December 2018

03Dec

Downhill from Here: Retirement Insecurity in the Age of Inequality

By Katherine S Newman As millions of Baby Boomers reach their golden years, the state of retirement in America is little short of a disaster. Nearly half the households with people aged 55 and older have no retirement savings at all. The real estate crash wiped out much of the home equity that millions were counting on to support their retirement. And the typical Social Security check covers less than 40% of pre-retirement wages--a number projected to drop to under...

December 3, 2018
Books, Pension design, Savings, ,
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November 2018

02Nov

Curious contracts : pension fund redesign for the future

By Theo P. Kocken (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) Klamer’s approach of the culture of economics is relevant and applicable to investing, because culture is an extension of rhetoric and relates to uncertainty. Uncertainty, a feeling of anxiety, is handled by culture. With culture, Klamer focusses on substantial instead of instrumental rationality, and advocates value ethics. In Klamer’s approach values and conversations are central. The values of a culture are not evident and therefore have to be interpreted. Emerging from my personal...

November 2, 2018
Books, Pension design, ,
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02Nov

Immigrants in a Changing Labor Market: Responding to Economic Needs

By Michael Fix,‎ Demetrios G Papademetriou,‎ Madeleine Sumption This volume, which brings together research by leading economists and labor market specialists, examines the role immigrants play in the U.S. workforce, how they fare in good and bad economic times, and the effects they have on native-born workers and the labor sectors in which they are engaged. The book traces the powerful economic forces at play in today's globalized world and includes policy prescriptions for making the American immigration system more...

November 2, 2018
Books, Labor Market, ,
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October 2018

29Oct

How Persistent Low Returns Will Shape Saving and Retirement

By Olivia S Mitchell,‎ Robert Clark,‎ Raimond Maurer Financial market developments over the past decade have undermined what was once thought to be conventional wisdom about saving, investment, and retirement spending. How Persistent Low Returns Will Shape Saving and Retirement explores how the weak capital market performance predicted for the next several years will shape pension saving, investment, and decumulation plans. Academics, policymakers, and industry leaders debate alternative strategies to cope with these challenges globally, as economic growth remains slow...

October 29, 2018
Books, Investing, Savings, , , ,
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22Oct

Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index 2018

The provision of financial security in retirement is critical for both individuals and societies as most countries are now grappling with the social, economic and financial effects of ageing populations. The major causes of this demographic shift are declining birth rates and increasing longevity. Inevitably these developments are placing financial pressure on existing retirement income systems. Yet, a comparison of the different pension systems around the world is not straightforward. As the OECD (2017c) comments: “Retirement-income regimes are diverse...

October 22, 2018
Books
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22Oct

Social Protection in Developing Countries: Reforming Systems

By Katja Bender,‎ Markus Kaltenborn,‎ Christian Pfleiderer Providing universal access to social protection and health systems for all members of society, including the poor and vulnerable, is increasingly considered crucial to international development debates. This is the first book to explore from an interdisciplinary and global perspective the reforms of social protection systems introduced in recent years by many governments of low and middle-income countries. Although a growing body of literature has been concerned with the design and impact of social...

October 22, 2018
Books, System Sustainability,
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22Oct

In from the Shadow: Integrating Europe’s Informal Labor

By Truman G Packard,‎ Johannes Koettl,‎ Claudio Montenegro What to do about the extent of unregulated informal employment and the size of the shadow economy is a dilemma that has been gaining urgency, particularly in Europe's periphery. The forces that accompany globalization put a premium on mobility and skill-renewal. Rapid population ageing will require that people work longer and be far more productive. To achieve this, social and economic institutions have to be more pro-employment, encouraging greater participation in the...

October 22, 2018
Books, Labor Market
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12Oct

The Experts’ War on Poverty: Social Research and the Welfare Agenda in Postwar America (American Institutions and Society)

By Romain D. Huret In the critically acclaimed La Fin de la Pauverté, Romain D. Huret identifies a network of experts who were dedicated to the post-World War II battle against poverty in the United States. John Angell’s translation of Huret’s work brings to light for an English-speaking audience this critical set of intellectuals working in federal government, academic institutions, and think tanks. Their efforts to create a policy bureaucracy to support federal socio-economic action spanned from the last days...

October 12, 2018
Books, Corporate Governance, , ,
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12Oct

Responsible Investing: An Introduction to Environmental, Social, and Governance Investments

By Matthew W. Sherwood,‎ Julia Pollard This textbook provides the first holistic resource on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing for undergraduate and graduate programs. It provides a thorough background and history of ESG investing, as well as cutting-edge industry developments, in a way that introduces the reader to the rapidly developing field of responsible investing. Read the complete book here

October 12, 2018
Books, Corporate Governance, Investing,
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05Oct

The Experts’ War on Poverty: Social Research and the Welfare Agenda in Postwar America (American Institutions and Society)

By Romain D. Huret,‎ John Angell In the critically acclaimed La Fin de la Pauverté, Romain D. Huret identifies a network of experts who were dedicated to the post-World War II battle against poverty in the United States. John Angell’s translation of Huret’s work brings to light for an English-speaking audience this critical set of intellectuals working in federal government, academic institutions, and think tanks. Their efforts to create a policy bureaucracy to support federal socio-economic action spanned from the...

October 5, 2018
Books, Pension design, System Sustainability, , ,
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