Aging With Rising Risk: Have Older Households Experienced Faster-Growing Risk Exposure Than Younger Ones Since the 1990s?

Financial markets have been characterized by boom and bust cycles since the 1980s, while the responsibility for managing retirement wealth has increasingly shifted onto individual households at the same time. Policy makers and experts have expressed concern over rising risk exposure among older householders, who appear to be increasingly exposed to the growing financial risks just as they near retirement. We consider household data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances from 1989 to 2010 to analyze the correlation between age and risk exposure. We test whether older householders’ risk exposure has indeed grown over time, whether it has increased more than that of younger householders, whether changes in the demographic composition of older householders have contributed to older households’ rising risk exposure, and the degree to which increases in risk exposure can be traced to a growing concentration of household assets held in stocks and housing and to rising householder indebtedness. Our results indicate that risk exposure has grown more for older householders than for younger ones, that demographic changes among older householders have contributed to additional increases in older householders’ risk exposure, and that the growth of older householders’ risk exposure is driven more by rising risky asset concentration and less by greater indebtedness.     

Multivariate hypothesis testing using generalized and {2}-inverses – with applications

The use of generalized inverses in Wald's-type quadratic forms of test statistics having singular normal limiting distributions does not guarantee to obtain chi-square limiting distributions. In this article, the use of {2} -inverses for that problem is investigated. Alternatively, Imhof-based test statistics can also be defined, which converge in distribution to weighted sum of chi-square variables. The asymptotic distributions of these test statistics under the null and alternative hypotheses are discussed. Under fixed and local alternatives, the asymptotic powers are compared theoretically. Simulation studies are also performed to compare the exact powers of the test statistics in finite samples. A data analysis on the temperature and precipitation variability in the European Alps illustrates the proposed methods.     

Binomial AR(1) processes: moments,cumulants, and estimation

The modelling and analysis of count-data time series are areas of emerging interest with various applications in practice. We consider the particular case of the binomial AR(1) model, which is well suited for describing binomial counts with a first-order autoregressive serial dependence structure. We derive explicit expressions for the joint (central) moments and cumulants up to order 4. Then, we apply these results for expressing moments and asymptotic distribution of the squared difference estimator as an alternative to the sample autocovariance. We also analyse the asymptotic distribution of the conditional least-squares estimators of the parameters of the binomial AR(1) model. The finite-sample performance of these estimators is investigated in a simulation study, and we apply them to real data about computerized workstations.     

Towards Understanding Variations in Social Care for Older People in England

Indicators of the public provision of old age social care are routinely recorded in England and have been used for diverse purposes including performance monitoring. Despite long‐term policy guidance promoting more homogeneous service provision, large variations can still be observed between local authorities (the providers of state‐funded social care). Our aim is to better understand such variations in a small selection of key aggregate indicators. Drawing on multiple data sources and pursuing a two‐step strategy, we first assess the explanatory power of a set of structural predictors and then add to the models a set of specific care management ‘process’ predictors. We find that structural factors beyond the control of local authorities explain a considerable share of the observable variation. The additional explanatory power of care management characteristics is small in comparison. Therefore, our findings suggest that caution must be taken when aggregate indicators of service provision are used for performance monitoring purposes, as a degree of autonomy over outcomes may be implied which in light of the empirical evidence is unrealistic. Past attempts to influence the aggregate pattern of service provision – apparently seeking greater ‘territorial justice’– are likely to have had adverse implications for service users and the uniformity of service delivery across England. Questions are raised about the adequate role of central government in a policy environment characterized by longstanding local government responsibility.     

Risk and choice: A research saga

The economic theory of decision making under risk has seen remarkable advances over the 50 years since Pratt’s (1964) characterization of risk aversion under expected utility. We review developments in three key areas to which Louis Eeckhoudt has made significant contributions: (1) increases in risk and risk taking; (2) self-protection and risk aversion; and (3) higher (and lower) order derivatives of utility. For each, we identify seminal papers, puzzles, and recent developments. The saga of research on these topics reveals that important contributions were made long ago and yet significant gains in understanding continue to be made. Recent advances often have roots in early results and researchers can profit by examining the old as well as the new papers.     

Innerbetriebliche Subventionen zur Koordination und Steuerung dezentraler Unternehmenseinheiten bei Absatzinterdependenzen

The kind of interdependencies between decentralized departments determines the objective of coordination as well as the applicability of several coordination instruments. This paper examines two decentralized departments of one company joining a cross-firm value network with existing sales interdependencies. It compares a contribution margin based, a revenue based and a quantity based compensatory payment as coordination instruments for inducing efficient quantity and investment decisions. As a general result, conditions are identified for which ordained coordination instruments dominate other mechanisms with respect to the expected firm wide profit.     

Bewerbermanagementsysteme in deutschen Großunternehmen

Due to a talent shortage, German large-scale corporations and their recruiting departments go at the moment through rough times but recruiting systems could offer valuable support in the hunt for new employees. To analyze the value contribution of the IT support of these systems, HR executives of the largest 1,000 German companies were surveyed. Based on the results of this representative survey, the following implications for the value contribution of applicant tracking systems as part of operating and management services can be made. Predominately, reductions in terms of process time and process cost in recruiting can be realized by using these applicant tracking systems. However, an improvement in process quality (e.g. higher number of successfully hired ideal candidates) cannot be evaluated. For all results there is no difference between the value contribution for the operating and management system. The value contribution of these applicant tracking systems is not influenced by the size of the observed enterprises.     

Marginalisation processes in inclusive education in Norway: a longitudinal study of classroom participation

The aim of this paper is to describe the classroom participation of primary school children with disabilities who attend regular schools in Norway; to explore how relations between children with disabilities and their environment change, and further to chart how schools act in response to such change. The analyses are based on a life course study with data gathered from interviews and questionnaires given to the parents of children with disabilities born in the period between 1993 and 1995. The results show an increasing marginalisation of children with disabilities who receive their primary school education at regular schools. Despite the fact that public policies in Norway are based on a relational understanding of disability, thus suggesting that educators would make considerable efforts to accommodate children with disabilities in regular schools, the reality is that schools take an individual approach to children with disabilities which reflects a medical understanding of disability.