Commentary: The Savings-Investment Balance: Is there a UK investment shortfall?

2006 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 4-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Weale

In the first half of this decade, the world experienced a period of low short and long-term interest rates. Shortterm rates have risen from these low levels, first in Canada and the United Kingdom, then in the United States and finally in the Euro Area. Long-term rates, by contrast, remained low, suggesting that holders of longterm debt expected the rise in short-term rates to be only temporary. Only in the past few months has the apparently anomalous pricing of long-term debt started to disappear. But with interest rates on long-term debt similar to short-term market rates internationally, the market does not yet show that the traditional upwardsloping yield curve and, on this basis, long rates remain depressed. They are also markedly below the levels of two to three years ago.

Around the world, people nearing and entering retirement are holding ever-greater levels of debt than in the past. This is not a benign situation, as many pre-retirees and retirees are stressed about their indebtedness. Moreover, this growth in debt among the older population may render retirees vulnerable to financial shocks, medical care bills, and changes in interest rates. Contributors to this volume explore key aspects of the rise in debt across older cohorts, drill down into the types of debt and reasons for debt incurred by the older population, and review policies to remedy some of the financial problems facing older persons, in the United States and elsewhere. The authors explore which groups are most affected by debt, and they also identify the factors causing this important increase in leverage at older ages. It is clear that the economic and market environments are influential when it comes to saving and debt. Access to easy borrowing, low interest rates, and the rising cost of education have had important impacts on how much people borrow, and how much debt they carry at older ages. In this environment, the capacity to manage debt is ever more important as older workers lack the opportunity to recover for mistakes.


Author(s):  
Franz Neumann

This chapter considers a variety of methods of treating Germany. The main objective of the United Nations in the treatment of Germany is to prevent it from ever again becoming a threat to the security of the world. The problem of securing this objective could be approached through destruction of Germany's industrial potential, destruction of Germany as a political entity, and removal from German society of the causes of aggression. The chapter shows that the first two solutions should be deferred until it is clear that the third alternative proves unworkable. In order to eliminate the causes of aggressiveness in German society, temporary and long-term disabilities should be imposed upon Germany. The chapter also examines the causes of German aggression, the United States' policy toward Germany, short-term measures during the period of military government, conditional measures during the probationary period, and permanent impositions upon Germany.


Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendall Pogue ◽  
Jamie L. Jensen ◽  
Carter K. Stancil ◽  
Daniel G. Ferguson ◽  
Savannah J. Hughes ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, with the United States being highly affected. A vaccine provides the best hope for a permanent solution to controlling the pandemic. However, to be effective, a vaccine must be accepted and used by a large majority of the population. The aim of this study was to understand the attitudes towards and obstacles facing vaccination with a potential COVID-19 vaccine. To measure these attitudes a survey was administered to 316 respondents across the United States by a survey corporation. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships of several factors with attitudes toward potential COVID-19 vaccination. Prior vaccine usage and attitudes predicted attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. Assessment of the severity of COVID-19 for the United States was also predictive. Approximately 68% of all respondents were supportive of being vaccinated for COVID-19, but side effects, efficacy and length of testing remained concerns. Longer testing, increased efficacy and development in the United States were significantly associated with increased vaccine acceptance. Messages promoting COVID-19 vaccination should seek to alleviate the concerns of those who are already vaccine-hesitant. Messaging directed at the benefits of vaccination for the United States as a country would address the second predictive factor. Enough time should be taken to allay concerns about both short- and long-term side effects before a vaccine is released.


2007 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 4-7
Author(s):  
Martin Weale

The July interest rate increase has taken the Bank of England's Base Rate to the highest value for six years. In figure 1 we show the forward estimates for the nominal short-term interest rate taken from the Bank of England's yield curve tables for both government debt and liabilities of commercial banks. These are in effect market forecasts of the short-term rate produced in the past. The graph shows that the market has been taken somewhat by surprise by rising short-term interest rates. Two years ago the market was forecasting a rate of around 4 per cent per annum for July 2007. Nor were the probabilities the market gave to an interest rate of 5.75 per cent per annum very high. Twelve months ago the market in financial options implied that the chance of the rate exceeding 5.66 per cent per annum was only 15 per cent. Even in January of this year the chance of it reaching its current level or higher was put at less than 25 per cent. The National Institute cannot claim a substantially better record at forecasting interest rates. We normally use market expectations, as calculated from the yield curve, to provide exogenous forecasts as input into our model in the short term.


2012 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-434
Author(s):  
Jan Winiecki

A look at the Western debate about West’s problems reveals what the present writer regards in a large measure as an irritating superficiality. Nowhere is it better visible than in the mainstream discussions about the euro zone and its problems, where most debaters glide over the fundamentals of Europe’s long-term problems and concentrate on the superficial and short-term issues. The discussions on how to “save” the euro zone strangely forget the defects in its creation, glide over the lessons to be drawn from policies pursued during the past decade, and defend the virtue of maintaining its present membership. But the problems of Europe run much deeper than the survival or collapse of the monetary union. Even if we assume that the problems of confidence the member states have in each other’s behaviour are restored and the rest of the world regains confidence in the institutions of the monetary union, the fundamental problems will remain unsolved. A clue to the real long-term problems may be found in the answer to a rather simple question. It runs as follows: “Why is the large majority of European countries indebted to such an extent that any further increase in debt to GDP ratio generates panic reactions among potential lenders?”


Author(s):  
Kendall Pogue ◽  
Jamie Jensen ◽  
Carter Stancil ◽  
Daniel Ferguson ◽  
Savannah Hughes ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the world, with the United States being highly affected. A vaccine provides the best hope for a permanent solution to controlling the pandemic. However, to be effective, a vaccine must be accepted and used by a large majority of the population. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze the relationships of several factors with attitudes toward potential COVID-19 vaccination. The survey was administered to 316 respondents across the United States by a survey corporation. Prior vaccine usage and attitudes predicted attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination. Assessment of the severity of COVID-19 for the United States was also predictive. Approximately 68% of all respondents were supportive of being vaccinated for COVID-19, but side effects, efficacy, and length of testing remained concerns. Longer testing, increased efficacy and development in the United States were significantly associated with increased vaccine acceptance. Messages promoting COVID-19 vaccination should seek to alleviate the concerns of those who are already vaccine-hesitant. Messaging directed at the benefits of vaccination for the United States as a country would address the second predictive factor. Enough time should be taken to allay concerns about both short and long-term side effects before a vaccine is released.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-448
Author(s):  
Julian Kozlowski

Trading frictions in financial markets affect more long-term than short-term bonds, generating an upward-sloping yield curve. Long-term financing is more expensive in economies with higher trading frictions so firms choose to borrow and invest in shorter horizons and lower productivity projects. The theory guides a new identification of the slope of liquidity spread in the data. We measure and calibrate the model for the United States, and counterfactual exercises suggest that variations in trading frictions can have significant effects on maturity choices and investment. A policy intervention improves liquidity, reduces long-term financial costs, and promotes investment in longer-term projects. (JEL E43, E44, E52, G12, G21, G32, O16)


1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (4II) ◽  
pp. 1053-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sohail Jehangir Malik ◽  
Hina Nazli

By highlighting the lack of rigorous evidence and calling for a greater understanding of the interaction of the two processes, a recent study [Nelson et al. (1997)] has called into question the strong perception that poverty is both a consequence as well as a cause of resource degradation.1 This perception which is widely held is strongly evident in the writings of the multilateral development agencies such as the World Bank (1990) and IFAD (1992) and exists despite extensive reviews which indicate that the short- and long-term implications of land degradation are not very clear [see Scherr and Yadav (1995)]. Similarly, while knowledge about poverty is expanding rapidly, thanks in large parts to the massive international focus and resources brought to bear on its understanding in the past ten.........................


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