocative costs arising from partial separation of the firms' cost types. A trade‐off results, which favors strategic delegation when efficient firms are relatively likely.     

An extension of Mohring's model for land rent distribution

In an early paper Herbert Mohring (J. Pol. Econ., 49 (1961)) presented a model for land rent distribution yielding the well-known result that the price of land must fall with the distance from the city center to offset transportation costs. Our paper is an extension of Mohring's model in which we relax some of his drastic simplifying assumptions. This extended model has been incorporated in a method for economic evaluation of city master plans which has been applied to a Swedish city. In this method the interdependence among housing, heating, and transportation, the durability of urban structures, and the uncertainty of future demand are explicitly considered within a cost-benefit approach. Some empirical results from this pilot study concerning land rent distributions are also presented here.     

It's All About CareerSKILLS: Effectiveness of a Career Development Intervention for Young Employees

The aim of our study was to investigate the effectiveness of the CareerSKILLS program, a career development intervention based on career competencies and the JOBS methodology, which aims to stimulate career self‐management and well‐being of young employees. In a quasi‐randomized control trial, the effects of the program were tested in a homogeneous sample of young employees with intermediate vocational education (N_intervention = 112, N_{non‐intervention} = 61) and in a heterogeneous sample of employees from a special reintegration program (N_intervention = 71, N_{non‐intervention} = 41). Our results support the effectiveness of the intervention: participants of the CareerSKILLS program, versus a control group, showed increases in six career competencies (reflection of motivation, reflection on qualities, networking, self‐profiling, work exploration, and career control), self‐efficacy, resilience against setbacks, career‐related behaviors, perceived employability, and work engagement. These results provide empirical support for the effectiveness of the CareerSKILLS program. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.