Explore the vast range of titles available.

In this paper we analyse expected liquidity driven changes in asset allocation of Croatian mandatory and voluntary pension funds based on long-term cash flow projections. For mandatory pension funds, expected long-term cash flow are simulated taking into account the life-cycle scheme, changes in the default fund for undecisive newcomers, expected returns of funds and certain demographic and economic assumptions. Analogously, cash flow simulations of voluntary pension funds are simulated, with an additional scenario of short-term outflows due to the possibility of withdrawing earlier. The growing needfor liquidity ofpension funds is expected to impact their asset allocations through the endeavour for more liquid portfolios even in a baseline scenario. In the case of more severe assumptions of various parameters of the model, the liquidity-driven reallocation is expected to influence long-term returns ofpension funds that experience negative or low net inflows, and subsequently lead to negative liquidity premium.

This paper analyzes various reform options for Japan's public pension in light of large fiscal consolidation needs of the country. The most attractive option is to increase the pension eligibility age in line with high and rising life expectancy. This would have a positive effect on long-run economic growth and would be relatively fair in sharing the burden of fiscal adjustment between younger and older generations. Other attractive options include better targeting by \"clawing back\" a small portion of pension benefits from wealthy retirees, reducing preferential tax treatment of pension benefit incomes, and collecting contributions from dependent spouses of employees, who are currently eligible for pension benefits even though they make no contributions. These options, if implemented concurrently, could reduce the government annual subsidy and the government deficit by up to 1¼ percent of GDP by 2020.

Prior research has shown that surgeons who effectively manage operating room conflict engage in a problem-solving stage devoted to modifying systems that contribute to team conflict. The purpose of this study was to clarify how systems contributed to operating room team conflict and clarify what surgeons do to modify them. Focus groups of circulating nurses and surgeons were conducted at 5 academic medical centers. Narratives describing the contributions of systems to operating room conflict and behaviors used by surgeons to address those systems were analyzed using the constant comparative approach associated with a constructivist grounded theory approach. Operating room team conflict was affected by 4 systems-related factors: team features, procedural-specific staff training, equipment management systems, and the administrative leadership itself. Effective systems problem solving included advocating for change based on patient safety concerns. The results of this study provide clarity about how systems contribute to operating room conflict and what surgeons can do to effectively modify these systems. This information is foundational material for a conflict management educational program for surgeons.

This study aims to analyze swimmers' oxygen uptake kinetics ( K) and bioenergetic profiles in 50, 100, and 200 m simulated swimming events and determine which physiological variables relate with performance. Twenty-eight well-trained swimmers completed an incremental test for maximal oxygen uptake (Peak- ) and maximal aerobic velocity (MAV) assessment. Maximal trials (MT) of 50, 100, and 200-m in front crawl swimming were performed for K and bioenergetic profile. K parameters were calculated through monoexponential modeling and by a new growth rate method. The recovery phase was used along with the blood lactate concentration for bioenergetics profiling. Peak- (57.47 ± 5.7 ml kg  min for male and 53.53 ± 4.21 ml kg  min for female) did not differ from attained at the 200-MT for female and at the 100 and 200-MT for male. From the 50-MT to 100-MT and to the 200-MT the K presented slower time constants (8.6 ± 2.3 s, 11.5 ± 2.4 s and 16.7 ± 5.5 s, respectively), the aerobic contribution increased (~ 34%, 54% and 71%, respectively) and the anaerobic decreased (~ 66%, 46% and 29%, respectively), presenting a cross-over in the 100-MT. Both energy systems, MAV, Peak- , and peak of the MT's were correlated with swimming performance. The aerobic energy contribution is an important factor for performance in 50, 100, and 200-m, regardless of the time taken to adjust the absolute oxidative response, when considering the effect on a mixed-group regarding sex. K speeding could be explained by a faster initial pacing strategy used in the shorter distances, that contributed for a more rapid increase of the oxidative contribution to the energy turnover.

Pension reform is a key policy challenge in Russia. This paper examines how pension spending could increase in Russia in the absence of reforms, quantifies the impact of some recent proposals, and suggests some alternatives that would ensure public pension benefits - relative to wages - not fall from current levels while containing spending.

This paper studies social security reforms in a model with declining population growth and increasing life expectancy. Based on simulations using data on China, it is found that a switch from a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) system to a notional defined contribution system favors the rich, causes the poor to work more, and may change the capital-effective labor ratio depending on the rate of return to personal accounts. A switch from the PAYG system to a modified PAYG system that saves part of the receipts, with the interest rate greater than the growth rate, increases labor supply and decreases the capital-effective labor ratio in period one; decreases labor supply and increases the capital-effective labor ratio after period one; and hurts the poor old more than the rich old while benefitting the poor in future generations more than the rich. If the interest rate is less than the growth rate, the accumulated funds are insufficient to balance the social security budget.

The Chinese pension system is highly fragmented and decentralized, with governance standards, pension fund management practices, their regulation and supervision varying considerably both across the funded components of the Chinese pension system and across provinces. This paper describes the key components of the system, highlights the progress made to date and identifies remaining weaknesses, in regard to information disclosure, the governance framework and pension fund management standards.

In this article we analyze the expected risk of pension funds with different risk profiles in the proxy life-cycle model of investments for the 2nd pillar pension scheme in Croatia. The benefits of implementing proxy life-cycle investments, compared to the previous model of mandatory pension funds investments, are clearly visible in the total expected amount of accumulated savings from the risk/return perspective. However, those benefits are partially diminished by the fact that the expected risk of a pension fund with the lowest risk profile is not substantially different from the expected risk of a pension fund with a medium risk profile, due to the lack of diversification. Additionally, we analyze the robustness of the proxy life-cycle model to a sudden and severe market shock, where we determine the presence of risk for those members who choose to switch to a pension fund with a lower risk profile at an unfavorable moment.

Specialist groups have often advised health ministers and other decision makers in developing countries on the use of social health insurance (SHI) as a way of mobilizing revenue for health, reforming health sector performance, and providing universal coverage. This book reviews the specific design and implementation challenges facing SHI in low- and middle-income countries and presents case studies on Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, Colombia, and Thailand.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effect of capsaicin supplementation on performance and physiological responses during high-intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE).MethodThirteen physically active men (age = 24.4 ± 4.0 years; height = 176.4 ± 6.9 cm; body mass  =  78.7 ± 13.8 kg; running training per week = 3.9 ± 0.9 h) performed an incremental running test to determine peak oxygen uptake (\\[ VO_2Peak\\]) and the speed associated with \\[ VO_2Peak\\] (s\\[ VO_2Peak\\]). Thereafter, subjects completed two randomized, double-blind HIIE (15s:15 s at 120% s\\[ VO_2Peak\\]) trials 45-min after consuming capsaicin (12 mg) or an isocaloric placebo. Time to exhaustion, blood lactate concentration, oxygen consumption during and 20 min post-exercise, energy expenditure, time spent above 90% of \\[ VO_2Peak\\], and the rate of perceived exertion were evaluated.ResultsThere was no difference between capsaicin and placebo for any variable except time to exhaustion [capsaicin: 1530 ± 515 s (102 efforts) vs placebo: 1342 ± 446 s (89 efforts); p < 0.001].ConclusionIn conclusion, capsaicin supplementation increased time to exhaustion in high-intensity intermittent exercise without modifying the metabolic response of exercise or the rate of perceived exertion in physically active men. Capsaicin could be used to increase the training load during specific exercise training sessions.