5,315,809 research outputs found
Improving Sweden's Automatic Pension Adjustment Mechanism
The public pension world has seen two innovations in recent years. One is the emergence of notional defined contribution (NDC) plans. The other is the introduction of automatic adjustment mechanisms to help keep pension systems solvent when the economy weakens. This brief looks at the Swedish system to demonstrate how NDCs work and evaluates the workÂings of the automatic adjustment mechanism in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Sweden passed reform legislation in 1994 that inÂtroduced a partially-funded NDC plan.1 The arrangeÂment is conceptually similar to a defined contribution plan in that contributions are accumulated in indiÂvidual accounts, but different in that the accounts are not fully funded and may be financed entirely on a pay-as-you-go basis. In this setting, the rate of return credited on the account assets is based on a rule rathÂer than on actual returns. The Swedish system uses a notional interest rate equal to the rate of growth of average earnings. However, if a calculation suggests a potential deficit, the notional interest rate is autoÂmatically reduced through a “brake” mechanism. The recent financial crisis has highlighted ways in which the brake mechanism could be improved. This brief proceeds as follows. The first section describes Sweden’s NDC plan. The second describes the Swedish brake mechanism. The third describes two problems with the current adjustment procedure: 1) it creates the likelihood of large shocks for retirÂees; and 2) while disadvantaging retirees, it tends to advantage workers. The fourth section presents posÂsible fixes for the current problems. The final section concludes that the Swedish NDC plan could function more effectively with modest changes to the brake mechanism.
Mechanism of droplet-formation in a supersonic microfluidic spray device
Spray drying is an approach employed in automotive, food, and pharmaceutical industries as a robust and cost efficient liquid atomization technique offering direct control over droplet dimensions. The majority of commercially available spray nozzles are designed for large throughput spray drying applications or uniform surface coating, but microfluidic nebulizers have recently been developed as small scale alternatives. Here, we explore the physical parameters that define the droplet size and formation under supersonic flow conditions commonly found in microfluidic spray drying systems. We examined the spray nozzle operation using high speed imaging and laser scattering measurements, which allowed us to describe the spray regimes and droplet size distributions. It was determined that by using this spray nozzle device, droplets with diameters of 4–8 μm could be generated. Moreover, we show that the supersonic de Laval nozzle model can be used to predict the average droplet size. Our approach can be used as a platform for interfacing fluid microprocessing with gas phase detection and characterization
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