scholarly journals The Motherhood Pension Gap in a Defined Contribution Pension Scheme—the Case of Poland

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 4425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Jędrzychowska ◽  
Ilona Kwiecień ◽  
Ewa Poprawska
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Childless Woman ◽  
Second Child ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
Gap Measurement ◽  
Individual Decisions

A gender gap in pensions has recently been discussed in the context of non-discrimination and the sustainability of pension systems. Such systems in Europe are evolving towards strengthening the role of individual contributions from periods of paid work. Among other factors, the women’s pension gap is affected by interruptions in employment arising from care responsibilities. The purpose of this article is to measure the pension gap associated with having children in defined contribution pension systems. Using financial mathematics, the retirement capital of a childless woman (without breaks in work) was determined and compared with mothers of 1–4 children. The results indicate that the motherhood pension gap is approximately 4.5%–9.5%, 7.5%–15%, 9%–20%, and 12.5%–25% for mothers of 1, 2, 3, and 4 children, respectively. Measuring these individual gaps allows the cost of investing in children to be estimated. Significant for systemic and individual decisions is that the gap size is highest by the first and the second child, however the decision about the third child—relevant to the demography as ensuring the generational replacement—means the whole pension gap could rise to 20%. This could help support a policy of counteracting adverse demographic trends in fertility rates through the building of socially sustainable pensions schemes. In terms of future research, it forms the basis for building a gap measurement model that takes into account various drivers of the gender gap.

scholarly journals Bridging the gap: blending spatial skills instruction into a technology teacher preparation programme

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diarmaid Lane ◽  
Sheryl Sorby
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Year ◽  
Spatial Skills ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Technology Teacher ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn recent years, there has been a surge in research in spatial thinking across the international community. We now know that spatial skills are malleable and that they are linked to success across multiple disciplines, most notably Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). While spatial skills have been examined by cognitive scientists in laboratory environments for decades, current research is examining how these skills can be developed in field-based environments. In this paper, we present findings from a study within a Technology Teacher preparation programme where we examined first-year students’ spatial skills on entry to university. We explain why it was necessary to embed a spatial skills intervention into Year 1 of the programme and we describe the impact that this had on students’ spatial scores and on academic performance. The findings from our study highlight a consistent gender gap in spatial scores at the start of the first-year with female students entering the Technology Teacher preparation programme at a lower base level than male students. We describe how we integrated spatial development activities into an existing course and how an improvement in spatial scores and overall course performance was observed. The paper concludes by discussing the long-term sustainability of integrating spatial interventions within teacher preparation programmes while also highlighting the importance of future research to examine spatial skills as a fundamental component of technological capability.

The transition to a multi-pillar pension system: the inherent socio-economic anomaly

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishay Wolf ◽  
Jose Maria Caridad y Ocerin
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Total Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pension Systems ◽  
High Earning ◽  
Minimum Pension

Purpose This paper aims to analytically show that in an over-lapping-generation (OLG) model, low earning cohorts bear unwanted risk and absorb higher economic cost than high earning cohorts do. Design/methodology/approach This paper aims to consider the individual's risk appetite, using a simple utility function, based on consumptions and discount rates in each period. This paper calibrates the model according to teh Israeli pension system as a representative of a small open developed organization for economic cooperation and development country. Israel is considered as unique case study in the pension landscape, as it implements almost pure defined contribution pension scheme with continuous trend of pension market capitalization (Giorno and Jacques, 2016). Hence, this study finds Israel suitable for examining the theoretical mix of pension scheme. That model enables exploring combined solutions for adequate old age benefits, involving the first and the second pension pillars, under fiscal constraints. Findings It comes out that for risk-averse individuals, the optimal degree of funding is negatively correlated to asset returns' volatility and positively correlated to earning decile level. The neglect of risk and individual's current earning level will thus overstate the contribution level and funded percentage from total contributions. Moreover, even in an economy with minimum government intervention, and highly developed private pension fund with high average of rate of return, the authors find it is optimal that the pension system contains a sizeable unfunded pillar. This paper innovates by revealing a socio-economic anomaly in design of mix pension systems in favor of high earning cohorts on the expense of economic loss of low earning cohorts. Practical implications The model presented in this paper could be implemented in countries with mix pension systems, as an alternative to public social transfers or means tested, alleviating poverty and inequality in old age. Additionally, this model could raise the public awareness of the financial sustainability of the unfunded pay-as-you-go pillar to diversify financial risk in pension systems, especially for low earning cohort in society. Social implications One area of research that is particularly relevant in this context concerns the issue of alleviating poverty and income inequality. It is often stressed that the prevention of old age poverty is among the central targets of well-designed pension system (Holzmann and Hinz, 2005). The conceptualization of minimum pension guarantee used in this composition allows to clearly capturing the notion of such a poverty and social targets as an integral part of the pension system rolls. Originality/value This paper innovates by revealing a socio-economic anomaly in design of mix pension systems in favor of high earning cohorts on the expense of economic loss of low earning cohorts. That comes to realize through the level of total contribution rates and funded share that are generally optimal for high earning cohorts but not for low earning cohorts. This paper identifies that the effect of anomaly is most significant in a market characterized with high income-inequality level. This paper finds that imposing intra-generational risk sharing instrument in the form of minimum pension guarantee can re-balance pension design among different earning cohorts. This solution demonstrates balancing effect on the entire economy.

Development and initial validation of the Subjective Academic Wellbeing Measure: A new tool of youth wellbeing in school

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11
Author(s):  
Gökmen Arslan ◽  
Murat Yıldırım ◽  
Silvia Majercakova Albertova
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
School Context ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Academic Functioning ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Gender Groups

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the preliminary development and validation of the Subjective Academic Wellbeing Measure (SAWM), which is a six-item self-report rating measure intended for use as a screening tool to assess the positive academic functioning of young people within the elementary and high school context. Exploratory factor analysis was performed with Sample 1 (N= 161), indicating that the SAWM was characterized by a unidimensional measurement model and had strong factor loadings. Results from confirmatory factor analysis, which was carried out with Sample 2 (N= 199), confirmed the measurement model by yielding good data-model fit statistics that were characterized by strong latent construct and internal reliability estimates. Further analyses showed that the scale had good convergent validity considering scores from several self-reported scales of student mental health problems and positive school functioning. Further analyses also showed that configural, metric, and scalar measurement invariance were observed across gender groups. These results provide initial evidence suggesting that the SAWM is a reliable and valid measure that can be used to assess the positive academic functioning of students within the school context. Implications are discussed, and some suggestions are provided for future research and practice

The shift to the defined contribution pension scheme: an Italian case

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
Massimo Angrisani ◽  
Giovanni Di Nella ◽  
Cinzia Di Palo
Keyword(s):  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Italian Case

The effect of clustering on competitiveness improvement in Hebron

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim M. Awad ◽  
Alaa A. Amro
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to map the cluster in the leather and shoes sector for improving the competitiveness of the firms. Toward this end, the study is organized to examine the impact of clustering on competitiveness improvement. The influence of competitive elements and performance (Porter’s diamond) and balanced score card was utilized. Design/methodology/approach A random sample of 131 respondents was chosen during the period from May 2016 to July 2016. A structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was applied to investigate the research model. This approach was chosen because of its ability to test casual relationships between constructs with multiple measurement items. Researchers proposed a two-stage model-building process for applying SEM. The measurement model was first examined for instrument validation, followed by an analysis of the structural model for testing associations hypothesized by the research model. Findings The main findings show that there is a unidirectional causal relationship between improvements of performance and achieve competitiveness and also reveal that the Palestinian shoes and leather cluster sector is vital and strong, and conclude that clustering can achieve competitiveness for small- and medium-sized enterprises. Research limitations/implications Future research can examine the relationship between clustering and innovation. The effect of clustering using other clustering models other than Porter’s model is advised to be used for future research. Practical implications The relationships among clustering and competitiveness may provide a practical clue to both, policymakers and researchers on how cluster enhances economic firms such as a skilled workforce, research, development capacity, and infrastructure. This is likely to create assets such as trust, synergy, collaboration and cooperation for improved competitiveness. Originality/value The findings of this study provide background information that can simultaneously be used to analyze relationships among factors of innovation, customer’s satisfaction, internal business and financial performance. This study also identified several essential factors in successful firms, and discussed the implications of these factors for developing organizational strategies to encourage and foster competitiveness.

scholarly journals Closing the gender gap in pensions: A microsimulation analysis of the Norwegian NDC pension system

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elin Halvorsen ◽  
Axel West Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Pension System ◽  
Personal Income ◽  
Defined Contribution ◽  
Pension Income ◽  
System A ◽  
Actuarial Fairness ◽  
Annual Earnings ◽  
Pension Benefits

In this article, we use an advanced microsimulation model to study the distributional effects of the reformed Norwegian pension system with a particular focus on gender equality. The reformed Norwegian system is based on the notional defined contribution (NDC)-formula with fixed contribution/accrual rates over the active life-phase and with accumulated pension wealth being transformed into an annuity upon retirement. A number of redistributive components are built into the system: a unisex annuity divisor, a ceiling on annual earnings, generous child credits, a possibility for widows/widowers to inherit pension rights from a deceased spouse, a targeted guarantee pensions with higher benefit rates to single pensioners compared to married/cohabitating pensioners, and finally a tax system that is particularly progressive in its treatment of pensioners and pension income. Taking complete actuarial fairness as the point of departure, we conduct a stepwise analysis to investigate how these different components of the National Insurance pension system impact on the gender gap in pensions and on general (Gini) inequality in the distribution of pension income within a cohort of pensioners. Our analysis concentrates on one birth cohort – individuals born in 1963 – and we study three different outcomes: the distribution of annual pensions early in retirement (at age 70), the distribution of the total sum of pension benefits received over retirement, and the distribution of the average annual pension benefits received over the retirement phase. In addition, we look at three alternative income concepts. These are personal income, equivalised household income, and finally an original income concept developed for this study: personal income adjusted for the economies of scale enjoyed by couple households.

scholarly journals The measurement of populist attitudes: Testing cross-national scales using item response theory

Politics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven M Van Hauwaert ◽  
Christian H Schimpf ◽  
Flavio Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Item Response Theory ◽  
Item Response ◽  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Response Theory ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
National Measurement ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Cross National

Recent research in the populism literature has devoted considerable efforts to the conceptualisation and examination of populism on the individual level, that is, populist attitudes. Despite rapid progress in the field, questions of adequate measurement and empirical evaluation of measures of populist attitudes remain scarce. Seeking to remedy these shortcomings, we apply a cross-national measurement model, using item response theory, to six established and two new populist indicators. Drawing on a cross-national survey (nine European countries, n = 18,368), we engage in a four-folded analysis. First, we examine the commonly used 6-item populism scale. Second, we expand the measurement with two novel items. Third, we use the improved 8-item populism scale to further refine equally comprehensive but more concise and parsimonious populist measurements. Finally, we externally validate these sub-scales and find that some of the proposed sub-scales outperform the initial 6- and 8-item scales. We conclude that existing measures of populism capture moderate populist attitudes, but face difficulties measuring more extreme levels, while the individual information of some of the populist items remains limited. Altogether, this provides several interesting routes for future research, both within and between countries.

scholarly journals MEASUREMENT EQUIVALENCE OF THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT SCHEDULE BETWEEN YOUNG-MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER ADULTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S705-S705
Author(s):  
Jeongwoo Lee ◽  
En-Jung Shon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Measurement Equivalence ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive And Negative Affect ◽  
Middle Aged

Abstract A Short form of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS-SF) has been widely used to measure of affect in diverse cultural groups. Limited studies have been evaluated the measurement equivalence test of PANAS-SF in diverse age groups. This study examined whether parameters in the measurement model (two-factor model: positive and negative affect) is equivalent across the two age generations (young-middle aged: <65 years [n=1,122]; older adults : ≥65 years [n=1,817]). The sample was obtained from the 2012 Health and Retirement Study and Multiple Group Analysis was performed. The five items of determined, enthusiastic, inspired, alert, and excited reflected positive affect; and the five items of afraid, upset, scared, nervous, and distressed reflected negative affect. The configural model reported acceptable fit (X2= 904.98 [df = 64, p < .001], X 2/df =14.14, CFI =.93, GFI=.94, RMSEA=.06 [90% CI=.06 - .07]). When all factor loadings were constrained, it indicated measurement non-invariance status between young-middle aged and older adults (ΔX 2 = 56.03, Δdf = 8, p< .001, CFI=.93, ΔCFI=.004). Given findings of non-invariance on the full constrained model, the invariance test of each factor loading was performed additionally. Majority of negative items (Afraid, upset, scared, and nervous) and several positive items (determined and excited) were nonequivalent between the two groups. Variances in the measure between two age groups raise a number of issues for future research on affect assessment, suggesting cautious using of PANAS-SF in older adults.

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