The future development of living standards of the retirees in Belgium. [:] an application of the static microsimulation model station

This paper develops a dynamic microsimulation model with static ageing to assess the consequences of the assumptions and hypothesis of the Federal Planning Bureau on the prospective adequacy of pensions. A less technical and shorter version of this text was published as Gijs Dekkers, 2000, L’évolution du pouvoir d’achat des retraités: Une application du modèle de microsimulation STATION. in: Pestieau, P., L. Gevers, V. Ginsburgh, E. Schokkaert, B. Cantillon, Réflexions sur l’avenir de nos Retraites, Garant, Leuven/Apeldoorn (also available in Dutch).microsimulation; ageing; social hypotheses; poverty; inequality

On the impact of indexation and demographic ageing on inequality among pensioners

Possible future trends in the development of pension adequacy are usually simulated using dynamic microsimulation models. These models are very complex and include many different processes. This, and the many individual interactions, makes it difficult to see which procedures and relations underlie the observed simulation results. Hence, the discussion of simulation results, and especially trends, tend to be based on ‘common sense reasoning’ using only a few fundamental parameters. If this strategy to explain the simulation results from a dynamic MSM is valid, then a simple stylized model describing these fundamental relations should be able to capture the long-term trends in inequality among pensioners. The results of the stylized model could then be comparable to those of a dynamic microsimulaton model. This strategy also allows to validate dynamic microsimulation models. This paper uses such a simple model to show some general relations between indexation, retirement age, demographic ageing and the inequality of pensions. The results of this stylized model are then compared to simulation results of a dynamic MSM, in this case MIDAS Belgium.microsimulation, ageing, social hypotheses, poverty, inequality

The financial implications of working longer: An Application of a Micro-Economic Model of Retirement in Belgium

In this paper, the costs and benefits associated with postponing retirement are simulated in a standard simulation model for Belgium, using the approach of Stock and Wise (1990). Unlike earlier microsimulation-based applications of this approach, such as Gruber and Wise (1999, 2004), this model does not take a representative sample as the point of departure, but simulates the costs and benefits of postponing retirement for four fictitious employees, representing male and female white- and blue-collar workers. While confirming conclusions drawn by other authors, this model allows for the separation of specific retirement schemes, and of the effect of different fiscal regimes for those retired and working. It is shown that differences between retirement schemes show up in differences in replacement rates and by whether or not the retirement benefit is a function of career length. Furthermore, advantageous fiscal regulations for the retired have a strong impact on the implicit costs of postponing retirement.option value; peak value; pension schemes; replacement rates

Book Review - Tax and benefit policies in the enlarged Europe: assessing the impact with microsimulation models

book review

Are the old poor? A discussion and some cursory evidence

Many of us associate old-age and retirement with vulnerability, both physical and economical. Even though the position of the group of elderly as a whole has improved considerably and is now no less than that of younger cohorts , poverty among elderly remains an issue worth of analyzing, also since they have fewer possibilities to recover from a drop in income, for example by changing their labour market behaviour. This paper hopes to give cursory evidence on the poverty position of the elderly, while discussing some recent research.poverty

Various Gallus varius hybrids: variation in junglefowl hybrids and Darwin's interest in them

Hybrids between Green Junglefowl Gallus varius and domestic fowl G. gallus domesticus confused several 19th-century ornithologists. The plumage of these hybrids is so unlike the colours and patterns of either of the parent species that they were considered to be distinct species: G. aeneusTemminck, 1825; G. temminckiiGray, 1849; and G. violaceusKelsall, 1891. Darwin wanted to understand if G. aeneus and G. temminckii were hybrids or species, as part of his research on the origin of the domestic chicken. His view was that all domesticated fowl have a single wild ancestor, Red Junglefowl G. gallus (formerly G. bankiva). A hybrid specimen now present in the bird collection of the Natural History Museum at Tring played an important role in Darwin's reasoning and, although the conclusions he drew from this specimen were incorrect, his single-ancestor origin theory for domesticated fowl stands. ‘These hybrids were at one time thought to be specifically distinct, and were named G. aeneus. Mr. Blyth and others believe that the G. Temminckii is a similar hybrid' (Darwin 1868a: 234–235).© 2019 The Authors; This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published pdf

Note - The European Network for Dynamic Microsimulation (EURODYM) – A vision and the state of affairs

This paper presents plans to initiate a European network for dynamic microsimulation, one of whose tasks will be to facilitate and stimulate exchange of research ideas and researchers. Also, it aims to serve as a platform for researchers to bid for and generate funds to enhance the development and use of the dynamic microsimulation models, with a particular focus on research funds available in Europe. The comments and support from the microsimulation community have been received during the European workshop on dynamic microsimulation modelling in Brussels (2010) and also during the 3rd General Conference of the International Microsimulation Association in Stockholm (2011). Further comments are requested and gratefully received.dynamic microsimulation, network