On fairness of systemic risk measures

Finance and Stochastics - In our previous paper “A unified approach to systemic risk measures via acceptance sets” (Mathematical Finance, 2018), we have introduced a general class of...     

RISK‐MINIMIZATION FOR LIFE INSURANCE LIABILITIES WITH DEPENDENT MORTALITY RISK

In this paper, we study the pricing and hedging of typical life insurance liabilities for an insurance portfolio with dependent mortality risk by means of the well‐known risk‐minimization approach. As the insurance portfolio consists of individuals of different age cohorts in order to capture the cross‐generational dependency structure of the portfolio, we introduce affine models for the mortality intensities based on Gaussian random fields that deliver analytically tractable results. We also provide specific examples consistent with historical mortality data and correlation structures. Main novelties of this work are the explicit computations of risk‐minimizing strategies for life insurance liabilities written on an insurance portfolio composed of primary financial assets (a risky asset and a money market account) and a family of longevity bonds, and the simultaneous consideration of different age cohorts.     

Understanding the consequences of diversification on financial stability

In this paper, we study the consequences of diversification on financial stability and social welfare using an agent based model that couples the real economy and a financial system. We validate the model against its ability to reproduce several stylized facts reported in real economies. We find that the risk of an isolated bank failure (i.e. idiosyncratic risk) is decreasing with diversification. In contrast, the probability of joint failures (i.e. systemic risk) is increasing with diversification which results in more downturns in the real sector. Additionally, we find that the system displays a “robust yet fragile” behaviour particularly for low diversification. Moreover, we study the impact of introducing preferential attachment into the lending relationships between banks and firms. Finally, we show that a regulatory policy that promotes bank–firm credit transactions that reduce similarity between banks can improve financial stability whilst permitting diversification.

     

From vehicle suppliers to value co-creators: the evolving role of Italian motorhome manufacturers

Recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturers have traditionally been viewed as having no direct effect on caravanning experiences beyond their role as the suppliers of the vehicles. Drawing on the theoretical approach known as service-dominant logic, this paper suggests that RV manufacturers play an active role in the co-creation of tourism experiences. This study adopted the framework developed by Storbacka, K., Brodie, R. J., P., Böhmann, T., Maglio P. P., & Nenonen, S. [(2016). Actor engagement as a microfoundation for value co-creation. Journal of Business Research, 69(1), 3008–3017] that considers engagement as a microfoundation of value co-creation to investigate value co-creation in this context. A template analysis of the data collected from in-depth interviews with all Italian motorhome manufacturers revealed themes relating to five issues: engaging actors, engaging platforms, actors’ dispositions, engagement properties and resource integration patterns. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Firm heterogeneity in services trade: Micro-level evidence from eight OECD countries

This paper shows that smaller and less productive firms, as well as first-time exporters, are overproportionally affected by services trade barriers using micro-data from Belgium, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. For these firms, both the propensity to export and export volumes to less restrictive destinations are significantly higher than to more restrictive destinations. In contrast, policy barriers measured by the OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) do not affect export decisions of the largest, most productive and experience services firms. The pattern holds for two major modes of supply, cross-border services exports and foreign affiliate sales of services firms. The findings are consistent with firm sorting mechanisms in trade models with heterogeneous firms and hysteresis of export participation in the presence of sunk export costs.     

What Explains the Rise in Executive Pay in Germany? A Panel Data Analysis for 1977–2009

Executive compensation in Germany has become highly controversial since Vodafone's hostile takeover of Mannesmann in 2000. It has again been in the spotlight since the outbreak of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis. Using a unique panel dataset of the 500 largest firms in Germany in the period 1977–2009, we find that executives tend to be rewarded when the sector is doing well rather than the firm they work for. Furthermore, we find that CEO pay and the demand for managers increases in Germany in difficult times when the typical firm size shrinks. Finally, domestic and global competition for managers appear to contribute to the rise in executive pay.     

Eldercare hours,work hours and perceived filial obligations

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we take a fresh look at the magnitude of the trade-off between caring informally for a parent and paid work. We adopt a simultaneous approach with a primary focus on how hours of care are influenced by hours of work rather than the other way round. We also investigate the role that filial obligations play in choices of caring versus working. Using the SHARE data (2004 and 2006) we find that the elasticity of informal care hours in response to working hours is between ?0.17 in the caregivers sample and ?0.19 in the women-only caregivers sample; small but not negligible. Moreover, we find that a 10%increase in the index measuring the strength of filial obligations increases weekly hours of care by about two and a half hours.     

Export quality differentiation under credit constraints

This paper studies the effect of credit constraints on the choice by small and medium-sized enterprises to export goods of higher quality relative to their domestically sold output (quality differentiation). The empirical analysis employs detailed firm-level data on product characteristics and credit scores. Credit constraints are found to be negatively associated with export quality differentiation. Firms reporting a deterioration of the credit score by a standard deviation are 36% less likely to pursue quality differentiation. The negative relation between credit constraints and quality differentiation is stronger for firms exporting to distant markets.