299 research outputs found
Are the dimensions of private information more multiple than expected? Information asymmetries in the market of supplementary private health insurance in England
Our study reexamines standard econometric approaches for the detection of information asymmetries on insurance markets. We claim that evidence based on a standard framework with 2 equations, which uses potential sources of information asymmetries, should stress the importance of heterogeneity in the parameters. We argue that conclusions derived from this methodology can be misleading if the estimated coefficients in such an `unused characteristics' framework are driven by different parts of the population.
We show formally that an individual's expected risk from the perspective of insurance, conditioned on certain characteristics (which are not used for calculating the risk premium), can equal the population's expectation in risk { although such characteristics are both related to risk and insurance probability, which is usually interpreted as an indicator of information asymmetries.
We provide empirical evidence on the existence of information asymmetries in the market for supplementary private health insurance in the UK. Overall, we found evidence for advantageous selection into the private risk pool; ie people with lower health risk tend to insure more. The main drivers of this phenomenon seem to be characteristics such as income and wealth. Nevertheless, we also found parameter heterogeneity to be relevant, leading to possible misinterpretation if the standard `unused characteristics' approach is applied
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In sickness and in Health? Dynamics of health and cohabitation in the United Kingdom
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the dynamics of cohabitation and functional impairments among older people. Our research has three main aims. Firstly, we want to analyse the effects of cohabitation on disability. Secondly, we want to study time trends in disability and cohabitation jointly to explore relationships between the two. Thirdly, we examine socioeconomic differences -- as captured by educational attainment -- in disability.
These issues are of great interest from several points of view. Firstly, they address an emerging theoretical debate concerning the effects of cohabitation on health and contribute to a sparse empirical literature on the topic. Secondly, our findings are highly policy relevant. Concerning long-term care for older people, for example, cohabitation is of double importance: firstly, since people who cohabit tend to be healthier, and secondly, since a partner is the typical provider of informal care. In a time where family structures among the old are likely to change (due to changes in life expectancy and divorce rates), our research will be useful for planning purposes. Finally, the model can be used to simulate populations of certain characteristics. Hence, it can be used to derive insurance premiums in order to reduce the problem of selection effects in the market for long-term care insurance.
Using the British Household Panel Survey dataset, we apply panel data and simulation techniques to exploit the longitudinal characteristic of the panel. We estimate the two dependent variables -- cohabitation status and disability -- jointly, and allow for time trends, age effects and unobserved heterogeneity.
We find that there are systematic differences between single and cohabiting people so that a cross sectional analysis would overestimate the causal relationship; nevertheless, cohabitation has a strong and positive effect on health. Furthermore, we find that bereavement of a partner has a significant negative impact on health
The decomposition of disease and disability life expectancies in England 1992-2004
ISBN 978-1-905752-23-2 www.cass.city.ac.uk "This paper originated in an independent report for the Department of Health. Any opinions expressed in this paper are my/our own and not necessarily those of my/our employer or anyone else I/we have discussed them with. In particular, the views expressed may not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health. You must not copy this paper or quote it without my/our permission"
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Investigating the market potential for customised long term care insurance products
Previous economic research into long-term care (LTC) has mainly been focussed on one issue: the reasons why the LTC insurance market has not been successful. In this contribution, we analyse the prospects for a new type of insurance policy, which offers a top-up on the resources already available to the individual.
We abstract from most problems inherent in LTC insurance markets and derive premium rates for various types of insurance policies. Generally, we find that the top-up option reduces premium rates considerably, to the point where it might be expected that a substantial number of people would take up policies, were they available
Electrical resistivity near Pomeranchuk instability in two dimensions
We analyze the DC charge transport in the quantum critical regime near a
d-wave Pomeranchuk instability in two dimensions. The transport decay rate is
linear in temperature everywhere on the Fermi surface except at cold spots on
the Brillouin zone diagonal. For pure systems, this leads to a DC resistivity
proportional to T^{3/2} in the low-temperature limit. In the presence of
impurities the residual impurity resistance at T=0 is approached linearly at
low temperatures.Comment: 9 pages, no figure
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A sensitivity analysis of the parameters used in a PHI multiple state model
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An analysis of disability - linked annuities
In this paper we investigate a special type of annuity where the annuity is issued to a policyholder who is in reasonable health at the outset; however, if the policyholder subsequently becomes disabled then the annuity payments are increased to a higher level depending on the level of disability.
We analyse different types of disability-linked annuities, both single life and last survivor, in order to examine their main characteristics and assess their suitability as potential new products in the annuity and long term care (LTC) market.
Initially, we use a central set of assumptions - in particular, incorporating the central set of morbidity trend assumptions used by Rickayzen and Walsh (2002) - to calculate various quantities. These include the expected times spent in different states of disability, the probabilities of each level of annuity enhancement eventually being triggered and the single premiums required. We then use pessimistic and optimistic assumptions to replicate the expansion and compression of morbidity theories, respectively, to provide a sensitivity analysis. In addition, we consider the effect of widening the definition of disability used for the product to make it more appealing to consumers. We also examine the underwriting considerations by calculating the theoretical premium which should be charged if a moderately disabled individual were to purchase the product. Finally, we estimate the potential market in the UK for this group of products.
Our main conclusion is that when we compare the disability-linked annuity with the corresponding traditional whole life annuity, the increase in premium involved is relatively modest. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, the mortality and morbidity risks act in opposite directions. Therefore, an individual receiving an annuity enhancement due to severe disability will also face shorter life expectancy. Secondly, periods of disability are likely to occur towards the end of life. Therefore, the value of the annuity enhancements is relatively small since they are discounted so heavily. For similar reasons, we find that moving to optimistic or pessimistic morbidity assumptions has relatively little effect on the premiums. Finally, we note that the product is only likely to be affordable to the more affluent sector of the UK elderly population; nevertheless, we estimate that there is a considerable potential market for a product which appears to have many attractive features
Vector current conservation and neutrino emission from singlet-paired baryons in neutron stars
Neutrino emission caused by singlet Cooper pairing of baryons in neutron
stars is recalculated by accurately taking into account for conservation of the
vector weak currents. The neutrino emissivity via the vector weak currents is
found to be several orders of magnitude smaller than that obtained before by
different authors. This makes unimportant the neutrino radiation from singlet
pairing of protons or hyperons.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
Renormalized mean-field t-J model of high-Tc superconductivity: comparison with experiment
Using an advanced version of the renormalized mean-field theory (RMFT) for
the t-J model, we examine spin-singlet superconducting (SC) state of -symmetry. Overall doping dependence of the SC gap magnitude is in good
agreement with experimental results for (BSCCO) and
(LSCO) compounds at the
optimal doping and in the overdoped regime. We also calculate the dispersion
relation for the Bogoliubov quasiparticles and compare our findings both with
the angle resolved photoemission data for the cuprates, as well as with the
variational Monte Carlo and other mean-field studies. Within the method
proposed by Fukushima [cf. Phys. Rev. B \textbf{78}, 115105 (2008)], we analyze
different forms of the t-J Hamiltonian, i.e. modifications caused by the form
of exchange interaction, and by the presence of three-site terms. It is shown
that although the former has a small influence, the latter suppresses strongly
the superconductivity. We also analyze the temperature dependence of the gap
magnitude and compare the results with those of the recently introduced
finite-temperature renormalized mean-field theory (TRMFT) of Wang et al. [cf.
Phys. Rev. B \textbf{82}, 125105 (2010)].Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physical Review
The Role of Private Finance in Paying for Long Term Care
An ageing population and increased longevity means that long term care will become progressively more expensive. In 2009 the Government published a Green Paper on future funding options and a White Paper in 2010. This article considers the role of private finance products under the ‘Partnership’ option. It finds that few households are able to pay for LTC based on income and savings but the number increases if housing assets are included. We show that products can be devised for a range of circumstances, although state support would need to continue. We propose a simplified means testing system based on a combination of income and assets
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