Medical Savings Accounts in Singapore: How much is adequate?

While many studies have examined the cost-containment aspect of Medical savings accounts (MSA), few have investigated the adequacy of MSA to finance the health care expenditure. This paper estimates the present value of lifetime healthcare expenses (PVHE) of the Singaporean male and female elderly upon retirement at age 62. The estimation involves calibrating the stream of future healthcare expenditure; stochastic forecasting of cohort survival probabilities; and discounting the projected lifetime healthcare expenditure. Estimated values of the PVHE under various scenarios are used to assess the adequacy of the government-decreed minimum saving to be maintained in the MSA.medical savings accounts, present value of lifetime health care expense, cohort survival probabilities

Monetizing Housing Equity to Generate Retirement Incomes

The public housing program and the unique way of financing housing through the mandatory savings system in Singapore have created a class of homeowners. This paper compares the instruments available to different flat owners to monetize their assets, including the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS), subletting, downsizing and reverse mortgage. We estimate the present value of retirement incomes derived from these options by incorporating the survival probability which is forecasted using the Lee-Carter demographic model. We compare the monthly payouts that can be unlocked and discuss the tradeoffs of adequate retirement with the elderly preference for leaving a bequest and ageing in place. Our results show that LBS is the most attractive option. It allows the elderly to age-inplace while generating a steady stream of monthly drawdown and possibility of leaving a bequest. Subletting releases housing equity while retaining the asset. This helps the elderly to fulfill their bequest motive. Reverse mortgage is the least attractive option, yielding the lowest retirement income due to high loading factors.

A study of earth radar returns from Alouette satellite

Ground radar reflection coefficient analysis on Alouette sounder ionogram

Charmed Baryon Weak Decays with SU(3) Flavor Symmetry

We study the semileptonic and non-leptonic charmed baryon decays with $SU(3)$ flavor symmetry, where the charmed baryons can be ${\bf B}_{c}=(\Xi_c^0,\Xi_c^+,\Lambda_c^+)$, ${\bf B}'_{c}=(\Sigma_c^{(++,+,0)},\Xi_{c}^{\prime(+,0)},\Omega_c^0)$, ${\bf B}_{cc}=(\Xi_{cc}^{++},\Xi_{cc}^+,\Omega_{cc}^+)$, or ${\bf B}_{ccc}=\Omega^{++}_{ccc}$. With ${\bf B}_n^{(\prime)}$ denoted as the baryon octet (decuplet), we find that the ${\bf B}_{c}\to {\bf B}'_n\ell^+\nu_\ell$ decays are forbidden, while the $\Omega_c^0\to \Omega^-\ell^+\nu_\ell$, $\Omega_{cc}^+\to\Omega_c^0\ell^+\nu_\ell$, and $\Omega_{ccc}^{++}\to \Omega_{cc}^+\ell^+\nu_\ell$ decays are the only existing Cabibbo-allowed modes for ${\bf B}'_{c}\to {\bf B}'_n\ell^+\nu_\ell$, ${\bf B}_{cc}\to {\bf B}'_c\ell^+\nu_\ell$, and ${\bf B}_{ccc}\to {\bf B}_{cc}^{(\prime)}\ell^+\nu_\ell$, respectively. We predict the rarely studied ${\bf B}_{c}\to {\bf B}_n^{(\prime)}M$ decays, such as ${\cal B}(\Xi_c^0\to\Lambda^0\bar K^0,\,\Xi_c^+\to\Xi^0\pi^+)=(8.3\pm 0.9,8.0\pm 4.1)\times 10^{-3}$ and ${\cal B}(\Lambda_c^+\to \Delta^{++}\pi^-,\,\Xi_c^0\to\Omega^- K^+)=(5.5\pm 1.3,4.8\pm 0.5)\times 10^{-3}$. For the observation, the doubly and triply charmed baryon decays of $\Omega_{cc}^{+}\to \Xi_c^+\bar K^0$, $\Xi_{cc}^{++}\to (\Xi_c^+\pi^+$, $\Sigma_c^{++}\bar K^0)$, and $\Omega_{ccc}^{++}\to (\Xi_{cc}^{++}\bar K^0,\Omega_{cc}^+\pi^+,\Xi_c^+ D^+)$ are the favored Cabibbo-allowed decays, which are accessible to the BESIII and LHCb experiments.Comment: 29 pages, no figure, a typo in the table correcte

How Important Are Risk-Taking Incentives in Executive Compensation?

This paper investigates whether observed executive compensation contracts are designed to provide risk-taking incentives in addition to effort incentives. We develop a stylized principal-agent model that captures the interdependence between firm risk and managerial incentives. We calibrate the model to individual CEO data and show that it can explain observed compensation practice surprisingly well. In particular, it justifies large option holdings and high base salaries. Our analysis suggests that options should be issued in the money. If tax effects are taken into account, the model is consistent with the almost uniform use of at-the-money stock options. We conclude that the provision of risk-taking incentives is a major objective in executive compensation practice

A high flux source of cold strontium atoms

We describe an experimental apparatus capable of achieving a high loading rate of strontium atoms in a magneto-optical trap operating in a high vacuum environment. A key innovation of this setup is a two dimensional magneto-optical trap deflector located after a Zeeman slower. We find a loading rate of 6x10^9/s whereas the lifetime of the magnetically trapped atoms in the 3P2 state is 54s.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figure

2003-05 Taxes and Traffic in Asian Cities: Ownership and Use Taxes on Autos in Singapore

This paper presents a simple general equilibrium model involving trips from residential areas to a central business district, along with modal choice between cars and public transit. Using a calibrated numerical model, we investigate the relative merits of ownership and use taxes. The proposed model is used to evaluate traffic control policies in Singapore and can be used in other Asian countries. We compare full internalisation of congestion externalities to optimal tax outcomes for the different tax types. In our framework, use taxes restore Pareto optimality since congestion damage rises with more trips. Ownership taxes only partially internalise congestion externalities. However, in terms of revenue-raising ability, the marginal excess burdens in the neighbourhood of optimal taxes are typically lower for ownership taxes than use taxes

Coupling Between An Optical Phonon and the Kondo Effect

We explore the ultra-fast optical response of Yb_{14}MnSb_{11}, providing further evidence that this Zintl compound is the first ferromagnetic, under-screened Kondo lattice. These experiments also provide the first demonstration of coupling between an optical phonon mode and the Kondo effect.Comment: 4 Pages, 3 Figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Comments on SUSY inflation models on the brane

In this paper we consider a class of inflation models on the brane where the dominant part of the inflaton scalar potential does not depend on the inflaton field value during inflation. In particular, we consider supernatural inflation, its hilltop version, A-term inflation, and supersymmetric (SUSY) D- and F-term hybrid inflation on the brane. We show that the parameter space can be broadened, the inflation scale generally can be lowered, and still possible to have the spectral index $n_s=0.96$.Comment: 7 page