A public guarantee of a minimum return to defined contribution pension scheme members

The recent financial crisis has clearly demonstrated the exposure of defined contribution (DC) pension scheme members to extreme financial market risks. This paper argues that the government might offer DC plan members a minimum return guarantee, funded by risk based premia. Option pricing formulas show that the guarantee could be quite expensive, but public provision could reduce the costs borne by workers. Such an arrangement would be sustainable for the government and would give workers an acceptable benefit/contribution ratio in worst-case scenarios, while still allowing them to reap the advantages of occupational or individual funded pension schemes.defined contribution pension schemes, financial market tail risks, return guarantees, exchange option, ModiglianiÂ’s Treasury CFDB swap

Labor Income and Risky Assets under Market Incompleteness: Evidence from Italian Data

Theory suggests that uninsurable income risk induces individuals to accumulate assets as a precautionary reserve of value. Most assets, however, bear rate of return risk, that can be diversified only if every asset is traded by a large number of individuals and arbitrage is frictionless. Using Italian micro-data, we find evidence of income and asset risks that affect consumption. Italian households are particularly well insured against illness but not against job losses. Moreover, we detect a positive, yet weak, effect of asset holding on the variability of consumption streams across households.incomplete markets, consumption insurance, precautionary saving, financial markets, equity premium puzzle

Treatment of wastewater from textile dyeing by ozonization

Wet processes for textile production are one of the largest water consuming and polluting sources. Quite usually, at the end of the dyeing process, a noticeable amount of dyes remains in wastewater as is not absorbed by fibres, leading to wastewater colouration. Dyes show resistance to degradation in the environment, since their peculiarity is chemical stability. Besides visual problems, the effect of residual dyes is negative on aquatic life because they inhibit sunlight transmission and may enter in the food chain. Generally, conventional biological treatment alone cannot guarantee adequate characteristics to treated water to allow the discharge into the environment or reuse in other processes. Specifically, a high salt content and residual colour are still present in the treated water after secondary treatments. Salt content can be remove using membrane filtration equipment instead the most profitable operation to remove colour appears oxidation. Other techniques, such as coagulation-flocculation, adsorption, membrane filtration, activated sludge, were studied to remove colour but land filling or incineration must be considered as final process. On the contrary, oxidation steps demolish the contaminant at molecular scale, even though not necessary the oxidation is complete. Generally ozone, being an oxidant agent, has a high oxidation potential (even at a low concentration), high efficiency in decomposition of organic matter, adds oxygen to water and has process low sensitivity to changes in temperature. Ozone is able to break up the conjugated bonds of organic matter thanks to a direct reaction between ozone and the organic compound or indirectly through the generation of hydroxyl radicals. The degradation of dyes with O3 is a typical two phase reaction where an effective transfer of ozone from gas to liquid is a critical point. On the other hand, the kinetics of decolouration is usually fast. Therefore, the mass transfer is the rate limiting step. To achieve the best mass transfer condition, several gas diffusers and gas–liquid contactors have been proposed in literature such as turbines, ejectors, gas diffusers (sintered glass diffuser), etc. An innovative operative procedure took into account in this work was cavitation: it was considered as the mean to increase mass transfer of ozone in liquid medium. For this reason, an experimental equipment (Multi-task reactor) was designed and built (Fig. 1). Two types of cavitation were considered: hydrodynamic cavitation by ejector and ultrasound cavitation. The two types of cavitations were used separately or simultaneously in order to clean wastewater from different dyes typology (namely acid, cationic, reactive and disperse dyes). In addition, hydrodynamic and ultrasonic cavitation was used to work alone to decolourise wastewater. Cavitations are able to produce free radicals, such as hydroxyl radicals, which can be used to attack dye cromophores groups of dye molecule. A bubble column reactor was built to compare the decolourisation results obtained in the Multi-task reactor. Bubble column was used as benchmark because represent the most common technology in wastewater decolouration. First of all, decolouration experiments were performed in the multi-task equipment in liquid batch conditions. After that, continuous tests were carried out and the results were compared with bubble column equipment decolouration experiments at the same operational conditions (liquid residence time, gas flow rate, ozone dose, dyestuffs and its concentration). Taking into account the final experiment results, only ultrasound cavitation was able to improve decolouration degree in the case of disperse dye. Comparing the experimental decolouration results obtained with the mentioned technologies, bubble reactor seem to be the best technology for oxidizing treatment. Moreover, fluid dynamic study was performed to bubble column reactor in order to study dye transport mechanisms along the reactor height considering different physical-chemical characteristics. Finally, dyeing test were performed using ozonated wastewater. Wastewater originated from an industrial wool dyeing process was ozonated at different treatment time to obtain different decolouration degree. After that, treated water was reused to dye wool. The benchmark wool dyed with fresh water and wool dyed using ozonated wastewater were compared using a reflection spectrophotometry. In this way, minimum decolouration percentage was discover to obtain a quality parameter to reuse water in dyeing processes, namely color reproducibility

Properties of the Monetary Conditions Index

In recent years increasing use has been made in monetary policy analysis of the so-called Monetary Conditions Index (MCI). The index is defined as a linear combination of changes in a short-term real interest rate and in the real effective exchange rate, whose coefficients are equal to the estimated effects of the two financial variables on real aggregate demand or, alternatively, on a price index. The MCI is usually regarded as a measure of the degree of tightness of monetary policy in an open economy. In this paper the properties of the index and its possible uses in monetary policy are investigated by means of a macroeconomic model of the Mundell Fleming Dornbusch type; the reaction of the index to different kinds of aggregate shock is considered. Two possible meanings of the index are discussed: as a measure of the stance of monetary policy in an open economy and as an inflation indicator. It is shown that the index can be misleading in both cases. The MCI is ineffective in signalling changes in the stance of monetary policy in the cases of a financial shock and an exchange rate shock and it may also be misleading in the case of a supply shock. As an inflation indicator the index is also subject to some drawbacks in the case of real shocks. The MCI is to be properly interpreted as a summary measure of the inflationary pressures stemming from the short term real interest rate and the real exchange rate. An MCI constructed for Italy turns out to have been affected in recent years by the wide fluctuations of the lira exchange rate, which were mainly due to shocks originating in the financial and foreign exchange markets

Supplementary pension schemes in Italy: features, development and opportunities for workers

Participation in supplementary pension funds allows workers to exploit tax benefits and payroll employees to take advantage of employer contributions. The simulations reported in the paper show that these two components can considerably increase workers' retirement wealth. Data show that returns on supplementary pension funds may be greater than the revaluation rate of the so-called Trattamento di fine rapporto (Tfr, severance pay entitlements that also serve as provision for old age and are funded by workers' contributions). As for the liquidity of accrued positions, recent changes in the law give retirement wealth held in pension funds a degree of flexibility comparable to that of the Tfr. The paper shows that scale economies may be substantial. Cost moderation also requires transparency and comparability of charges and fees: they are also essential in stimulating competition and allowing workers to move freely from expensive retirement schemes to schemes charging lower fees. In this respect the limits on the portability of employer contributions discourage worker mobility across different pension schemes. Italian workers seem to overestimate the level of the future public pension. This result suggests the importance of strengthening public efforts aimed at providing workers with appropriate information, to make them aware of their retirement position.pension funds, retirement, financial education, employer contributions, management fees, TFR

Reabilitação do dente posterior tratado endodônticamente e severamente destruído: endocrown vs espigão-falso coto

Introdução e Objetivo: A estrutura e força dos dentes posteriores severamente destruídos estão comprometidas pelo tratamento endodôntico não cirúrgico do canal radicular o qual leva a uma complexa escolha sobre o melhor método de restauração indireta com recobrimento cúspideo final: coroa mais espigão ou a realização de uma endocrown. O objetivo visa comparar a reabilitação com endocrown VS a convencional com coroa e espigão falso-coto de um dente posterior endodonciado. Materiais e Métodos: Foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica através da PUBMED. Os critérios de inclusão envolveram artigos relacionados com endocrowns e espigão falso-coto, publicados no idioma Inglês de 2008 a 2021. Resultados: Quando comparado com a técnica convencional, as endocrowns em molares demonstraram ter maior resistência à fratura, criam menores tensões sobre os tecidos dentários e tem excelentes taxas de sobrevivência e sucesso. Nos pré-molares os resultados são contrastantes sobre as vantagens do endocrown em relação ao convencional método de retenção macromecanica na raiz. Discussão: Diferentes metodologias de estudo sobre a resistência à fratura comparam as duas abordagens, havendo resultados muito ímpares ao longo dos estudos avaliados, devido ao fato das forças terem sido aplicadas com diferentes angulações na peça dentária. Os valores de tensão de von Mises apontaram todos no facto que o endocrown cria menor stress nos tecidos dentários. Os resultados in vivo demonstraram boas taxas de sucesso nas duas abordagens. Conclusão: A endocrown parece ser uma boa opção de reabilitação para molares severamente destruídos

The Italian Theory of Comparative Law Goes Abroad

The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of the Italian comparative law scholarship outside its national boundaries, and particularly in Latin America, where it has had its strongest impact. In order to achieve our goal we will start by sketching a picture of the current status of the Italian comparative law, tracing its roots, explaining its development and analyzing its weaknesses and strengths. After exploring its reception in South America, we will ultimately try to envisage the future challenges, directions and contributions of the Italian Theory – as we labeled the Italian comparative law “way”

Properties of the monetary conditions index

In recent years increasing use has been made in monetary policy analysis of the so-called Monetary Conditions Index (MCI). The index is defined as a linear combination of changes in a short-term real interest rate and in the real effective exchange rate, whose coefficients are equal to the estimated effects of the two financial variables on real aggregate demand or, alternatively, on a price index. The MCI is usually regarded as a measure of the degree of tightness of monetary policy in an open economy. In this paper the properties of the index and its possible uses in monetary policy are investigated by means of a macroeconomic model of the Mundell Fleming Dornbusch type; the reaction of the index to different kinds of aggregate shock is considered. Two possible meanings of the index are discussed: as a measure of the stance of monetary policy in an open economy and as an inflation indicator. It is shown that the index can be misleading in both cases. The MCI is ineffective in signalling changes in the stance of monetary policy in the cases of a financial shock and an exchange rate shock and it may also be misleading in the case of a supply shock. As an inflation indicator the index is also subject to some drawbacks in the case of real shocks. The MCI is to be properly interpreted as a summary measure of the inflationary pressures stemming from the short term real interest rate and the real exchange rate. An MCI constructed for Italy turns out to have been affected in recent years by the wide fluctuations of the lira exchange rate, which were mainly due to shocks originating in the financial and foreign exchange markets.monetary conditions, monetary policy stance, monetary policy indicators, information content, transmission mechanism, Italy

The recent behaviour of financial market volatility

A striking feature of financial market behaviour in recent years has been the low level of price volatility over a wide range of financial assets and markets. The issue has attracted the attention of central bankers and financial regulators due to the potential implications for financial stability. This paper makes an effort to shed light on this phenomenon, drawing on literature surveys, reviews of previous analyses by non-academic commentators and institutions, and some new empirical evidence. The paper consists of seven sections. Section 2 documents the current low level of volatility, putting it into a historical perspective. Section 3 briefly reviews the theoretical determinants of volatility, with the aim of helping the reader through the subsequent sections of this Report, which are devoted to the explanations of the phenomenon under study. These explanations have been grouped into four categories: real factors; financial factors; shocks; and monetary policy. Thus, Section 4 looks into the relation between volatility and real factors, from both a macro- and a microeconomic perspective. Section 5 considers how the recent developments in financial innovation and improvements in risk management techniques might have contributed to the decline in volatility. Section 6 considers the relation between real and financial shocks and volatility. Finally, Section 7 explores whether more systematic and transparent monetary policies might have led to lower asset price volatility.financial volatility, risk taking, international financial markets