Limited participation and consumption-saving puzzles: A simple explanation and the role of insurance

In this paper, we show that the existence of a large, negative wealth shock and insufficient insurance against such a shock could explain both the limited stock market participation puzzle and the low-consumption–high-savings puzzle. We then conduct an empirical analysis on the relation between household portfolio choices and access to private insurance and various types of government safety nets. The empirical results demonstrate that a lack of insurance against large, negative wealth shocks is positively correlated with lower participation rates and higher saving rates. Overall, the evidence suggests an important role of insurance in household investment and savings decisions.     

大陆与台湾保险合同法比较与评析——以大陆《保险法》2009年修订为重点

台湾和大陆都于近期先后完成了新一轮的保险法修改,虽然修改后的两岸保险法在保险合同法方面的规范更显趋同化,但不少制度和规则仍保留了各自程度不同的差异。本文选取了保险利益对合同效力的影响、保险合同的成立与生效、告知义务与合同解除权、年龄误报的法律后果、危险增加的通知义务、重复保险的处理方法等六个方面的法律问题进行了比较,试图揭示两岸立法在保险合同当事人之间利益平衡方面的不同坐标定位及将来可相互借鉴和融合的空间。     

The crowding-out effect of formal insurance on informal risk sharing: An experimental study

This paper investigates the crowding-out effect of formal insurance on informal risk-sharing arrangements via theory and laboratory experiment. Our model and simulation predict that the crowding out of private transfers is often more than one-for-one and will reduce the total risk coverage. Furthermore, the existence of a moderate degree of altruism exaggerates the crowding-out effect, especially when there is an ex-ante income inequality. These predictions are mostly supported by the laboratory experiment, except that the crowding-out effect is not more than one-for-one, and hence the total risk coverage is not significantly reduced by formal insurance.     

Evolving provider payment models and patient access to innovative medical technology

Objective:

To investigate the evolving use and expected impact of pay-for-performance (P4P) and risk-based provider reimbursement on patient access to innovative medical technology.

Methods:

Structured interviews with leading private payers representing over 110 million commercially-insured lives exploring current and planned use of P4P provider payment models, evidence requirements for technology assessment and new technology coverage, and the evolving relationship between the two topics.

Results:

Respondents reported rapid increases in the use of P4P and risk-sharing programs, with roughly half of commercial lives affected 3 years ago, just under two-thirds today, and an expected three-quarters in 3 years. All reported well-established systems for evaluating new technology coverage. Five of nine reported becoming more selective in the past 3 years in approving new technologies; four anticipated that in the next 3 years there will be a higher evidence requirement for new technology access. Similarly, four expected it will become more difficult for clinically appropriate but costly technologies to gain coverage. All reported planning to rely more on these types of provider payment incentives to control costs, but didn’t see them as a substitute for payer technology reviews and coverage limitations; they each have a role to play.

Limitations:

Interviews limited to nine leading payers with models in place; self-reported data.

Conclusion:

Likely implications include a more uncertain payment environment for providers, and indirectly for innovative medical technology and future investment, greater reliance on quality and financial metrics, and increased evidence requirements for favorable coverage and utilization decisions. Increasing provider financial risk may challenge the traditional technology adoption paradigm, where payers assumed a ‘gatekeeping’ role and providers a countervailing patient advocacy role with regard to access to new technology. Increased provider financial risk may result in an additional hurdle to the adoption of new technology, rather than substitution of provider- for payer-based gatekeeping.     

产权结构、存款保险与银行竞争——基于Bertrand模型的研究

本文通过比较双头寡占下价格竞争的纯粹寡占模型和混合寡占模型,主要讨论了国有商业银行对存款保险制度的建立是否存在影响,以及不同存款保险制度对国有商业银行经营利润的影响。研究发现:(1)外部风险控制不能完全代替银行内部风险控制。(2)风险调整存款保险制度与固定费率存款保险制度相比,会弱化道德风险,但无法完全避免。(3)当国有商业银行完全追求社会福利最大化时,无论采取固定费率存款保险制度还是风险调整存款保险制度,均不影响国有商业银行的利润。(4)当银行贷款利率和存款保险定价合理时,如果不考虑信息不对称和代理问题,产权结构不影响银行的风险选择。     

浅谈保险资金投资REITs

2009年10月1日,新修订的《保险法》允许保险资金可以投资于不动产,房地产作为不动产内容之一,可以成为保险资金投资渠道之一。REITs作为房地产市场股权投资的一种方式,具有非关联性、高流动性和高回报率的特点,这与保险经营具有的强外部性、成本滞后性、资金运转周期长等特点相吻合,为保险资金投资房地产搭建了难得的操作平台。通过分析保险资金投资REITs存在风险,并给出相关建议,对我国保险资金投资REITs发展起到一定的指导作用。     

苏州市中青年购买健康险产品消费行为研究

本文主要针对苏州市的年龄在20岁～60岁间的居民为研究对象,研究苏州市中青年消费者对于购买商业健康保险的购买行为。研究后发现,各生活形态集群对于未购买原因有比较显著的差异,而对于购买动机,给付偏好、购买评估准则以及产品利益等则基本相同。因而,对各大保险公司来说,针对不同的子市场执行相应的保险营销策略,则有利于提高消费者的购买意愿,提高投保率。     

Critical thinking about creative accounting in the face of a recent scandal in the Turkish banking sector

In the last two decades, serious accounting scandals occurred in large companies (e.g. WorldCom and Enron) and in the banking sector (e.g. BCCI, Barings, Allied Irish Bank and Baninter). Then the problem of creative accounting with its legal and illegal aspects has come into agendas of business firms and governments. In this paper, a certain type of creative accounting practices (i.e. fraud) has been examined in the light of a Turkish case (i.e. the Imarbank Scandal). It has been found that deficiencies in the legal frameworks for banking and accounting, inadequacies in the autonomy of governmental regulation and supervision bodies, practical difficulties in enforcing legal and ethical rules due to the slow functioning of the judicial system are significant reasons for creative accounting practices in addition to the personal greed of both owners&top management of Imarbank and its customers. However, the intention and capability of political power in combating such kind of corruption are also crucial.     

医疗保险需求的影响因素——基于收入水平的解释

收入水平是影响医疗保险需求量和居民参保积极性的重要因素。直观的经验感受和一些研究表明收入水平和医疗保险的需求量是呈正相关关系,笔者则认为二者是呈倒"U"型的非线性关系。根据居民收入水平的不同以及其对医疗保险的需求不同采取不同的制度安排,以满足不同阶层的人群对医疗卫生服务的需求。     

中国银行保险模式创新与转型的战略选择

构建银行和保险的战略组合,充分发挥二者的有机配置的整体效应,实现二者的"双赢",是实施银保合作的目标。根据中国的国情,在银行保险的四种经营模式中,合资企业和金融集团是较为高级的、涉及资本融合的两种模式,也是银行保险较为发达的国家通常采用的模式。