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Housing and pension wealth are shown to be important determinants of personal sector consumption and retirement behaviour in the UK. Housing and state pension wealth have a positive effect on consumption, while private pension wealth... more
Housing and pension wealth are shown to be important determinants of personal sector consumption and retirement behaviour in the UK. Housing and state pension wealth have a positive effect on consumption, while private pension wealth promotes greater savings. Greater private defined benefit pension wealth encourages earlier retirement, while greater defined contribution pension wealth has the effect of delaying retirement. State pension wealth appears to have no effect on the retirement decision. Other variables relating to income, labour market and demographic status and spillovers from other sectors are also shown to be important. The consumption equation forecasts the late 1980s boom and the early 1990s slump in the UK better than other models that disregard housing and pension wealth. A particularly important cause of the boom was the huge private pension fund surpluses that accrued as a result of the stock market boom of the 1980s.
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ABSTRACT Basis risk is an important consideration when hedging longevity risk with instruments based on longevity indices, since the longevity experience of the hedged exposure may differ from that of the index. As a result, any decision... more
ABSTRACT Basis risk is an important consideration when hedging longevity risk with instruments based on longevity indices, since the longevity experience of the hedged exposure may differ from that of the index. As a result, any decision to execute an index-based hedge requires a framework for (1) developing an informed understanding of the basis risk, (2) appropriately calibrating the hedging instrument, and (3) evaluating hedge effectiveness. We describe such a framework and apply it to a U.K. case study, which compares the population of assured lives from the Continuous Mortality Investigation with the England and Wales national population. The framework is founded on an analysis of historical experience data, together with an appreciation of the contextual relationship between the two related populations in social, economic, and demographic terms. Despite the different demographic profiles, the case study provides evidence of stable long-term relationships between the mortality experiences of the two populations. This suggests the important result that high levels of hedge effectiveness should be achievable with appropriately calibrated, static, index-based longevity hedges. Indeed, this is borne out in detailed calculations of hedge effectiveness for a hypothetical pension portfolio where the basis risk is based on the case study. A robustness check involving populations from the United States yields similar results.
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Detailed side-scan sonar and gridded bathymetric surveys on continental margins reveal the existence of numerous submarine canyons. Recently published compilations of current velocities in submarine canyons indicate that alternating and... more
Detailed side-scan sonar and gridded bathymetric surveys on continental margins reveal the existence of numerous submarine canyons. Recently published compilations of current velocities in submarine canyons indicate that alternating and undirectionaly flows often exceed 20-30 cm/sec with peak velocities ranging from 70 to 100 cm/sec. Current meters attached to the ocean floor have been lost at current velocities of 190
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Abstract This paper sheds light on the source of the home country bias by considering a large panel of UK pension funds' holdings of international equities. Both the absolute level and medium-term trends of the portfolio weights... more
Abstract This paper sheds light on the source of the home country bias by considering a large panel of UK pension funds' holdings of international equities. Both the absolute level and medium-term trends of the portfolio weights in our sample differ substantially from ...
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Using a data set containing 364 UK pension funds' asset holdings, this paper provides a systematic investigation of the performance of managed portfolios across multiple asset classes. We find surprisingly little cross-sectional... more
Using a data set containing 364 UK pension funds' asset holdings, this paper provides a systematic investigation of the performance of managed portfolios across multiple asset classes. We find surprisingly little cross-sectional variation in the ex-post average ...
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Abstract Many people delay joining a pension plan until well into their working lives. We use a stochastic simulation model to show the cost of this delay in terms of the higher pension contributions that must eventually be paid to ensure... more
Abstract Many people delay joining a pension plan until well into their working lives. We use a stochastic simulation model to show the cost of this delay in terms of the higher pension contributions that must eventually be paid to ensure an adequate retirement income. We find the levels of contributions required for individuals who start saving late are so
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Abstract Recent changes in teacher education in England and Wales have led to an increased concentration on the role of the school in the process of training teachers. There have been interesting developments in mentorship arrangements,... more
Abstract Recent changes in teacher education in England and Wales have led to an increased concentration on the role of the school in the process of training teachers. There have been interesting developments in mentorship arrangements, often involving training ...
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... Andrew JG Cairns, PhD, is Professor of Financial Mathematics, Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics, School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt ... of future interest rates, since these will influence the future price of... more
... Andrew JG Cairns, PhD, is Professor of Financial Mathematics, Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics, School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt ... of future interest rates, since these will influence the future price of the bonds the annuity provider buys to make ...
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Page 1. Action Research and INSET David Blake New College, Durham Introduction Much is being made of the importance of action research in the provision of INSET. The idea has been heavily promoted and a substantial ...
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In this article, we report on the findings of a qualitative inquiry into how an online message board for people who have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) was used by its members. All messages (and responses) posted on the CRPS... more
In this article, we report on the findings of a qualitative inquiry into how an online message board for people who have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) was used by its members. All messages (and responses) posted on the CRPS message board over a 4-month period were collected retrospectively. The data were analysed using the method of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Members used the message board to seek (and provide) support to those with CRPS, and also to express their emotions, feelings and experiences linked to their condition. The message board provided an important source of support for a patient group that can otherwise become isolated as a result of their mobility problems. Furthermore, the analysis revealed the unrealistic hopes that patients can hold concerning the anticipated outcomes of their treatment. This is an important issue for healthcare professionals to explicitly address when interacting with the patient group.
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Peptide regulatory systems are increasingly being implicated in inflammatory processes through their actions on vascular function. Peptides released by sensory nerves (substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide) and autonomic nerves... more
Peptide regulatory systems are increasingly being implicated in inflammatory processes through their actions on vascular function. Peptides released by sensory nerves (substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide) and autonomic nerves (neuropeptide Y), or generated by endothelium (angiotensin II) or injured tissues (bradykinin), regulate vascular tone, permeability and proliferation. Peptide systems comprise multiple components responsible for generation, release and metabolism of peptides, as well as receptor expression, combinations of which act together to produce a particular biological effect. Each of these components may vary between species, between tissues and during disease, and the particular combination of these components contributes to the specificity of peptide regulation of tissue function. Understanding the species and tissue specificity of peptide-induced responses is important in developing animal models of human disease and in developing drugs for subsequent use in man. In this paper we review some of the evidence for and implications of species and tissue specificity of vasoactive peptide systems.
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Research Interests: Neuroscience, Psychophysics, Memory, Humans, Touch, and 5 moreFemale, Male, Mechanoreceptors, Adult, and Time Factors
Levels of free sulph-hydryl (SH) groups are depressed in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, especially during active disease. However, the mechanism underlying this effect is not known. We have investigated several oxidative... more
Levels of free sulph-hydryl (SH) groups are depressed in the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, especially during active disease. However, the mechanism underlying this effect is not known. We have investigated several oxidative species generated during the inflammatory process for their ability to react with serum SH in vitro. Our results show that serum oxidase enzymes (e.g. caeruloplasmin) do not have this activity but that "active oxygen species" generated either by an enzymatic reaction (xanthine plus xanthine oxidase) or by neutrophils stimulated with heat-aggregated IgG cause rapid oxidation of serum SH groups. The use of selective inhibitors of active oxygen species has demonstrated that this reaction is mediated by hydrogen peroxide. This compound is secreted in considerable amounts by activated phagocytic cells, especially neutrophils. Thus, serum SH levels may reflect phagocytic activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We suggest that serum SH groups act as important extracellular scavengers of peroxides and so help to protect cells from damage by these molecules.
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... category airplane be equipped with a built-in fire extinguisher for each waste disposal receptacle ... on cabin airflow patterns for incorporation into the DC-10 test article, inflight air velocity ... The air velocities that were... more
... category airplane be equipped with a built-in fire extinguisher for each waste disposal receptacle ... on cabin airflow patterns for incorporation into the DC-10 test article, inflight air velocity ... The air velocities that were measured in flight were duplicated in the test article by installing ...