Payout Choices by Retirees in Chile: What Are They and Why?

In 1981 Chile adopted its new multi-pillar system, which featured privately managed individual accounts. Starting in 1983 payouts from the accounts were permitted and detailed rules about payouts were put in place. The Chilean scheme therefore gives us an opportunity to examine how pensioners and pension providers react to individual account systems during the payout stage and how regulations shape these reactions. We use aggregate time series data obtained from the pension fund and insurance industry regulators, individual-level data on all annuitants in the system, and interviews with pension providers and regulators for this analysis. Retirees in Chile have a choice between early versus normal retirement from the system and between annuitization versus programmed withdrawals (PW); lump sum withdrawals are largely ruled out. These choices determine the time stream of benefits and the eventual financial burden that will be placed on the public treasury. Almost twothirds of all retirees have annuitized, but this proportion differs greatly between early and normal age retirees. Currently 60% of all retirees have chosen to retire early, many before age 55. (Early retirement means that they stop contributing and start withdrawing; it does not mean that they stop working). Most (85% of) early retirees have annuitized, while most (66% of) normal age retirees have taken PW. We present evidence that this disparate behavior is explained by incentives and constraints stemming from guarantees and regulations on pensioners and pension providers. These rules have lead workers with small accumulations to take PW at the normal age, with the minimum pension guarantee providing longevity and investment insurance. They lead workers with large accumulations to retire early, with annuities providing insurance. Regulations have given insurance companies selling annuities a competitive advantage in marketing to this group, and they do so aggressively. Early access to retirement saving through early retirement or front-loaded PW imposes a potential financial burden on the government because of the minimum pension guarantee, which has been rising in real value through time. As a result, the expected public share of the total pension payout grows with a cohort’s age and may exceed expectations as cohorts that retired under the new system grow very old. Annuitization mitigates (but does not completely eliminate) this cost to the public treasury. This analysis suggests that, with appropriate incentives, a high proportion of pensioners will purchase annuities in countries with individual account systems. But these countries need to coordinate early withdrawal conditions with minimum pensions and other safety nets, in order to avoid moral hazard problems and unexpected public liabilities.

PREMIUMS/DISCOUNTS AND PREDICTIVE ABILITY OF THE SHRIMP FUTURES MARKET

Seafood futures contracts are a novelty in the derivative markets, having shrimp as their only exponent. Unfortunately, shrimp futures contracts have suffered a disappointing start. The analyses focus on testing whether premiums/discounts for non-par deliverable shrimp size categories can eliminate cash price differentials, and whether the shrimp futures market can predict cash prices without bias. Results indicate ineffective premiums/discounts and predictive bias. These results and the momentous changes taking place in the seafood industry are contrasted to discuss the viability of seafood futures contracts.Agribusiness,

A 2D DWT architecture suitable for the Embedded Zerotree Wavelet Algorithm

Digital Imaging has had an enormous impact on industrial applications such as the Internet and video-phone systems. However, demand for industrial applications is growing enormously. In particular, internet application users are, growing at a near exponential rate. The sharp increase in applications using digital images has caused much emphasis on the fields of image coding, storage, processing and communications. New techniques are continuously developed with the main aim of increasing efficiency. Image coding is in particular a field of great commercial interest. A digital image requires a large amount of data to be created. This large amount of data causes many problems when storing, transmitting or processing the image. Reducing the amount of data that can be used to represent an image is the main objective of image coding. Since the main objective is to reduce the amount of data that represents an image, various techniques have been developed and are continuously developed to increase efficiency. The JPEG image coding standard has enjoyed widespread acceptance, and the industry continues to explore its various implementation issues. However, recent research indicates multiresolution based image coding is a far superior alternative. A recent development in the field of image coding is the use of Embedded Zerotree Wavelet (EZW) as the technique to achieve image compression. One of The aims of this theses is to explain how this technique is superior to other current coding standards. It will be seen that an essential part orthis method of image coding is the use of multi resolution analysis, a subband system whereby the subbands arc logarithmically spaced in frequency and represent an octave band decomposition. The block structure that implements this function is termed the two dimensional Discrete Wavelet Transform (2D-DWT). The 20 DWT is achieved by several architectures and these are analysed in order to choose the best suitable architecture for the EZW coder. Finally, this architecture is implemented and verified using the Synopsys Behavioural Compiler and recommendations are made based on experimental findings

Correcting Velocity Dispersions of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies for Binary Orbital Motion

We show that the measured velocity dispersions of dwarf spheroidal galaxies from about 4 to 10 km s^(–1) are unlikely to be inflated by more than 30% due to the orbital motion of binary stars and demonstrate that the intrinsic velocity dispersions can be determined to within a few percent accuracy using two-epoch observations with 1-2 yr as the optimal time interval. The crucial observable is the threshold fraction—the fraction of stars that show velocity changes larger than a given threshold between measurements. The threshold fraction is tightly correlated with the dispersion introduced by binaries, independent of the underlying binary fraction and distribution of orbital parameters. We outline a simple procedure to correct the velocity dispersion to within a few percent accuracy by using the threshold fraction and provide fitting functions for this method. We also develop a methodology for constraining properties of binary populations from both single- and two-epoch velocity measurements by including the binary velocity distribution in a Bayesian analysis

Entering the Dance Input/Output Machine

My goal for this project is to provide an exploration into the intersection of Computer Science and Dance. Although there are many avenues of exploration at this intersection, I decide to focus on the topic of movement, specifically the idea of movement data. With this idea, we break it apart into two subtopics: movement input and output. Throughout this project, we mainly focus on the side of input, uncovering the nuance of movement language and the information that comes with it to understand the process of motion capture. We also demonstrate the use of movement input and how others may make use of the recorded information. This is all to then give us more context in understanding movement as output

Conflicts Based on Race/Ethnicity Among Latina/o Students in Schools

Conflicts based on race/ethnicity continue to occur today in a wide range of settings. Of particular interest are racial/ethnic conflicts that occur in schools due to the impact they can have on students’ emotional well-being, academic achievement and the overall and racial school climate. Evidence exists that indicates the occurrence of racial/ethnic conflicts in schools but little attention has been specifically given to within-group or intra-racial/ethnic conflicts. Latina/o students are particularly fitting for such an examination given the clear within group diversity that exists within the population. This study sought to gain a better understanding of conflicts based on race/ethnicity among Latina/o students. Specific exploration was made regarding the sources of the conflict, participants’ reactions to them and outcomes. Nine self-identified Latina/o high school students from a large city in California were interviewed regarding their experienced conflicts based on race/ethnicity. Data were analyzed using Consensual Qualitative Research methodology (Hill, Thompson & Williams, 1997). Participants reported conflicts took several forms including verbal, social exclusion and physical. Primary reasons for conflicts included a denial or rejection of participants’ Latina/o identity and differences in values between participants and their peers. Participants reported numerous adverse consequences including experiencing difficult emotions and feeling a need to prove their Latina/o identity or apologize for not being Latina/o enough. Notably, participants also demonstrated perseverance in the face of these conflicts, making positive personal changes, most evident in their report of continued academic success. Overwhelmingly, participants chose not to involve school staff in the conflict incidents. Limitations, practical implications and future research are also discussed

Acrylamide Production Using Encapsulated Nitrile Hydratase from \u3cem\u3ePseudonocardia thermophila\u3c/em\u3e in a Sol–gel Matrix

The cobalt-type nitrile hydratase from Pseudonocardia thermophila JCM 3095 (PtNHase) was successfully encapsulated in tetramethyl orthosilicate sol–gel matrices to produce a PtNHase:sol–gel biomaterial. The PtNHase:sol–gel biomaterial catalyzed the conversion of 600 mM acrylonitrile to acrylamide in 60 min at 35 °C with a yields of \u3e90%. Treatment of the biomaterial with proteases confirmed that the catalytic activity is due to the encapsulated enzyme and not surface bound NHase. The biomaterial retained 50% of its activity after being used for a total of 13 consecutive reactions for the conversion of acrylonitrile to acrylamide. The thermostability and long-term storage of the PtNHase:sol–gel are substantially improved compared to the soluble NHase. Additionally, the biomaterial is significantly more stable at high concentrations of methanol (50% and 70%, v/v) as a co-solvent for the hydration of acrylonitrile than native PtNHase. These data indicate that PtNHase:sol–gel biomaterials can be used to develop new synthetic avenues involving nitriles as starting materials given that the conversion of the nitrile moiety to the corresponding amide occurs under mild temperature and pH conditions