{"title":"Bismarck to No Effect: Fertility Decline and the Introduction of Social Insurance in Prussia","authors":"Timothy W. Guinnane, Jochen Streb","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3497923","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3497923","url":null,"abstract":"Economists have long argued that introducing social insurance will reduce fertility. The hypothesis relies on standard models: if children are desirable in part because they provide security in case of disability or old age, then state programs that provide insurance against these events should induce couples to substitute away from children in the allocation of wealth. We test this claim using the introduction of social insurance in Germany in the 1880s and 1890s. Bismarck's social-insurance system provided health insurance, workplace-accident insurance, and old age pensions to a majority of the working population. The German case appeals because the social insurance program started on a large scale and was compulsory for covered classes of workers, and because fertility in Germany in this period was still relatively high. Focusing on the state of Prussia, we estimate differences-in-differences models that ask whether marriage and marital fertility reacted to the introduction or extension of the main social insurance programs. For Prussia as a whole we find little impact.","PeriodicalId":150881,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: International Comparisons (Social) (Sub-Topic)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126962377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Empirical Review of Basis Risk Assessment of Triggers i.e. Index, Model-Based and the Hybrid Triggers in Lieu of Individual and Industry Losses","authors":"Frederick Anning","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3248015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3248015","url":null,"abstract":"The absolute value of the distinguishing factor that exist between losses employed in triggering the occurrences of CAT bonds and the exact losses for an insurer is considered Basis Risk. This kind of risk is not only related to insurers only but also CAT bond investors as well. This is because both parties somewhat may suffer from the loss of basis risk. It is noteworthy that Basis risk could be considered a zero-sum game for both counterparties i.e. investors and insurers respectively when there is a trade in of CAT bonds.","PeriodicalId":150881,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: International Comparisons (Social) (Sub-Topic)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128106750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Labor Market Conditions and Social Insurance in China","authors":"Johanna Rickne","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2509962","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2509962","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides micro-level evidence on the relationship between labor market conditions and social insurance participation among Chinese industrial firms. I find that the increased scarcity of labor over this period was a quantitatively important driver of participation. Moreover, a comparison of the responses in different segments of the labor market shows that the response was relatively stronger in sectors with larger shares of uninsured workers, namely in private firms, those with a larger share of low-educated workers, and those without labor unions. The results suggest that a tighter labor market in the years ahead can aid policy makers to implement social insurance programs and combat insurance inequality.","PeriodicalId":150881,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: International Comparisons (Social) (Sub-Topic)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115022003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Extent of Underinsurance: New Zealand Evidence","authors":"Michael J. Naylor, Claire Matthews, K. S. Birks","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2275665","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2275665","url":null,"abstract":"It has been a common assumption by the insurance industry world-wide that households are under-insured. We examine new evidence for underinsurance using a comprehensive survey of New Zealand households and full life-cycle needs analysis. This survey is unique internationally in that it also covers total and permanent disability, trauma and income protection insurances, as well as examining underinsurance by household type and ethnicity. We show that analysis of underinsurance needs to be more comprehensive than simple measurement of rates or levels of cover and needs to compare actual coverage levels to adequacy levels. We find no indication that of a crisis in life underinsurance, with rates and levels of life insurance ownership similar to those in the USA and ownership levels correlated to needs for life cover. There is, however, strong evidence that levels of life cover are often poorly chosen, with little relationship between ideal cover and actual cover, indicating household considerations about insurance cover levels are inadequate.","PeriodicalId":150881,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: International Comparisons (Social) (Sub-Topic)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132882908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"МИРОВАЯ И РОССИЙСКАЯ ПРАКТИКА ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ ПРОЖИТОЧНОГО МИНИМУМА НАСЕЛЕНИЯ (World and Russian Practice of Determining Subsistence Minimum Population)","authors":"Ivan Nikolaevich Shatilov","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.2216474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2216474","url":null,"abstract":"Paper highlights the main trends in the global and Russian practice of determining subsistence minimum population.","PeriodicalId":150881,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: International Comparisons (Social) (Sub-Topic)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121445246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating Social Protection Programs in Tajikistan","authors":"Hyun H. Son","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.1943271","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1943271","url":null,"abstract":"At independence, Tajikistan inherited an extensive social protection system that included a range of cash and non-cash benefits. While the economy is well into its transition from a centrally planned to a market-oriented economy, its social welfare policies still adhere to the methods and approaches of the Soviet period. This is true for social protection, which has both social insurance and social assistance components, and for which benefits are effectively non-contributory in nature in that no contributions are collected from employees. In this paper, we examine the performance of the country's social protection system—essentially public transfers for the elderly and disabled—in terms of reducing poverty, with the aim of identifying its key problems. Since the government provides such public transfers mainly as pensions (i.e., old-age pension, disabled pension, and survivors pension), it merits an in-depth analysis of whether or not these transfer programs reach the intended beneficiaries; that is, how well do they target the intended beneficiaries? Using data from the Living Standards Measurement Survey conducted in 2007, we find that only 43% of poor households are receiving transfers from the government, while 33% of non-poor households receive transfers. This study argues for applying a targeted approach to public transfer programs, including non-contributory pension schemes aimed at the most vulnerable populations.","PeriodicalId":150881,"journal":{"name":"SIRN: International Comparisons (Social) (Sub-Topic)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122786804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}