Reforming against all odds: Multi‐pillar pension systems in the Czech Republic and Romania

Attempts to replace pay‐as‐you‐go pension schemes with private funded systems came to a halt in Central and Eastern Europe after 2005. However, more recently, the region has witnessed two belated reformers: the Czech Republic and Romania. Both countries decided to partially privatize pensions despite the rising tide of evidence concerning the challenges associated with the policy. We argue that while part of the domestic political elite remained supportive of private funded pensions, the difficulties experienced by earlier reformers and reduced support from International Financial Institutions led to the adoption of small funded pension pillars. Such cautious attempts at privatization might become more common in the future as large reforms have proven politically unsustainable.     

Bayes Hilbert Spaces

A Bayes linear space is a linear space of equivalence classes of proportional σ‐finite measures, including probability measures. Measures are identified with their density functions. Addition is given by Bayes' rule and substraction by Radon–Nikodym derivatives. The present contribution shows the subspace of square‐log‐integrable densities to be a Hilbert space, which can include probability and infinite measures, measures on the whole real line or discrete measures. It extends the ideas from the Hilbert space of densities on a finite support towards Hilbert spaces on general measure spaces. It is also a generalisation of the Euclidean structure of the simplex, the sample space of random compositions. In this framework, basic notions of mathematical statistics get a simple algebraic interpretation. A key tool is the centred‐log‐ratio transformation, a generalization of that used in compositional data analysis, which maps the Hilbert space of measures into a subspace of square‐integrable functions. As a consequence of this structure, distances between densities, orthonormal bases, and Fourier series representing measures become available. As an application, Fourier series of normal distributions and distances between them are derived, and an example related to grain size distributions is presented. The geometry of the sample space of random compositions, known as Aitchison geometry of the simplex, is obtained as a particular case of the Hilbert space when the measures have discrete and finite support.     

Estimation of the extended Weibull parameters and acceleration factors in the step-stress accelerated life tests under an adaptive progressively hybrid censoring data

ABSTRACT

Based on the tampered failure rate model under the adaptive Type-II progressively hybrid censoring data, we discuss the maximum likelihood estimators of the unknown parameters and acceleration factors in the general step-stress accelerated life tests in this paper. We also construct the exact and unique confidence interval for the extended Weibull shape parameter. In the numerical analysis, we describe the simulation procedures to obtain the adaptive Type-II progressively hybrid censoring data in the step-stress accelerated life tests and present an experimental data to illustrate the performance of the estimators.     

Local influence in ridge semiparametric models

ABSTRACT

Ridge penalized least-squares estimators has been suggested as an alternative to the minimum penalized sum of squares estimates in the presence of collinearity among the explanatory variables in semiparametric regression models (SPRMs). This paper studies the local influence of minor perturbations on the ridge estimates in the SPRM. The diagnostics under the perturbation of ridge penalized sum of squares, response variable, explanatory variables and ridge parameter are considered. Some local influence diagnostics are given. A Monte Carlo simulation study and a real example are used to illustrate the proposed perturbations.     

“以房养老”模式的运作基础分析

以我国老龄化为背景,分别从物质基础、市场基础、政府的支持和实践基础等四个维度出发,全面分析了在我国推行"以房养老"模式的条件与可行性。首先从我国居民住房概况、城市老人经济情况和我国房地产业着手,论证我国运作"以房养老"模式已具备一定物质基础;第二,运用阿杰恩的合理行为理论,阐述在我国推行"以房养老"模式的群众心理,说明已具备市场基础;第三,从政府态度这个角度阐明"以房养老"模式将得到政府的支持;第四,梳理国内外反向抵押贷款的实践经验与教训。尽管目前我国理论界对以房养老模式还存在着不同的看法,但我国已具备实行以房养老模式的条件和基础,在我国大力推行以房养老具有广阔的前景。     

架起低碳现实与法律制度的桥梁——社会调查方法应用探讨

对目前中国低碳现实环境的了解与分析是探讨低碳法律制度安排的前提和基础。将社会调查方法应用到低碳法律制度研究中,不仅是法学方法论的突破,同时体现着法学研究的一种理性自觉,也为低碳立法和人民参与立法提供了一种科学有效的手段。社会调查方法在低碳法律制度研究中的应用包括方案设计、问卷设计、应注意的价值取向以及多种方法的结合等方面。     

农林类大学计算机基础教育课程体系的构建和实施方案

大学计算机基础教育目的是使学生掌握计算机、网络及相关的信息技术的基本知识,培养学生利用计算机分析问题、解决问题的意识和能力,提高学生计算机素质,为将来利用计算机技术解决本专业的实际问题打下基础。根据农林类大学具有专业领域分布广、学生素质一般、不同专业的学生具有计算机基础差距较大,对计算机知识的掌握、课程要求的不同需求,提出了农林类大学计算机基础教育的课程体系、课程设置和实施方案。     

再论《五方元音》入声的性质

樊腾凤《五方元音》是明清时期一部韵书韵图相配合的等韵化韵书,是研究明清语音的重要资料。《五方元音》共有五个调类,即阴平、阳平、上声、去声、入声。从编纂形式来看,入声是独立存在的,并没有并入平上去声中。但其入声的性质如何呢？是实际语音的反映？还是仿古的表现呢？对此学术界的看法不一,莫衷一是。本文在前人研究成果的基础上,结合入声在近代汉语的空间分布,从方言入声发展的动态着眼,重新审视了《五方元音》入声的性质,认为《五方元音》保留入声是实际语音的反映。     

Construction and selection of tightened–normal–tightened variables sampling scheme of type TNTVSS (n 1, n 2; k)

This paper provides tables for the construction and selection of tightened–normal–tightened variables sampling scheme of type TNTVSS (n ₁, n ₂; k). The method of designing the scheme indexed by (AQL, α) and (LQL, β) is indicated. The TNTVSS (n _T , n _N; k) is compared with conventional single sampling plans for variables and with TNT (n ₁, n ₂; c) scheme for attributes, and it is shown that the TNTVSS is more efficient.     

A disarmingly simple idea? Practical bottlenecks in the implementation of a universal basic income

This article considers the implementation of a universal basic income, a neglected area in basic income research. We identify and examine three important practical bottlenecks that may prevent a basic income scheme from attaining the universal reach desired and proclaimed by its advocates: i) maintaining a population‐wide cadaster of eligible claimants ensuring full takeup; ii) instituting robust modalities of payment that reach all intended beneficiaries; and iii) designing an effective oversight mechanism in a policy context that actively opposes client monitoring. We argue that the implementation of universal basic income faces unique challenges that its proponents must consider carefully.