Privatization of Public Pensions in Germany: Who Gains and How Much? / Privatisierung der deutschen Rentenversicherung: Wer gewinnt und wieviel?

1999 ◽  
Vol 218 (5-6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Fehr
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Pension System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Public Pensions ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
System A ◽  
Lifetime Income ◽  
Age Cohort ◽  
Efficiency Effects ◽  
Consumption Taxes

SummaryThis paper examines the distributional and efficiency effects of pension privatization in Germany. Starting from a benchmark that reflects the current unfunded pension system, a fully funded system is introduced. The accrued benefits of the old system are financed by alternative tax combinations as well as deficit increases. The quantitative analysis is based on an Auerbach-Kotlikoff type simulation model that distinguishes between five lifetime income classes within each age cohort. The simulations reveal a clear trade-off between the efficiency and equity aspects of alternative financing schemes. While consumption taxes are the most efficient financing instrument, they also undermine intra- and intergenerational equity. Phasing-out the unfunded system on the other hand not only dampens the income redistribution across and within generations, but also reduces the efficiency gains dramatically.

Experimentalism as a Tool of Economic Innovation in Germany

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wade Jacoby ◽  
Martin Behrens
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Information Gathering ◽  
Wage Bargaining ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Partner ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Comparative Political Economy ◽  
System A ◽  
German Model ◽  
Economic Innovation

Our purpose in this article is to analyze changes in the German wagebargaining system, a system that has attracted enormous attentionfrom scholars of comparative political economy and comparativeindustrial relations. We argue that the wage bargaining portion ofthe German model is neither frozen in place, headed for deregulation,nor merely “muddling through.” Rather, we see the institutionalcapacities of the key actors—especially the unions and employerassociations—making possible a process we term “experimentalism.”In briefest form, experimentalism allows organizations that combinedecentralized information-gathering abilities with centralized decision-making capacity to probe for new possibilities, which, oncefound, can be quickly diffused throughout the organization. We willshow that the capacity for such experimentalism varies across actorsand sectors. And, to make things even tougher, neither major Germansocial actor can sustain innovation in the longer term withoutbringing along the other “social partner.”

scholarly journals Geocomputing, New Technologies and Historical Analysis: Tools for a Changing Planet

Proceedings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Sebastiano Trevisani
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Research Topic ◽  
The Other ◽  
Historical Records ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Relationship

Modern Earth Scientists need also to interact with other disciplines, apparently far from the Earth Sciences and Engineering. Disciplines related to history and philosophy of science are emblematic from this perspective. From one side, the quantitative analysis of information extracted from historical records (documents, maps, paintings, etc.) represents an exciting research topic, requiring a truly holistic approach. On the other side, epistemological and philosophy of science considerations on the relationship between geoscience and society in history are of fundamental importance for understanding past, present and future geosphere-anthroposphere interlinked dynamics.

scholarly journals Black Hole Algorithm for Sustainable Design of Counterfort Retaining Walls

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Víctor Yepes ◽  
José V. Martí ◽  
José García
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Sustainable Design ◽  
Retaining Walls ◽  
The Other ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Construction Company ◽  
Geometric Variables ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Black Hole Algorithm

The optimization of the cost and CO 2 emissions in earth-retaining walls is of relevance, since these structures are often used in civil engineering. The optimization of costs is essential for the competitiveness of the construction company, and the optimization of emissions is relevant in the environmental impact of construction. To address the optimization, black hole metaheuristics were used, along with a discretization mechanism based on min–max normalization. The stability of the algorithm was evaluated with respect to the solutions obtained; the steel and concrete values obtained in both optimizations were analyzed. Additionally, the geometric variables of the structure were compared. Finally, the results obtained were compared with another algorithm that solved the problem. The results show that there is a trade-off between the use of steel and concrete. The solutions that minimize CO 2 emissions prefer the use of concrete instead of those that optimize the cost. On the other hand, when comparing the geometric variables, it is seen that most remain similar in both optimizations except for the distance between buttresses. When comparing with another algorithm, the results show a good performance in optimization using the black hole algorithm.

Combatting Bias in the Criminal Courts of France, 1870s-1913

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-168
Author(s):  
James Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Working Class ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fin De Siecle ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Chief Justice ◽  
Jury Verdicts ◽  
Nineteenth Century France ◽  
A Charge

Abstract In nineteenth-century France, liberals assumed that a conservative judiciary was frequently biased in favour of the prosecution, and socialists assumed that juries were dominated by the upper classes and too unrepresentative of the population to render justice equitably. Agitation by the left to combat these perceived biases led to the adoption of two key reforms of the fin de siècle. One was the abolition in 1881 of the résumé, or summing-up of the case by the chief justice of the cour d’assises (felony court). Liberals thought this reform was necessary because judges allegedly often used the résumé to persuade jurors in favour of conviction, a charge repeated by modern historians. The other reform, beginning at about the same time, was to make jury composition more democratic. By 1880, newly empowered liberals (at least in Paris) had begun to reduce the proportion of wealthy men on jury lists. This was followed in 1908 by the implementation of a circular issued by the Minister of Justice ordering the jury commissions to inscribe working-class men on the annual jury lists. However, a quantitative analysis of jury verdicts suggests that the reforms of the early 1880s and 1908 had only modest impacts on jury verdicts. Ideas and attitudes seem to have been more important. This has implications regarding two key controversies among modern jurists: the extent to which judges influence jurors and the extent to which the characteristics of jurors influence their verdicts.

Social security, income inequality and growth

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
GILLES LE GARREC
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Industrial Countries ◽  
Lifetime Income ◽  
Actuarial Fairness ◽  
Retirement Systems ◽  
Pension Benefits ◽  
Shed Light

AbstractIn most industrial countries, public pension systems redistribute from workers to retired people, not from high-income to low-income earners. They are close actuarial fairness. However, they are not all equivalent. In particular, some pension benefits are linked to full lifetime average earnings, while others are only linked to partial earnings history. In the latter case, we then show in this article that an actuarially fair pay-as-you-go pension system can both reduce lifetime income inequality and enhance economic growth. We also shed light on the dilemma between inequality and economic growth in retirement systems: greater progressivity results in less lifetime inequlity but also less growth.

Sight distance red zones on combined horizontal and sag vertical curves

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasser Hassan ◽  
Said M Easa
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
The Other ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Horizontal Curve ◽  
Sight Distance ◽  
Stopping Sight Distance ◽  
Three Dimensional Models ◽  
Highway Alignment ◽  
Current Standards

Coordination of highway horizontal and vertical alignments is based on subjective guidelines in current standards. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of coordinating horizontal and sag vertical curves that are designed using two-dimensional standards. The locations where a horizontal curve should not be positioned relative to a sag vertical curve (called red zones) are identified. In the red zone, the available sight distance (computed using three-dimensional models) is less than the required sight distance. Two types of red zones, based on stopping sight distance (SSD) and preview sight distance (PVSD), are examined. The SSD red zone corresponds to the locations where an overlap between a horizontal curve and a sag vertical curve should be avoided because the three-dimensional sight distance will be less than the required SSD. The PVSD red zone corresponds to the locations where a horizontal curve should not start because drivers will not be able to perceive it and safely react to it. The SSD red zones exist for practical highway alignment parameters, and therefore designers should check the alignments for potential SSD red zones. The range of SSD red zones was found to depend on the different alignment parameters, especially the superelevation rate. On the other hand, the results showed that the PVSD red zones exist only for large values of the required PVSD, and therefore this type of red zones is not critical. This paper should be of particular interest to the highway designers and professionals concerned with highway safety.Key words: sight distance, red zone, combined alignment.

Hedley Bull, states systems and international societies

1987 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Watson
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
International Society ◽  
The Other ◽  
Common Values ◽  
System A ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
Hedley Bull ◽  
Regular Contact

Hedley Bull's contribution to the theory of international relations is considerable; and nowhere more acute than in the distinction which he made between the concept of a system of states and that of an international society. His definitive formulation is set out in Chapter I of The Anarchical Society. ‘Where states are in regular contact with one another, and where in addition there is interaction between them sufficient to make the behaviour of each a necessary element in the calculations of the other, then we may speak of their forming a system.’ ‘A society of states (or international society) exists when a group of states, conscious of certain common interests and common values, form a society in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the working of common institutions.’

Identifying opportunities for value chain development in the Kenyan coffee sector

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emerta Aragie
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Export Performance ◽  
Export Subsidy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cash Crop ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Cash Crops ◽  
Standard Value ◽  
Coffee Sector ◽  
Productivity Gains

By developing a model that describes the Kenyan coffee value chain, this study evaluates opportunities emanating from four scenarios representing productivity gains in the various value chain stages of the coffee sector and additional three scenarios reflecting shifts in market situations. Results show that productivity-enhancing policies have stronger effects on coffee output and export performance if they target the milling stage of the value chain. Export subsidy and favourable external marketing conditions also have stronger effects, distributed comparably across the various value chain stages. We, however, found that these gains in the coffee sector come at the expense of other cash crops such as cotton, tea, sugar and tobacco. The approach followed in this study is relevant as this trade-off between coffee and the other cash crop sectors may not be visibly shown using standard value chain approaches.

Practical Aspects of Propulsion Shaft Alignment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyriakos Avgouleas ◽  
Emmanouil Sarris ◽  
George Gougoulidis
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Numerical Model ◽  
High Speed ◽  
The Other ◽  
Technical Literature ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Fea Model ◽  
Shaft Alignment ◽  
Alignment Strategy ◽  
Potential Damage

The economical and operational implications of poor alignment are indisputable for the propulsion shafting system of a commercial vessel. This holds true for naval vessels as well, although far less documented in the technical literature. This paper addresses some of the challenges associated with the proper alignment of a high-speed naval craft, which has been in service for many years. Laser bore-sighting was performed on a Guided Missile Fast Patrol Boat resting on a docking cradle. The measured bearing offsets were input to a FEA model of the shafting system to calculate bearing reactions and detect potential misalignment issues. Subsequent decisions regarding corrective measures take into account the results computed by the numerical model, experience from sister ships, the available documentation from the building yard and several other factors which are discussed in the paper. The solutions proposed are targeted towards a balanced trade-off between cost effectiveness and out-of-service time on one hand, and the risk of potential damage from misalignment on the other hand, which would seriously disrupt the ship’s operational availability. Practical aspects and lessons identified in the process are also presented, which demonstrate the distinct differences in alignment strategy of a high-speed naval craft compared to a typical commercial vessel.

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