1,254 research outputs found
The victory of hope over Angst? : Funding, asset allocation, and risk-taking in german public sector pension reform
No full textPublic employee pension systems throughout the developed world have traditionally been of the pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) defined benefit (DB) variety, where pensioner payments are financed by taxes (contributions) levied on the working generation. But as the number of retirees rises relative to the working-age group, such systems have begun to face financial distress. This trend has been exacerbated in many countries, among them Germany, by high unemployment rates producing further deterioration of the contribution base. In the long run, public sector pension benefits will have to be cut or contributions increased, if the systems are to be maintained. An alternative path sometimes offered to ease the crunch of paying for public employee pensions is to move toward funding: here, plan assets are gradually built up, invested, and enhanced returns devoted to partly defray civil servants’ pension costs. In this study, we evaluate the impact of introducing partial prefunding, paired with a strategic investment policy for the German federal state of Hesse. The analysis assesses the impact of introducing a supplementary tax-sponsored pension fund whose contributions are invested in the capital market and used to relieve the state budget from (some) pension payments. Our model determines the expectation and the Conditional Value-at-Risk of economic pension costs using a stochastic simulation process for pension plan assets. This approach simultaneously determines the optimal contribution rate and asset allocation that controls the expected economic costs of providing the promised pensions, while at the same time controlling investment risk. Specifically, we offer answers to the following questions: 1. How can the plan be designed to control cash-flow shortfall risk, so as to mitigate the potential burden borne by future generations of taxpayers? 2. What is the optimal asset allocation for this fund as it is built up, to generate a maximum return while simultaneously restricting capital market and liability risk? 3. What are reasonable combinations of annual contribution rates and asset allocation to a state-managed pension fund, which will limit costs of providing promised public sector pensions? We anticipate that this research will interest several sorts of policymaker groups. First, focusing on the German case, the state and Federal governments should find it relevant, as these entities face considerable public sector pension liabilities. Second, our findings will also be of interest to other European countries, as most have substantial underfunded defined benefit plans for civil servants. In what follows, we first offer a brief description of the structure of civil servant pensions in Germany, focusing on their benefit formulas, their financing, and the resulting current as well as future plan obligations for taxpayers. Next, we turn to an analysis of the actuarial status of the Hesse civil servants’ pension plan and evaluate how much would have to be contributed to fund this plan in a nonstochastic context. Subsequently we evaluate the asset-liability and decision-making process from the viewpoint of the plan sponsor, to determine sensible plan asset allocation behavior. A final section summarizes findings and implications.Wie in vielen anderen Ländern auch, beruhen die deutschen Beamtenpensionen traditionell auf einem umlage- und steuerfinanzierten System der Leistungszusage (defined benefit pension – DB). Aufgrund fehlender Rücklagen resultieren aus den Pensionsverspechen ungedeckte Verbindlichkeiten in Milliardenhöhe, die als solche jedoch nicht offiziell als Staatsverschuldung ausgewiesen werden. Das damit einhergehende Problem steigender Belastungen zukünftiger Haushalte wurde von der Politik erkannt, und erste Schritte in Richtung Kapitaldeckung wurden mit der Einführung der Versorgungsrücklagen sowie der Finanzierungsfonds vollzogen. Vor diesem Hintergrund evaluiert diese Studie die Chancen und Risiken, die mit dem Übergang zu einem (partiell) kapitalgedeckten Beamtenpensionssystems verbunden sind. Als Datengrundlage dient hierzu die vollständige Personalstandsstatistik des Landes Hessen, dessen Beamtenpopulation repräsentativ für den größten Teil des deutschen Beamtensystems ist. Unter Verwendung eigens für diese Studie berechneter Beamtensterbetafeln werden zunächst die Pensionsansprüche der aktuellen Pensionäre sowie die bereits erdienten Anwartschaften der aktuell diensttuenden Beamten aktuariell bewertet. Auf Grundlage einer 50-Jahres-Prognose der Beamtenpopulationsentwicklung werden die zur Finanzierung der Pensionsversprechen benötigten Beiträge, d.h. der Beitragssatz in Bezug auf die Beamtengehälter, deterministisch bestimmt. Im Rahmen einer Monte Carlo-Studie und auf Basis eines stochastischen Barwert-Ansatzes wird sodann die Anlagestrategie für das Planvermögen bestimmt, die zu minimalem Crash-Risiko, gemessen als Conditional Value at Risk der gesamten Pensionskosten, führt. Abschließend wird aufgezeigt, welchen Freiraum der Pensionsplanmanager hinsichtlich der Wahl von Beitragssatz und Anlagestrategie hat, wenn er nur auf Einhaltung eines vorgegebenen Risikobudgets verpflichtet wurde
Chapitre premier. J. Raimond publie la Correspondance secrète des colons, mai 1790
No full textÀ la séance du 29 janvier 1790 de la Société des Amis des Noirs, Julien Raimond avait lu des lettres qu’il avait reçues de Saint-Domingue et Brissot, qui présidait, proposa de les publier : « Lecture de différentes lettres de Saint-Domingue, communiquées par M. Raimond relatives à la Révolution opérée à Saint-Domingue... M. le président a fait la motion qu’il croirait nécessaire et même intéressant pour la cause des Noirs, d’insérer dans les journaux quelques fragments des lettres communiquée..
VGI in National Mapping Agencies: Experiences and Recommendations
No full textDespite the considerable growth in Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) activities in citizen sensing and the evident opportunities for VGI use in map revision and updating, few European National Mapping Agencies (NMAs) or other types of government bodies have engaged significantly with VGI. Moreover, the level of engagement of NMAs with the VGI community varies greatly, and most of them have proposed their own tools for encouraging citizens and public partners to collect feedback or new data. There are numerous barriers limiting the participation of citizens and public partners in NMA data collection, including data quality issues, the motivation of the contributors and legal issues. The aim of this chapter is to give an overview of the experiences of some European NMAs in engaging with VGI. Guidelines and recommendations to support wider engagement with the VGI community are also proposed to help NMAs and interested government bodies exploit the potential of VGI for authoritative mapping.COST Action TD 1202 (Mapping and the Citizen Sensor
Manipulation of Rydberg atoms using quantum optimal control
No full textNotre dispositif expérimental nous permet de préparer et de manipuler des atomes de Rydberg circulaires [1] dont l’intérêt pour la métrologie quantique a déjà été démontré [2,3]. Le sujet de cette thèse est l’implémentation expérimentale de la Théorie du contrôle quantique (OCT) à la préparation d’états arbitraires d’atomes de Rydberg de rubidium. Jusqu’à présent, la préparation d’atomes de Rydberg circulaires avec une grande fidélité nécessitait d’effectuer un passage adiabatique [1], qui requiert l’emploi d’impulsions radiofréquences (RF) de plusieurs microsecondes. Ce travail, réalisé en collaboration avec S. Patsch et C. P. Koch de l’Université de Kassel pour la partie théorique, a constitué en l’implémentation d’impulsions RF obtenues grâce à la méthode de Krotov [4] permettant la préparation d’atomes de Rydberg circulaires avec une fidélité de 96,2% en seulement 113 ns. De plus, nous avons montré que l’OCT peut aussi être utilisée afin de préparer des états plus complexes et appliqué celle-ci à la préparation d’une superposition d’un état circulaire et d’un de faible moment cinétique orbital, qui a des applications en métrologie. Nous atteignons une fidélité de 93% avec une impulsion RF de 167 ns, ce qui constitue une remarquable amélioration en comparaison de la technique de préparation précédemment utilisée [2]. [1] A. Signoles et. al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 253603 ; [2] A. Facon et. al., Nature 535, 262–265(2016) ; [3] E. K. Dietsche et. al., Nature Physics 15, 326–329(2019) ; [4] S. Patsch et. al., Phys. Rev. A 97, 053418Our experimental setup allow us to prepare and manipulate circular Rydberg atoms [1] which are of great use for metrological applications [2,3]. The topic of this PhD thesis is the experimental implementation of optimal control theory (OCT) to the preparation of arbitrary states of rubidium Rydberg atoms. So far, preparing circular Rydberg states with high fidelity required to perform an adiabatic passage [1], which implies the use of µs-long radiofrequency (RF) pulse. During this work, in collaboration with S. Patsch and C.P. Koch from the University of Kassel for the theory part, we experimentally implement RF pulses obtained using the Krotov method [4], and prepare circular Rydberg states with a fidelity of 96.2% in only 113 ns. Moreover, we show that OCT can also be applied to prepare more complex states, and demonstrate the preparation of a superposition of a circular state and a low angular momentum state, which has application to metrology. We reach a fidelity of 93% with a 167 ns-long pulse, which is a remarkable improvement in comparison to the previously used technique [2]. [1] A. Signoles, E. K. Dietsche, A. Facon, D. Grosso, S. Haroche, J. M. Raimond, M. Brune, and S. Gleyzes, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 253603 ; [2] A. Facon, E.K. Dietsche, D. Grosso, S. Haroche, J.M. Raimond, M. Brune & S. Gleyzes, Nature 535, 262–265(2016) ; [3] E. K. Dietsche, A. Larrouy, S. Haroche, J. M. Raimond, M. Brune & S. Gleyzes, Nature Physics 15, 326–329(2019) ; [4] S. Patsch, D.M. Reich, J.M. Raimond, M. Brune, S. Gleyzes, and C.P. Koch, Phys. Rev. A 97, 05341
Money-back guarantees in individual pension accounts : evidence from the German pension reform
No full textThe German Retirement Saving Act instituted a new funded system of supplementary pensions coupled with a general reduction in the level of state pay-as-you-go old-age pensions. In order to qualify for tax relief, the providers of supplementary savings products must offer a guarantee of the nominal value at retirement of contributions paid into these saving accounts. This paper explores how this "money-back" guarantee works and evaluates alternative designs for guarantee structures, including a life cycle model (dynamic asset allocation), a plan with a pre-specified blend of equity and bond investments (static asset allocation), and some type of portfolio insurance. We use a simulation methodology to compare hedging effectiveness and hedging costs associated with the provision of the money-back guarantee. In addition, the guarantee has important implications for regulators who must find an appropriate solvency system for such saving schemes. This version June 17, 2002 . Klassifikation: G11, G23, G2
The Relevance of Protocols for VGI Collection
No full textVolunteered Geographic Information (VGI) has become a rich and well established source of geospatial data. From the popular OpenStreetMap (OSM) to many citizen science projects and social network platforms, the amount of geographically referenced information that is constantly being generated by citizens is burgeoning. The main issue that continues to hamper the full exploitation of VGI lies in its quality, which is by its nature typically undocumented and can range from very high quality to very poor. A crucial step towards improving VGI quality, which impacts on VGI usability, is the development and adoption of protocols, guidelines and best practices to assist users when collecting VGI. This chapter proposes a generic and exible protocol for VGI data collection, which can be applied to new as well as to existing projects regardless of the specific type of geospatial information collected. The protocol is meant to balance the contrasting needs of providing VGI contributors with precise and detailed instructions while maintaining and growing the enthusiasm and motivation of contributors. Two real-world applications of the protocol are presented, which guide the collection of VGI in respectively the generation and updating of thematic information in a topographic building database; and the uploading of geotagged photographs for the improvement of land use and land cover maps. Technology is highlighted as a key factor in determining the success of the protocol implementation.COST Action TD 1202 (Mapping and the Citizen Sensor
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