Always the Third Rail?

2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1068-1097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Lynch ◽  
Mikko Myrskylä
Keyword(s):  
Pension System ◽  
Public Pensions ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Transfer Programs ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Economic Analyses ◽  
Micro Foundations

Social transfer programs are thought to generate beneficiary groups who will act politically to defend “their” programs from retrenchment. But little empirical research has been conducted to either verify or disconfirm the micro foundations of this hypothesis, which lies at the heart of the “new social risks” thesis as well as many economic analyses of welfare state politics. This article tests empirically whether benefiting from public pensions leads individuals to greater support of the pension system status quo, net of other factors. It uses cross—data set imputation to combine cross-nationally comparable individual-level data on income from public pensions with political attitudes toward proposed pension reforms. The hypothesis that public pension systems create policy feedbacks of self-interested beneficiaries supporting further pension spending is not supported in any of 11 European countries in either 1992 or 2001.

Die Finanzierungslücke der Gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung in Deutschland – Eine Simulationsstudie zu Lösungsmöglichkeiten

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steffen Bollacke
Keyword(s):  
Pension System ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Public Pension ◽  
Demographic Factor ◽  
Public Pensions ◽  
Calculation Formula ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
Public Pension System ◽  
Reform Processes

AbstractPopulation aging challenges pay-as-you-go pension systems. Solving the associated funding problem constantly motivates reform processes. In addition to an aging population, specific regulations of the German public pension system lead to an increasing financial burden of national finances. To ensure sustainable funding of pensions, the calculation formula of the German public pension system will be investigated in this paper. It will be shown, that there are two alterable parameters, which are not optimally used regarding the funding of public pensions. Simulations show that a variable demographic factor to calculate public pensions can reduce the financial burden of national finances.

Risk, Incentives, and Contracts: Partnerships in Rio de Janeiro, 1870–1891

2010 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Abramitzky ◽  
Zephyr Frank ◽  
Aprajit Mahajan
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Bargaining Power ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Limited Liability ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Relative Bargaining Power

We construct an individual-level data set of partnership contracts in late-nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro to study the determinants of contract terms. Partners with limited liability contributed more capital and received lower draws for private expenses and lower profit shares than their unlimited partners. Unlimited partners in turn received higher-powered incentives when they contracted with limited partners than when they contracted with unlimited partners. A reform that changed the relative bargaining power further improved the terms of unlimited partners in limited firms. These findings highlight the roles of risk, incentives, and bargaining power in shaping contracts.

Adults with learning disabilities known to local authorities in Scotland: a national dataset

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
Claire Stuart ◽  
Andrew McKeown ◽  
Angela Henderson ◽  
Chloe Trew
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Analytical Potential ◽  
Adults With Learning Disabilities

Purpose – Learning Disability Statistics Scotland collects information on adults with learning disabilities who are known to local authorities in Scotland and the services they use. The data collection supports national and local government policy making and is focused on monitoring the implementation of learning disability policy. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Individual level data are requested from all 32 local authorities on adults aged 16-17 who are not in full-time education and those aged 18 and over. Annual data guidance is developed in conjunction with local authorities prior to the collection and is issued to standardise the process and manage avoidable error. The collated data are extracted from local authority administrative data and records are provided on each adult regardless of whether they are currently receiving a service. Anonymisation takes place prior to upload and strict guidelines are followed to ensure it is not possible to identify individuals. Findings – The paper provides insights to the project's processes, uses, challenges and future plans. It details the position of the data outputs within a policy context and the role these might play within a broader research agenda. Research limitations/implications – This data includes only adults known to local authority services. Originality/value – The value of the project lies in its strength as a national social care data set comprised of individual level data. This methodology increases the analytical potential of the data set. This paper will be of interest to those interested in data on learning disability and those with an interest in the analytical potential of an individual level national data set.

scholarly journals Using Institutional Data to Inform Course and Curriculum Planning

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Hazel ◽  
Angela Detlev
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Outcomes Assessment ◽  
Curriculum Planning ◽  
Student Surveys ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Learning Outcomes Assessment ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Institutional Data ◽  
Level Data

Faculty often ask what they can learn about their students before the semesterbegins so that they can plan instruction that will better engage students inlearning. While most individual-level data are protected, Mason makes availablea great deal of information through student-level data, statistical profiles, theCommon Data Set, student surveys, and learning outcomes assessment reports.We will guide participants through a brief case study and discuss the implications,limitations, and inferences that can be reasonably drawn from institutional data.

scholarly journals Economic Expectations and Satisfaction with Democracy: Evidence from Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Loveless ◽  
Chiara Binelli
Keyword(s):  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Level Of Satisfaction ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Local Labour ◽  
Degree Of Satisfaction ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Economic Expectations

AbstractIn this article, we argue that individuals’ expectations about their future economic prospects are a crucial missing determinant of their degree of satisfaction with democracy. To investigate this link, we collected an original, nationally representative data set on young skilled unemployed Italians using the innovative quantitative expectations data methodology (Manski 2004). Controlling for current local labour market conditions with administrative province-level data and for a rich array of individual-level determinants, we show that those expecting greater job insecurity and instability have lower current satisfaction levels with democracy. By better conceptualizing and operationalizing individuals’ expectations, we advance the theoretical framework on satisfaction with democracy and show that expectations are an important and often overlooked determinant of the current level of satisfaction with democratic institutions.

scholarly journals The Generational and Institutional Sources of the Global Decline in Voter Turnout

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Kostelka ◽  
André Blais
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Set Covering ◽  
Generational Change ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Group Mobilization ◽  
Election Studies

ABSTRACT Why has voter turnout declined in democracies all over the world? This article draws on findings from microlevel studies and theorizes two explanations: generational change and a rise in the number of elective institutions. The empirical section tests these hypotheses along with other explanations proposed in the literature—shifts in party/candidate competition, voting-age reform, weakening group mobilization, income inequality, and economic globalization. The authors conduct two analyses. The first analysis employs an original data set covering all post-1945 democratic national elections. The second studies individual-level data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and British, Canadian, and US national election studies. The results strongly support the generational change and elective institutions hypotheses, which account for most of the decline in voter turnout. These findings have important implications for a better understanding of the current transformations of representative democracy and the challenges it faces.

scholarly journals Does betting experience matter in sequential risk taking in horse race wagering?

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani Saastamoinen ◽  
Niko Suhonen
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Horse Race ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data

This paper examines how betting experience is associated with horse race bettors’ sequential risk taking. We use an individual-level data set of 5,217 individual bettors with 167,816 betting-related transactions. Our analyses suggest that inexperienced bettors take on more risk than experienced bettors do after they experience gains. We also find some indication that experienced bettors become more risk averse than inexperienced ones after incurring losses.

Pre-training competencies and the productivity of apprentices

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anika Jansen ◽  
Harald Ulrich Pfeifer
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Training Costs ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Firm Level Data

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between pre-training competencies of apprentices and their productivity at the workplace. Design/methodology/approach For the analysis, the authors use firm-level data on apprentices’ oral and writing competencies and competencies in basic mathematics, information technology and problem solving. The authors regress the apprentices’ productivity on these school competencies and include a number of firm and apprentice-specific control variables. By reducing the authors’ data set to firms that only have one apprentice the authors transform the firm-level data into quasi individual-level data. Findings The main findings are that not all competencies are equally related to productivity. Problem-solving competencies followed by oral and writing competencies show the strongest relation to the productive potential of apprentices. IT competencies are also positively but weakly related to the apprentices’ productivity. In contrast, higher levels of basic mathematical competencies leave productivity levels largely unchanged. Differentiating between occupational groups, the authors find that the positive relation between the competencies and productivity predominantly exists in commercial occupations rather than in industrial and technical occupations. Practical implications The results show that better school competencies are associated with a higher productivity of apprentices, which in turn lowers the firms’ training costs. From a policy perspective, this finding is important because it implies that, by improving the apprentices’ competencies, the firms’ willingness to participate in the apprenticeship system can be increased. Moreover, the results are important for training firms because they show on which competencies firms should focus in their recruitment decision. Originality/value The paper studies for the first time the relation between pre-training competencies and productivity of apprentices at the working place. A practical implication from the authors’ analysis is that it could be useful to implement tools measuring the problem solving and oral and writing competencies of apprenticeship applicants in the process of recruitment.

Pensions and social inclusion in three ex-Yugoslav countries: Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia

2010 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Guardiancich
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Public Pensions ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
Public Benefits ◽  
The Social ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Fiscal Austerity

Building upon the research by Meyer et al. (2007), this study employs risk biographies to evaluate how three ex-Yugoslav pension systems cope with the social exclusion of the elderly. The article simulates pension entitlements in Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia and comes to two broad conclusions. First, the three pension systems that originated from a common legislative base, albeit in countries with marked differences in economic development, now diverge in almost every aspect. Hence, further research should analyse the entire retirement microcosm of the former Yugoslavia and delve deeper into the mechanisms of pension system evolution. Second, the study expounds the pros and cons of the three schemes and argues that none can avoid further reforms. Slovenian public pensions are excessively generous and consequently require fiscal cuts, the Croatian funded tier is too small to complement lower public benefits, and the Serbian arrangements should be a temporary sacrifice to cope with fiscal austerity. The paper complements a traditional overview of the three systems by analysing the problems of each risk biography. It concludes by giving a number of prescriptive recommendations for the future well-being of the elderly in the region.

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