A Fragile Pillar: Statutory Pensions and the Risk of Old-age Poverty in Germany

The statutory pension system is still the most important income source among seniorcitizens in Germany. Due to increasing disruptions in employment biographies since the1970s and due to the mass unemployment in Eastern Germany since the 1990s, there isa growing fear of post-retirement poverty in Germany. We develop a micro-simulationmodel to compare the distribution of statutory pension incomes for new retirees in 2020with those in 2004. The pension income distribution is calculated for Eastern andWestern Germany separately, for men and women, and for different skill levels.Throughout Germany, we find a growing post-retirement poverty, especially for lowskilledworkers. Eastern Germany will lose its current advantage in terms of highpensions and low inequality.Statutory pension system, old-age poverty risk, pension distribution, education

Die Entwicklung der Ansprüche an die gesetzliche Rentenversicherung bis zum Jahr 2020

Vor dem Hintergrund des demographischen Wandels und der damit einhergehenden Alterung der Gesellschaft in Ostdeutschland ist es unerlässlich, sich insbesondere mit der Einkommenslage der älteren Bevölkerung auseinander zu setzen. Dies gilt umso mehr, als vielfach vermutet wird, dass aufgrund unterbrochener Erwerbsbiographien und insgesamt niedriger beitragspflichtiger Einkommen für die Zukunft ein gravierendes Problem der Altersarmut entstehen könnte. Im Folgenden soll der Frage nachgegangen werden, inwieweit diese Befürchtungen eine empirische Basis haben. Konkret soll die Frage beantwortet werden, wie sich die Situation der Neurentner in den Jahren 2020–2022 im Vergleich zur Situation der Neurentner 2004–2006 darstellt.Gesetzliche Rentenversicherung; Rentenpolitik

Novel surgical technique for complete traumatic rupture of the pancreas: A case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Complete pancreatic rupture is a rare injury. The typical mechanism by which this occurs is overstretching of the pancreas across the vertebral column during blunt abdominal trauma. The management of this injury depends on the location and extent of the injury.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 45-year-old Caucasian woman presented with blunt abdominal trauma after she fell onto the end of a handlebar during a bicycle accident. She arrived in the emergency room with stable vital signs and an isolated bruise just above the umbilicus. A computed tomography scan revealed a complete rupture of the pancreas, just ventral to her superior mesenteric vein, and an accompanying hematoma but no additional injuries. An emergency laparotomy was performed; the head of the pancreas was oversewn with interrupted sutures and this was followed by a two-layer pancreaticojejunostomy with the tail of the pancreas. The recovery after surgery was completely uneventful.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Isolated complete pancreatic rupture is a rare injury that can be managed with complete organ preservation. The combination of suturing the pancreatic head and two-layer pancreaticojejunostomy with the pancreatic tail is a feasible technique to manage this condition.</p

“A very orderly retreat”: Democratic transition in East Germany, 1989-90

East Germany's 1989-90 democratisation is among the best known of East European transitions, but does not lend itself to comparative analysis, due to the singular way in which political reform and democratic consolidation were subsumed by Germany's unification process. Yet aspects of East Germany's democratisation have proved amenable to comparative approaches. This article reviews the comparative literature that refers to East Germany, and finds a schism between those who designate East Germany's transition “regime collapse” and others who contend that it exemplifies “transition through extrication”. It inquires into the merits of each position and finds in favour of the latter. Drawing on primary and secondary literature, as well as archival and interview sources, it portrays a communist elite that was, to a large extent, prepared to adapt to changing circumstances and capable of learning from “reference states” such as Poland. Although East Germany was the Soviet state in which the positions of existing elites were most threatened by democratic transition, here too a surprising number succeeded in maintaining their position while filing across the bridge to market society. A concluding section outlines the alchemy through which their bureaucratic power was transmuted into property and influence in the “new Germany”

K0s K0s Final State in Two-Photon Collisions and Implications for Glueballs

The K0s K0s final state in two-photon collisions is studied with the L3 detector at LEP. The mass spectrum is dominated by the formation of the f_2'(1525) tensor meson in the helicity-two state with a two-photon width times the branching ratio into K Kbar of 76 +- 6 +- 11 eV. A clear signal for the formation of the f_J(1710) is observed and it is found to be dominated by the spin-two helicity-two state. No resonance is observed in the mass region around 2.2 GeV and an upper limit of 1.4 eV at 95% C.L. is derived for the two-photon width times the branching ratio into K0s K0s for the glueball candidate xi(2230)

Formation of the ηc\eta_c in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP

The two-photon width $\Gamma_{\gamma\gamma}$ of the $\eta_c$ meson has been measured with the L3 detector at LEP. The $\eta_c$ is studied in the decay modes $\pi^+\pi^-\pi^+\pi^-$, $\pi^+\pi^-$K$^+$K$^-$, K$_s^0$K$^\pm\pi^\mp$, K$^+$K$^-\pi^{0}$, $\pi^+\pi^-\eta$, $\pi^+\pi^-\eta'$, and $\rho^+\rho^-$ using an integrated luminosity of 140 pb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s} \simeq 91$ GeV and of 52 pb$^{-1}$ at $\sqrt{s} \simeq 183$ GeV. The result is $\Gamma_{\gamma\gamma}(\eta_c) = 6.9 \pm 1.7 (stat.) \pm 0.8 (sys.) \pm 2.0$(BR) keV. The $Q^2$ dependence of the $\eta_c$ cross section is studied for $Q^2 < 9$ GeV$^{2}$. It is found to be better described by a Vector Meson Dominance model form factor with a J-pole than with a $\rho$-pole. In addition, a signal of $29 \pm 11$ events is observed at the $\chi_c0$ mass. Upper limits for the two-photon widths of the $\chi_c0$, $\chi_c2$, and $\eta_c'$ are also given

Search for Heavy Isosinglet Neutrino in e+e- Annihilation at LEP

We report on a search for the first generation heavy neutrino that is an isosinglet under the standard SU(2)_L gauge group. The data collected with the L3 detector at center-of-mass energies between 130 GeV and 208 GeV are used.The decay channel N_e --> eW is investigated and no evidence is found for a heavy neutrino, N_e, in a mass range between 80 GeV and 205 GeV. Upper limits on the mixing parameter between the heavy and light neutrino are derived

Direct Observation of Longitudinally Polarised W Bosons

The three different helicity states of W bosons, produced in the reaction e+e- -> W+W- -> l nu q q~ are studied using leptonic and hadronic W decays at sqrt{s}=183GeV and 189GeV. The W polarisation is also measured as a function of the scattering angle between the W- and the direction of the e- beam. The analysis demonstrates that W bosons are produced with all three helicities, the longitudinal and the two transverse states. Combining the results from the two center-of-mass energies and with leptonic and hadronic W decays, the fraction of longitudinally polarised W bosons is measured to be 0.261 +/- 0.051(stat.) +/- 0.016(syst.) in agreement with the expectation from the Standard Model

Study of Z Boson Pair Production in e^+e^- Interactions at \sqrt{s}=192 - 202 GeV

The cross section for the production of Z boson pairs is measured using the data collected by the L3 detector at LEP in 1999 in e^+e^- collisions at centre-of-mass energies ranging from 192 GeV up to 202 GeV. Events in all the visible final states are selected, measuring the cross section of this process. The special case of final states containing b quarks is also investigated. All results are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions

Study of Z Boson Pair Production in e+e- Collisions at LEP at \sqrt{s}=189 GeV

The pair production of Z bosons is studied using the data collected by the L3 detector at LEP in 1998 in e+e- collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. All the visible final states are considered and the cross section of this process is measured to be 0.74 +0.15 -0.14 (stat.) +/- 0.04 (syst.) pb. Final states containing b quarks are enhanced by a dedicated selection and their production cross section is found to be 0.18 +0.09 -0.07 (stat.) +/- 0.02 (syst.) pb. Both results are in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. Limits on anomalous couplings between neutral gauge bosons are derived from these measurements