1,721,165 research outputs found
Are There Cost Differences in the Argentinean Pension Fund Industry? An Efficiency Frontier Analysis
Full text linkThe purpose of this paper is to study the existence of differences in costs between pension fund administrators (PFAs) through the estimation of an econometric cost frontier for Argentina. Like in other eleven Latin American, and some other Central Asian and Eastern Europe countries, the social security has been privatized, and the individual accounts of defined contribution plans are managed by PFAs. The issue is relevant because of its potential regulatory implications. Cost savings (efficiency gains) could be passed-through to contributors, increasing their pension funds (that is, their pensions at retirement). The concept is applied to utilities’ regulation in countries where price-caps are applied, and an X-factor is set by the regulator to distribute the efficiency gains, but it is not the practice in privatized social security systems. In Argentina a price-cap has been introduced in pension funds markets since a 2007 reform. Though it allows the regulator to modify that cap, in doing that no provision was established for a technically acceptable methodology. We show that the use of efficiency frontiers could fill the gap, because it provides a technical tool to help in that key resource allocation decision. From the empirical work, it is found that there are important differences in efficiency among PFAs. This gives some clues to the regulator for implementing sector policies.pension fund; Efficiency Frontier Analysis
Efficiency in Water and Sanitation Sector. A Survey on Empirical Literature
Full text linkIn this paper, it was made an exhaustive survey of the literature related with cost and production frontiers in the water and sanitation sector. The survey shed light in order to determine the variables to choose in the model to be estimated in a further empirical estimation developed for the Latin American Region by the authorsfrontiers; water and sanitation sector; empirical estimation
A Benchmarking Exercise on Latin American Water Util
Full text linkThe aim of this study is to estimate both stochastic and mathematical programming cost functions and frontier studies with the ADERASA’s database. ADERASA is a Latin American association of water regulators, which has done a systematic effort on data collection. Econometric and DEA techniques were employed here. This study fills a gap on the understanding of relative efficiency in the Latin American water sector., through a consistent database. Firstly we present a survey of the empirical literature related with cost and production frontiers in the water and sanitation sector. The survey shed light in order to determine the variables to choose in the models to be estimated. Secondly, some models were estimated, differing each other on the specification, and the environmental variables included. The results are satisfactory, with the expected signs and plausible values for the coefficients. Some consistency between methodologies was found.Benchmarking; cost functions; frontier; stochastic model; ADERASA
FIGURES 2–4. Cardiacephala acuminata. 2 in A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae)
No full textFIGURES 2–4. Cardiacephala acuminata. 2, female, anterodorsal view; 3, female, lateral view; 4, female genitalia, ventral view.Published as part of Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2018, A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), pp. 401-458 in Zootaxa 4429 (3) on page 409, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4429.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/128529
Cardiacephala
No full textKey to Cardiacephala speciesPublished as part of Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2018, A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), pp. 401-458 in Zootaxa 4429 (3) on page 407, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4429.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/128529
FIGURES 10–11. Paragrallomyia bifurcata n in A redefinition of Paragrallomyia Hendel (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae) and a revision of the P. albibasis complex
No full textFIGURES 10–11. Paragrallomyia bifurcata n. sp. 10, female, lateral view;11, female internal reproductive structures, ventral view.Published as part of Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2020, A redefinition of Paragrallomyia Hendel (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae) and a revision of the P. albibasis complex, pp. 39-70 in Zootaxa 4822 (1) on page 48, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4822.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/440119
FIGURES 28–29. Cardiacephala camptomera. 28 in A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae)
No full textFIGURES 28–29. Cardiacephala camptomera. 28, female, lateral view; 29, female genitalia, lateral view.Published as part of Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2018, A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), pp. 401-458 in Zootaxa 4429 (3) on page 422, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4429.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/128529
Options for Radical Reforms to Pension Systems: Chilean and Swedish Models Compared
Full text linkPension systems are under stress in the whole world. Demographic tendencies, informal labour markets, and distributive designs –inter alia-, coupled with the rigidity of the legislation, and implied financial imbalances, social debate and –sometimes-, reforms. These could be classified into two main categories: parametric and radical reforms. Two models have features to be classified as radical pension reforms in the last decades: Chilean (or AFP) and Swedish (or NDC) models. The central aim of this essay is to compare both radical reforms, at the level of “ideal types”. Doing that, some questions are answered, namely: In what feature do they have differences? Which are the incentives they set to human behaviour in order to meet the goals of the design? Are the models truly different? Which problems do they address and which to they set aside? Moreover, which problems remain unsolved, and what troubles do they add? Here, the intention is to concentrate in the technical aspects of the design intended to solve financial problems of the systems, trying to show the relevant trade offs.Pension systems; AFJP
FIGURES 20–23. Cardiacephala brevipennis. 20 in A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae)
No full textFIGURES 20–23. Cardiacephala brevipennis. 20, female, lateral view; 21, female genitalia, ventral view; 22, male, dorsolateral view; 23, male Sternite 5 and genitalia, lateral view.Published as part of Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2018, A revision of the Neotropical ant-like genus Cardiacephala Macquart, including Plocoscelus Enderlein syn. nov. (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae), pp. 401-458 in Zootaxa 4429 (3) on page 418, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4429.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/128529
FIGURES 12–14. Paragrallomyia brasiliensis n in A redefinition of Paragrallomyia Hendel (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae) and a revision of the P. albibasis complex
No full textFIGURES 12–14. Paragrallomyia brasiliensis n. sp. 12, female, dorsal view; 13, female internal reproductive structures, ventral view; 14, male, dorsolateral view.Published as part of Ferro, Gustavo Borges & Marshall, Stephen A., 2020, A redefinition of Paragrallomyia Hendel (Diptera: Micropezidae, Taeniapterinae) and a revision of the P. albibasis complex, pp. 39-70 in Zootaxa 4822 (1) on page 50, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4822.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/440119
- …
