The optimal portfolio for the two-pillar mandatory pension system: the case of Poland

In the recent decade, there has been observed across the Central and Eastern European states the regulatory trend towards the increase of the non-financial (first) pension pillar size at the expense of the financial (second) pillar. It tends to question the consequences of this shift for the future retirement benefits. Applying the portfolio approach we address this issue by running a series of simulations to find out how to allocate pension contributions between both pillars in an optimal way. Our study contributes to the existing literature as follows. First, we do not perform the assessment of the predetermined regulatory solutions, but we look for an optimal one. Moreover, we allow our optimal rule to be time-varying, if necessary, which would be a true novelty in this research area. Second, we do not base our estimates on historical trends; rather, we apply the long-term economy’s projection to account for the society’s ageing impact, which is a crucially important factor for the solvency of the pension system. Adapting some of the simulation assumptions to fit the Polish case, our results confirm that current regulations underestimate the role of the capital pillar and the optimal allocation between both pillars should be time-varying.     

试析FDI对我国产业结构的影响

外商直接投资对一个国家产业结构优化有着重要的影响，它直接关系着产业结构优化的程度。就我国目前的情况来看，外商直接投资对中国的产业结构的调整和优化还需要有不小的改进。基于此．本文对外商直接投资对我国产业的利弊作分析，进而提出解决的对策。     

An integrated system for information security management with the unified framework

Information security management plays an essential role for drawing the roadmap of information security; thus, many theoretical methodologies and practical standards are brought into this domain. However, many standards and methodologies are too cumbersome to be adopted by an organization. Additionally, there is no unified framework to systematically handle the tedious tasks of information security management. This study’s primary goal is to design an integrated system for information security management (ISISM) that aims to use current methodologies and standards to solve the above-mentioned issues. Because business impact analysis and risk analysis are the most important areas within this domain, we carefully select the related methods and then integrate them into a unified framework, upon which the proposed ISISM depends. To achieve this outcome for this study, security requirement engineering is adopted, which enables the designed system to support system users in generating risk assessment reports with related information security policies.     

Robust Markowitz mean‐variance portfolio selection under ambiguous covariance matrix

This paper studies a robust continuous‐time Markowitz portfolio selection problem where the model uncertainty affects the covariance matrix of multiple risky assets. This problem is formulated into a min–max mean‐variance problem over a set of nondominated probability measures that is solved by a McKean–Vlasov dynamic programming approach, which allows us to characterize the solution in terms of a Bellman–Isaacs equation in the Wasserstein space of probability measures. We provide explicit solutions for the optimal robust portfolio strategies and illustrate our results in the case of uncertain volatilities and ambiguous correlation between two risky assets. We then derive the robust efficient frontier in closed form, and obtain a lower bound for the Sharpe ratio of any robust efficient portfolio strategy. Finally, we compare the performance of Sharpe ratios for a robust investor and for an investor with a misspecified model.     

Assessment of blockchain applications in travel and tourism industry

Quality & Quantity - Blockchain technology (BCT) is a network-based system, which is developed to create secure, smart and transparent distributed ledgers. Recently, BCT has been gaining more...     

A MCGP decision aid for homebuyers to make the best choice

This study adopts a new approach, the multi-choice goal programming (MCGP), to evaluate houses in order to help homebuyers to find better house based on the residential preferences. According to the function of MCGP, homebuyers can set multiple housing goals with multiple aspiration levels. This increases the flexibility to find a suitable house. Compared with other classical methods such as checklist and analytic hierarchy process, MCGP is more efficient, especially while considering a lot of housing criteria and house alternatives. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of MCGP decision aid for housing selection, a real case study is then provided. Furthermore, ten volunteers are invited to participate in the empirical experiment. The results also validate the effectiveness and efficiency of MCGP decision aid.     

Determinants of migration from ASEAN‐3 into Malaysia

Migration theory advances several reasons for migration, which can be categorised into two groups: push factors and pull factors. Push factors include the economic performance of the emigrating country, whereas the pull factors include performance in the destination country. The latter include gross domestic product, job creation, the unemployment rate, education level, and wage rate. This paper examines the determinants of immigration from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)‐3, namely Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, into Malaysia. The analysis is based on panel data of 1990–2008 using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag approach. The results show that the main determinants of this migration flow are the real wage ratio among the ASEAN‐3 and Malaysia, the unemployment rate in the source countries, and the real exchange rate ratio between the ASEAN‐3 and Malaysia.     

The Effect of Scarcity on the Purchase Intentions of Prevention and Promotion Motivated Consumers

This study investigates the influence of consumers’ motivational orientations (“prevention” vs. “promotion”) on their susceptibility to demand‐based versus supply‐based scarcity, measured by purchase intention scores. Prevention‐focused participants were more inclined to adopt a product when it was perceived to be demand‐scarce rather than supply‐scarce, while those who were identified as promotion‐focused responded positively to scarcity attributed to supply shortfall. In addition, products that could be associated with a prevention motive enhanced purchase intentions when presented as demand‐scarce but not if perceived to be supply‐scarce; conversely, products associated with the promotion motive scored better if the scarcity was seen to be supply‐generated rather than demand‐generated. Lastly, messages focused on prevention were more effective than those focused on promotion in the case of perceived demand scarcity, whereas the converse holds true for supply scarcity. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the motivational differences underlying the effectiveness of scarcity appeals. They furthermore suggest the strategic implication that improved intention to purchase occurs when the regulatory focus evoked by a scarcity‐related message is compatible with the appeal it communicates.