Why Do Firms Offer Risky Defined Benefit Pension Plans?

Even risky pension sponsors could offer essentially riskless pension promises by contributing a sufficient level of resources to their pension trust funds and by investing those resources in fixed-income securities designed to deliver their payoffs just as pension obligations are coming due. However, almost no firm has chosen to fund its plan in this manner. We study the optimal funding choice for plan sponsors by developing a simple model of pension financing in which the total compensation offered to workers must clear the labor market. We find that if workers understand the implications of pension risk, they will demand greater compensation for riskier pension promises than for safer ones, all else equal. Indeed, in our model, pension sponsors maximize their value by making their pension promises free of risk. We close by positing some explanations for why no real-world firm follows the prescription of our model.

Why Do Firms Offer Risky Defined Benefit Pension Plans?

Even risky pension sponsors could offer essentially riskless pension promises by contributing a sufficient level of resources to their pension trust funds and by investing those resources in fixed-income securities designed to deliver their payoffs just as pension obligations are coming due. However, almost no firm has chosen to fund its plan in this manner. We study the optimal funding choice for plan sponsors by developing a simple model of pension financing in which the total compensation offered to workers must clear the labor market. We find that if workers understand the implications of pension risk, they will demand greater compensation for riskier pension promises than for safer ones, all else equal. Indeed, in our model, pension sponsors maximize their value by making their pension promises free of risk. We close by positing some explanations for why no real-world firm follows the prescription of our model.

60,000 year climate and vegetation history of Southeast Alaska

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2017Sedimentological and palynological analyses of lacustrine cores from Baker Island, located in Southeast Alaska's Alexander Archipelago, indicate that glaciers persisted on the island until ~14,500 cal yr. BP. However, the appearance of tree pollen, including Pinus cf. contorta ssp. contorta (shore pine) and Tsuga mertensiana (mountain hemlock) immediately following deglaciation suggests that a forest refugium may have been present on ice-free portions of neighboring islands or the adjacent continental shelf. Sedimentological and palynological analyses indicate a variable climate during the Younger Dryas interval between ~13,000 and ~11,500 cal yr. BP, with a cold and dry onset followed by ameliorating conditions during the latter half of the interval. An eight cm-thick black tephra dated to 13,500 ± 250 cal yr. BP is geochemically distinct from the Mt. Edgecumbe tephra and thus derived from a different volcano. Based on overall thickness, multiple normally graded beds, and grain size, I infer that the black tephra was emplaced by a large strombolian-style paroxysm. Because the dominant wind direction along this coast is from the west, the Addington Volcanic Field on the continental shelf, which would have been subaerially exposed during the eruption, is a potential source. The similarity in timing between this eruption and the Mt. Edgecumbe eruption suggests a shared trigger, possibly a response to unloading as the Cordilleran Ice Sheet retreated. To complement the Baker Island lacustrine record, a speleothem paleoclimate record based on δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values spanning the interval from ~60,000 yr. BP to ~11,150 yr. BP was recovered from El Capitan Cave on neighboring Prince of Wales Island. More negative δ¹³C values are attributed to predominance of angiosperms in the vegetation above the cave at ~22,000 yr. BP and between ~53,000 and ~46,000 yr. BP while more positive δ¹³C values in speleothem EC-16-5-F indicate the presence of gymnosperms. These data suggest limited or no ice cover above El Capitan Cave for the duration of the record, possibly indicating that this region was a nunatak during glacial periods

Iowa Agriculturist 68.03

Life Insurance and You 4 Skiing ... a day\u27s adventure 7 ISU Grads Tell What It IS Like in the Agri-business World 8 Agriculture in Greece 12 Plant Hunting - Behind the Iron Curtain 14 Creativity is the Word 15 Air Pollution 16 Campus Showcase 18 Winter Cotillion 21 Coeds Challenge Tradition 24 ISU Beef Herd Sets Pace 25 Campus March of Agriculture 26 Classroom and Campus 28 Strictly Bull 29 Dates for Penny Pinchers 30https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/iowaagriculturist/1047/thumbnail.jp

Iowa Agriculturist 69.01

The Governor Speaks Out On Iowa\u27s Brain Drain 2 Veishea 6 Students\u27 Prof of the Year 7 The Club Wants Recognition 8 Meatless Meats - Diet of the Future? 10 The Graduated or I feel the Draft 12 All-Ag Banquet 14 Water Conservation - Vital to All 16 The Story of Barbed Wire 18 All-out Chemical Warfare 21 A Day at the Ledges 22 Animal Farm 24 What Should He Be Like? 26 Campus March of Agriculture 28 Classroom and Campus 30 Strictly Bull 31https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/iowaagriculturist/1045/thumbnail.jp

Investigation of spiral blood flow in a model of arterial stenosis

The spiral component of blood flow has both beneficial and detrimental effects in human circulatory system [Stonebridge PA, Brophy CM. Spiral laminar flow in arteries? Lancet 1991; 338: 1360–1]. We investigate the effects of the spiral blood flow in a model of three-dimensional arterial stenosis with a 75% cross-sectional area reduction at the centre by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. The standard κ–ω model is employed for simulation of the blood flow for the Reynolds number of 500 and 1000. We find that for Re = 500 the spiral component of the blood flow increases both the total pressure and velocity of the blood, and some significant differences are found between the wall shear stresses of the spiral and non-spiral induced flow downstream of the stenosis. The turbulent kinetic energy is reduced by the spiral flow as it induces the rotational stabilities in the forward flow. For Re = 1000 the tangential component of the blood velocity is most influenced by the spiral speed, but the effect of the spiral flow on the centreline turbulent kinetic energy and shear stress is mild. The results of the effects of the spiral flow are discussed in the paper along with the relevant pathological issues

Laser induced ultrasonic phased array using Full Matrix Capture data acquisition and Total Focusing Method

Laser based ultrasound is a technique where a short pulsed laser is used to generate ultrasound and optical interferometry is used in order to detect the signal. Since both generation and detection of ultrasound is based on optical means, the technique is broadband, non-contact, and couplant free, suitable for large stand-off distances, inspection of components of complex geometries and hazardous environments. A data collection method (Full Matrix Capture) developed for ultrasonic arrays, is used for data collected using laser based ultrasound. In this method, a signal is captured from every possible transmitter-receiver array element combination. After the data capture, the imaging is done in post processing using the Total Focusing Method, in which the beam is focused, in both transmission and reception, on every pixel in the image to achieve improved defect detectability and very high spatial resolution. For the first time in laser ultrasonics, the beamforming and steering of the ultrasound is done during the post processing. In this way, a synthesised 1-D laser induced ultrasonic array operates, in post processing, as a phased array without the need of complicated optical setups, optical fibres or use of multiple laser beams. This work presents results from a non destructive laser ultrasonic inspection of aluminium samples with side drilled holes and slots at depths varying between 5 and 20mm from the surface.</p