1,720,994 research outputs found
The Effectiveness of a Fiscal Transfer Mechanism in a Monetary Union: A DSGE Model for the Euro Area
Get PDFIn this paper, we incorporate a transfer mechanism into a DSGE model with a rich fiscal sector to assess the effectiveness of fiscal transfers for a monetary union, in particular for the Economic and Monetary Union. Using a heterogeneous setup, the model is estimated for the North and the South of Europe using Bayesian methods. The results show that the transfer mechanism is effective in stabilizing the economy of the southern block of countries during the financial crisis, although the total welfare effect for the EMU is negative, though small. Ex ante, a transfer mechanism would be beneficial for both the North and the South in terms of welfare and stabilization purposes
Public pensions and population ageing: An economic analysis of fertility, migration and social-security policy
Get PDFThis thesis examines the relation between the changing demographic composition of the population and its economic, political and international consequences from an economic-theoretical point of view. The ample current interest in this subject needs little comment. In the OECD-countries, virtually no political or economic debate is safeguarded from ageing anxiety. The study consists of three parts. Part I, Beliefs and Fertility, presents some explanations for the decline in fertility in the second half of the twentieth century. Moreover, we will demonstrate that cranking up he birth rates offers a possibility to reform the existing public pension plans. Part II, Political Economy, demonstrates that a reform of the current public pension system may be politically feasible. Furthermore, we provide an alternative explanation for the generosity of the existing old-age social-security arrangements and the declining labour-force participation of elderly workers from a public-choice perspective. Finally, we will demonstrate that economic growth may not resolve the problems of population ageing. Part III, International Aspects, analyses the international spillovers of population ageing. In attempting to answer the question whether immigration provides a solution to the ageing problem, we will focus on the redistributive impact of migration. Moreover, we will demonstrate that migrants may be reluctant to migrate into regions with an ageing population
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Innovation in Higher Education: Needed and Feasible
Get PDFIt is time for a major overhaul of higher education. Europe’s first university was established in Bologna in 1088. Its curriculum was rather narrow, largely devoted to the study of law. Since that time, universities have developed in an attempt to keep pace with our changing society. How have today’s knowledge institutes responded to the increasing pace of technological progress? How do they rise to new societal challenges? Why are they pursuing innovation in education – and how are they doing so
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Constraints in perfect-foresight models: The case of old-age savings and public pensions
No full textAppropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Does retirement flexibility provide a hedge against macroeconomics risks?
No full textRetirement flexibility is often seen as a hedge against macroeconomic risks such as capital market risks, which justifies more risky asset portfolios. This paper analyses the robustness of this claim in both a partial equilibrium and general equilibrium setting. We show that this positive relationship between risk taking and retirement flexibility is weakened and under some conditions even turned around if not only capital market risks, but also productivity risks are considered. Productivity risk in combination with a high elasticity of substitution between consumption and leisure creates a positive correlation between asset returns and labour income, reducing the willingness of consumers to bear risk
The international spillover effects of ageing and pensions
Get PDFOne of the central conclusions that emerges from this thesis is that countries with large funded pension systems are in the long run negatively affected by the fact that other countries have extensive PAYG schemes. This is especially the case when PAYG countries use government debt to finance their pension burden. High levels of government debt may lead to inflationary pressures. In a monetary union like the EMU it will therefore be important for funded countries that the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact are met and that the ECB is independent, credible and transparent. The thesis also shows that pension reform in a PAYG country can have adverse consequences for countries with funded pension schemes. In a common capital market like the EU, it would therefore be in the interest of funded countries that pension reform is not decided upon in isolation by separate member countries, but that there is some coordination or even centralisation of decision making
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