How Can I Be an Agent of Change in My Environment - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1051 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/09/17 Category Environment Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? How Can I Be An Agent of Change In My Environment? I remember before I use to throw thing anywhere, I throw anywhere I want whenever I want. Maybe its because of laziness, tired of throwing our trashes in the right place because its far or we are just not used to carrying the trash with us to throw it in the right place. Now I realize its an immature thing to do. So aside from not throwing the garbage or trash in some place else I should also help make a change and help clean up our environment. How do I do it? Well its not easy if you don’t care about anything at all, because all of us are affected by the calamities we are experiencing today, like the typhoons that destroyed a lot of houses places and families in many parts of our country, the example is the typhoon Ondoy, it affected us all, I know it sucked so bad because the killed a lot of people and destroyed a lot properties of the people. Then I asked myself why did this happen? How did this happen? I rem ember my grandmother told me when she was still alive that during their time there were no flood before, and if there is it wouldn’t kill a person and it would not destroy a lot of things. Then I started thinking what the difference between before and today? Then I looked around, what is happening to our nature, in our society, there is no discipline and respect to our mother nature, we just throw garbage anywhere we want to, the agricultural land has been changed and constructed for business plan and other buildings or houses, causing the typhoons to flood our cities, the cutting of trees in many forest that also cause the typhoon to flood our cities, the factories that produces chemicals and other gases that affects our ozone layer, the vehicles that produce dark gases that also affects the ozone layer and eve the way of burning the wastes, it also affects the ozone layer big time, could you imagine how does our ozone look like buy 2012? This is a disaster if we don†™t act and controls this things or prevent it from happening. We don’t see our mistakes at first but when we are experiencing its effect we realize that its everything that are happening to us today are because of us. How do we help clean up our environment? Each of us can help even in our own little way. How? Well if we don’t throw our waste anywhere and we put it to the right place or we dispose it properly that could help our environment clean, even recycling, we should separate the trashes that can be used to the trashes that should be thrown away. We can also help by joining to other communities in their organization like â€Å"help save our trees†, â€Å"help save mother earth†, or even the â€Å"clean and green† organization, this will help us revive our dying mother nature. And also we can help our environment with the plastic bags, the plastic bags can be used for other things so we don’t have to throw them when we are not usin g them anymore, because this is one of the reasons of flood in our cities. I used to watch news on tv or even read news in the newspaper and I watched and read a lot of calamities and tragedies that are affecting us, well actually they said it’s the revenge of nature or the punishment of God, because of our failure of protecting our mother earth, or even our failure in reviving it, they said that every mistake we did is returning back to us. Well actually for its not a revenge of nature, but who knows what could happen and why it would it happen, besides we are responsible of the things that are happening in our world. As I remember god created us to watch over his creation not to destroy his creation. In our own little way we can help save our environment our mother earth, even in our own little way, and with our little way we can attract other people and even influence them to help us save our environment, because by now our environment is critical because of the things that had destroy it. We can influence other by making them join with the organization that helps heal our mother nature, and eve show them that in our simple ways we can clean our society and make it a better and clean place. And if we see other people throwing their trash anywhere we could give them an advice or we can just get it and throw it for them to make them realize their mistake. Even with our friends we can help our environment by influencing our friends to recycle and not to throw their waste anywhere but in the right place. Also we can save mother earth by reducing the consume of water and electricity. Also the sound technology can help us reduce our consume of electricity. Imagine us using our electricity with a low consume of it and a low bill of electricity when our nation because of the environmental sound technology. It can help us with our electricity and a less consume of it. Environmentally sound technologies protect the environment, are less polluting, use all resources in a more sustainable manner, recycle more of their wastes and products, and handle residual wastes in a more acceptable manner than the technologies for which they were substitutes. Environmentally sound technologies in the context of pollution are process and product technologies that generate low or no waste, for the prevention of pollution. They also cover end of the pipe technologies for treatment of pollution after it has been generated. Environmentally sound technologies are not just individual technologies, but total systems which include know-how, procedures, goods and services, and equipment as well as organizational and managerial procedures. This implies that when discussing transfer of technologies, the human resource development and local capacity-building aspects of technology choices, including gender-relevant aspects, should also be addressed. Environmentally sound technologies should be compatible with nationally determined socio-economic, cultura l and environmental priorities. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How Can I Be an Agent of Change in My Environment" essay for you Create order

Concert Analysis - 3117 Words

Shelby Rosen MUS 265 Spring 2012 Concert Report Two concerts I attended this semester were Steve Aoki and Datsik and â€Å"The Brown Bag Series.† Although two completely different music styles, they were both fun to attend and interesting to think about when considering their musical elements. Steve Aoki is an American electro house musician, record producer and founder of Dim Mak Record. Datsik is a Dubstep DJ and music producer from British Columbia, Canada. â€Å"The Brown Bag Series† was an instrumental concert consisting of six people, one being Professor Golove, who played instruments such as the cello, the double bass, and the piano. Steve Aoki and Datsik brought their tour â€Å"Deadmeat† to Buffalo on February 28th. Their Deadmeat tour†¦show more content†¦A lot of the notes are often â€Å"shuffled notes† which mainly comes from jazz-influenced music, where they would be referred to as â€Å"swing.† According to John Mello, â€Å"a shuffle note is a practice in which some notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations, usually as alternating long and short.† The tempo of dubstep is almost always in the â€Å"range of 138-142 beats per minute, with a clap or snare usually inserted every third beat in a bar.† House music is an upbeat and dance oriented style of music. This concert consisted of non-stop dancing and everyone going wild. One big characteristic of electro house music is that it features a â€Å"drop† in every song or several times in a song. The music will be playing at a slow or medium speed and then all of the sudden the beat â€Å"drops† into a powerful, unpredictable beat. These drops come off really well in a live performance and usually make the crowed respond by dancing intensely. Electro house tracks usually range from 5 to 6 minutes in length with a gradual build up beat which makes it easier to synch the current song with the next song. The difference with electro house music and dubstep compared to other music genresShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Repertory Dance Theater Concert Essay797 Words   |  4 PagesCritical analysis of â€Å"RDT† I attended the Repertory Dance Theater concert on March 5, 2016 at 7:30 PM in the Snow College Theater - Eccles Center for Performing Arts. The concert was held because the Repertory Dance Theater was celebrating their 50th Anniversary. Dancers were touring around Utah and performing in almost every city. Concert consisted of five choreographed dance performances that lasted for about 2 hours. They were performed in this order: Suite from Mazurkas, Jack, Crippled up bluesRead MoreConcert Analysis: A Concert Featuring Lola Astanova and Gerard Schwarz635 Words   |  3 PagesIn this concert, featuring Lola Astanova and Gerard Schwarz, complex understanding of the music was shown. The first piece, ‘the Tsar’s Bride’ by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, was a historically influenced opera talking about the tsar’s third wife dying almost immediately after her wedding in fifteen-seventy one. The opera was more dramatic than others Rimsky-Korsakov wrote because the main character, the tsar, never sang. He is only known through the orchestra’s music. The opera first premiered in MoscowRead MoreAnalysis of Fabulous Superlatives Concert578 Words   |  2 Pages This may sound trite, but the concert as I saw it is best described by the name of the band, the Fabulous Superlatives!!! On every level this was a concert I will remember for a long time. The ArtsQuest venue was new to me and I was impressed with the ease of finding it, the free amble parking, the friendly staff and the great sound and seating. It is a modern impressive structure built around the old Bethlehem Steel Works. The ruins of the old plant are used as a visual backdrop to theRead MoreBand Program Essay1166 Words   |  5 Pagesextra-curricular course for students looking to pursue music in college. †¢ Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Orchestra - Jazz Ensemble is a great way to get students interested in another art form aside from classical music. Students are still required to be a part of a concert band, but having Jazz bands allows another avenue for student engagement. This is an extra-curricular course for students looking to develop new musical skills. †¢ Chamber Ensemble- Students enrolled in the chamber ensemble benefit from learning valuableRead MoreAnalysis Of Tiffany Austin s The Concert 865 Words   |  4 Pages2016. 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So it happened over a year ago, but I’m just gonna start at the begging. ~ 1 year ago ~ On lovely morning, Alex woke up realizing he was gonna be late to work. Knowing that work was the only way to get tickets for the 5sos concert tickets Alex left rightRead MoreAnalysis of Dance Styles1614 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of Dance Styles ARTS/100 Professor Analysis of Dance Styles For centuries peoples have been dancing as an art form that allows them to physically express themselves without using words. These are times when simple dignity of movement can fulfill the function of a volume of words (Humphrey, 1937). A great deal can be understood when a person watches a person dances. The message that is related is strong and clear. When you understand the types of dance the message is clear.Read MoreEssay on Analysis of Columbus State Musical Concerts651 Words   |  3 Pagesrecitals, jazz and classical concerts top in my music preferred list. My passion for music made me very excited about going the Columbus state musical concert held in the River Center of Performing Arts In the Legacy Room. The theatre is located in a nice location giving the audience a full range of sound and sight. The sounds are incredible and I really loved how I could hear everything. The stage can be seen from any place that one decides to stand on. For this particular concert, t he venue was dimly litRead MoreThe Walt Disney Concert Hall is Leonard Koscianskis Astounding Architecture767 Words   |  3 PagesThe Walt Disney Concert Hall is an astounding work of architecture. Leonard Koscianski finished designing this work in 1991, but the process of construction lasted almost a decade. The cost of the building ended up exceeding the original figures, which slowed construction. With donations from private sources, including the Disney family and The Walt Disney Company, The Walt Disney Concert Hall finally opened on October 24, 2003. The cost of the concert hall was roughly 274 million dollars, and seatsRead MoreColonial Broadcasting Company1382 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Analysis of the case: â€Å"Colonial Broadcasting Company.† 1. Regression Equation from the data is RATING = 13.36 – 0.6483*BBS + 1.397 *ABN Rating for the respective network is obtained by substituting the values in the above equation as follows Rating for ABN BBS CBC Value to be substituted for ABN 1 0 0 BBS 0 1 0 a. Rank the networks in terms of average ratings for TV movies during 1992: Rating for ABN = 13.36 – 0.6483*0 + 1.397 *1 = 14.757 Rating for BBS= 13.36 – 0.6483*1

Applying Cost Volume Profit(CVP) Analysis in Company Pricing Decisions

Question: Outline the differences between financial reporting and managerial accounting information and explain the benefits and potential problems associated with costvolumeprofit (CVP) analysis. How might the technique that you have discussed assist your friend in the effective management of his business' resources? What advice would you give him? Answer: Introduction Cost Volume Profit Analysis is an analysis of change in the total revenue, total cost and operating profit with a change in the level of output, variable cost per unit or fixed cost or the selling price of a product or service. The CVP analysis helps in decision making and formulating strategies for effective business operations and also helps in pricing decisions. Features of CVP Contribution Margin Fundamental to CVP analysis is the profit equation which states that profit is equal to total revenue minus total costs. Profit = SP (x) VC (x) TFC SP = selling price per unit VC = variable cost per unit X = number of units sold TFC = total fixed cost Profit = (SP VC) (x) TFC Profit = Contribution margin per unit(x) TFC Contribution margin per unit signifies the contribution of each unit sold to cover the fixed costs and increase profits. The concept of contribution margin can be used to determine the units of output needed to be produced or sold to achieve a targeted level of operating income. In the case of the client, the client is not able to earn desired amount of profits, however, if he applies CVP analysis and pre determines the required amount of profit after taxes, he can attain the output needed to be produced to achieve the targeted profit levels with the help of contribution margin. Break Even Point Breakeven point is the point at which the company earns no profit or loss. It is the number of units sold at which the company break evens. This can be calculated with the help of contribution margin per unit. The graph for breakeven point can be shown as below: Break Even Units sold Breakeven point is important because it is not advisable to operate below the point where the company is not making any profits as there would be losses, hence breakeven point helps in deciding when not to produce the product or service. Sensitivity Analysis Sensitivity analysis is used to deal with uncertainty in the business. The technique examines how the operating income will change with a change in any of the factors of the profit equation like a change in variable or fixed cost, change in selling price or units sold. Such analysis helps managers in taking calculative risks and broadens their perspective. One aspect of sensitivity analysis is Margin of Safety. MOS is the amount of revenue in excess of breakeven revenues. Sensitivity analysis helps the managers in deciding the level to which the revenues with a higher MOS might fall before reaching the breakeven point. Another aspect of sensitivity analysis is the cost structure of the company. A company may consider different cost structures based upon its risk appetite. The risk return of different cost structures can be measured as operating leverage. The operating leverage is said to be high when fixed costs are higher than variable costs and vice versa. A change in fixed costs leads to a change in operating income and contribution margin and operating leverage measures just that. For a company having high operating leverage, a small change in quantity leads to large change in operating income. Multiproduct Analysis For a company having multiple products like in our case also CVP analysis can be used. For similar products, the weighted average contribution margin per unit can be used. However, if the products are strikingly different like in case of a retail store, the contribution margin ratio should be used in CVP analysis. This is because the total sales becomes more important than the per unit sales. Hence the break even sales or the sales to achieve targeted operating income can be obtained with the help of contribution margin ratio. Benefits of CVP Analysis CVP analysis is a very useful tool for managers in decision making. The company can decide on its targeted profit and work on its inputs accordingly. Due to the breakeven point analysis, a manager can increase its spending and increase production in order to increase profits. Also what if analysis helps in decision making process as the decision can be broken down into various probabilities. The CVP analysis provides a detailed snapshot of the activities of a business including the costs and production details. Limitations of CVP analysis One of the basic limitations is the assumption made by CVP analysis that all costs can be categorised into fixed and variable costs, however, companies producing multiple products may have complex costs which cannot be categorized properly. Also it assumes that fixed costs do not change however with large changes in activities even the fixed costs can change. Financial Reporting vs. managerial Accounting Information Financial reporting provides information on financial statements which is useful for various stakeholders and includes business information provided in balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement. It is mandatory to prepare financial accounts. Managerial accounting provides information on companys cost structures which are useful for the managers of the company for effective conduct of business and in making policies and strategies for the company. It is not mandatory. Some of the tool of management accounting include Activity based costing, capital budgeting, CVP analysis, and many more. Recommendation Based on the above discussion of CVP analysis, it is recommended that a company should adopt the CVP analysis as it helps in avoiding wastage of resources by proper planning. The breakeven point helps in deciding the level till which the product should be produced and the sensitivity analysis helps the manager in deciding the various alterations that can be made to the variable and fixed costs and selling price and units to achieve a desired level of profits. Also the profits available to the company after payment of taxes can be determined by the contribution margin approach; hence the company will have a clearer picture of the company activities and will be able to decide upon the alternative course of action to be taken to achieve desired results. References Kaplan, R.S. Cooper, R. (1997) Cost and effect: using integrated cost systems to drive profitability and performance. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Code Connect, (2006), Cost Volume Profit Analysis, Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, pp. Kim, S.H., (2014), Cost Volume Profit for a Multi Product Company: Micro Approach, International Journal of Accounting and Financial Reporting, Vol. 5(1) Chung, K.H., (2006), Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis under Uncertainty When the Firm Has Production Flexibility, Journal of Business Finance and Accounting, Vol. 20(4), Wiley Online Library.

Micro and Macro Management free essay sample

Macro Management In a simple definition management is the person or persons who control or direct a business or other enterprise. However, management is much larger than just one person or small group of people. Management is also the practice of handling, supervision, direction, and control (www. dictionary. com). It is much larger than one person, or even a small group of people; management is everywhere. We use management in all aspects of our daily lives, whether it is organizing an event, or handling a purchase order. Management must be arranged through multiple levels in order to be successful, beginning with micro management, eventually its way up the ladder to macro management. Micro and macro components are the core make up of every business, each possessing different qualities and characteristics that form the overall building blocks to success. During the training of a new employee, most businesses use the micro-management process to provide the guidance and tools the employee needs to become successful with that business. We will write a custom essay sample on Micro and Macro Management or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Micro management is used my supervisors to observe and control the work of their employees. It involves giving employee smaller tasks, while they monitor and assess the work being done (www. dictionary. com). Micro management is often used in the beginning of any business or establishment; basically, you need to start somewhere. In the opening of a new business, guidance will always need to be offered from cooperate offices to ensure a clean transition in the opening process. Once a business is established, management will in turn micro manage their employees; guiding them through the procedures and responsibilities the company requires. Because micro managing involves supervisors overlooking the tasks their employees are undertaking, often times it is thought of as an unenthusiastic tactic. Through the eyes of an associate, micro managing can be de motivating, in turn creating doubt and lack of confidence in the workplace. Even though micro managing is used as an introductory tool, it can be drawn out for a longer duration of time. Distrust, skepticism, and uncertainty are typical feelings an employee may experience if their supervisor is abusing the method of micro managing. The role of manager is an important position of supervision in any organization. The supervisor/manager plays a key function, in the day to day needs of the organization, by finding a balance of work efficiency and managing personnel. This balance becomes even more prevalent when assigning projects or interacting with subordinates. This paper will analyze several aspects or pitfalls, managers could find themselves involved in; and will identify methods used to overcome these situations when supervising subordinates. The position of manager holds many responsibilities in an organization; those responsibilities range from dealing with requests from upper management and servicing employee’s needs, and while seeing to theses responsibilities, the manager still has to supervise the overall direction of his or her department. The multiple tasks a manager must operate within, requires the manager to be flexible and

Whats an Unweighted GPA How to Calculate It

What's an Unweighted GPA How to Calculate It SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Many high schools record your academic performance using unweighted GPA. But what does your unweighted GPA mean in the eyes of colleges? And how can you calculate it yourself? In this article, I’ll tell you what an unweighted GPA is, how to interpret it, and how to calculate it based on your letter grades. What Is an Unweighted GPA? Unweighted GPA is the most common way to measure academic performance in high school.Unweighted GPAs are measured on a scale of 0 to 4.0 and do not take the difficulty of your courses into account.This means that an A in an AP class and an A in a low-level class will both translate into 4.0s.A student who takes all honors and AP classes and earns all As and a couple Bs will have a lower unweighted GPA than a student who takes all low-level classes and earns all As. This may seem incredibly unfair, but it’s not as simple as that when it comes to college admissions.Colleges are aware that the numbers often tell a skewed story in the case of unweighted GPAs, and they will investigate further to see whether unweighted GPA is truly an accurate reflection of a student’s academic potential. Unweighted GPA is where the idea of a 4.0 as the gold standard of GPA comes from, but as we’ll see in the next section, this isn't always the most accurate achievement benchmark. What Does Your Unweighted GPA Mean? Will Colleges Use It? There’s a lot of advice out there about unweighted GPAs because the unweighted scale is the most commonly used GPA scale. However,all of this advice is contingent on the difficulty of your classes. Colleges won’t be nearly as impressed by your 4.0 if it was earned in low-level courses. Though it may be difficult to make the switch, you should try to move up a level in your classes if you’re doing very well.Even if your unweighted GPA goes down slightly, you’ll ultimately be doing yourself a favor in the college application process. Colleges are interested in your GPA, but they also look further into how you earned it. Don’t expect to game the system by taking easy classes and getting As. If your high school uses solely unweighted GPA, this may result in your class rank being lower than someone who takes easier courses than you. You shouldn’t worry too much about this.Again, you’re more likely to get into a good college with a slightly lower unweighted GPA that was earned in high-level classes than with a high unweighted GPA that was earned in low-level classes. Your A+ in gym won't give you a competitive edge in college admissions. Then again, maybe I'm just bitter because I always sat in the back of the court during dodgeball and pretended to be out so that I wouldn't have to embarrass myself by attempting to throw anything. Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. How Is Unweighted GPA Calculated? Unweighted GPA is simple to calculate because only your grades matter, not the levels of your classes.Here is a chart that shows how each letter grade translates into unweighted GPA. Letter Grade Unweighted GPA A+ 4.0 A 4.0 A- 3.7 B+ 3.3 B 3.0 B- 2.7 C+ 2.3 C 2.0 C- 1.7 D+ 1.3 D 1.0 F 0.0 With this in mind, I’ll go through how to calculate unweighted GPA with an example. Let’s say you’re towards the end of your sophomore year in high school, so you’ve completed 3 semesters so far.In each semester, you took five core classes, which are the classes we'll use in calculating your GPA. Here are some charts of hypotehtical grades for each semester: First Semester Freshman Year Class Letter Grade Unweighted GPA 1 B 3.0 2 B 3.0 3 B+ 3.3 4 B+ 3.3 5 A- 3.7 Your unweighted GPA for this semester would be an average of the five values in the last column. This gives you a 3.3 so far. Now, let's do the second semester. This time, we'll say that your grades increased slightly. Second Semester Freshman Year Class Letter Grade Unweighted GPA 1 B 3.0 2 B+ 3.3 3 B+ 3.3 4 A- 3.7 5 A- 3.7 Your GPA for this semester would be a3.4 based on an average of the values in the last column. Finally, let’s calculate GPA for the first semester of sophomore year assuming your grades increased slightly once again. First Semester Sophomore Year Class Letter Grade Unweighted GPA 1 B+ 3.3 2 B+ 3.3 3 A- 3.7 4 A- 3.7 5 A- 3.7 Your average unweighted GPA for this semester would be a 3.5.Now we can calculate your overall GPA by averaging the three GPAs from each semester. Semester Unweighted GPA First - Freshman 3.3 Second - Freshman 3.4 First - Sophomore 3.5 Cumulative 3.4 Note that this method of averaging semester GPAs only works if you took the same number of classes every semester. If you didn't, it's best to just translate all of your grades so far into unweighted GPAs, add them up, and divide by the total number of classes you've taken. If your school gets more specific with its GPAs for different grades (for example, a 90 average in a class would translate into a lower GPA than a 92 average even though they’re both A-s), look at this more detailed conversion chart to get a more accurate result. Conclusion The unweighted GPA is GPA in its purest form: it only considers your grades and not the levels of your classes. It’s important to keep things in perspective when assessing your unweighted GPA because colleges will be able to tell whether you earned it in difficult classes or not.Having a 4.0 unweighted GPA doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get your pick of top colleges. You need to challenge yourself academically in AP and Honors classes so you can rise above the crowd. Unweighted GPA is relatively easy to calculate because you don’t have to account for the levels of your classes. If you want to figure out your unweighted GPA, just consult the conversion chart in this article to translate your grades into the appropriate numerical values. What's Next? Now that you know all about unweighted GPA, you may be wondering whether colleges place more emphasis on unweighted or weighted GPA statistics in the admissions process. Learn more about which GPA measurement will be most important for college. You should also check out this article on what constitutes a good or bad GPA for college admissionsif you're not sure whether your GPA is high enough for your college goals. With unweighted GPA, it can be difficult to figure out whether your course load is advanced enough for selective colleges. Read this article to find out what constitutes a rigorous course load in high school. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. 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Education and Pursuit of Right Wisdom

Education and Pursuit of Right Wisdom A prudent man is a man of wisdom† (Ken Barker) Hashtag: #masterofallwisdom Mastery of All Wisdom Wisdom by definition is acquired through experience and knowledge. People with wisdom are wise and able to make a good judgment. However, is there really such a thing as #masterofallwisdom? What is this  wisdom? Wisdom is one of the four cardinal virtues. Along with justice, courage, and moderation, wisdom or prudence include an individual capacity to deal with moral and practical affairs in life or having both Wisdom of God and Wisdom of the World. The wisdom of God as we know it is learned from religious teachings while the latter are practical wisdom associated with philosophy or opinions of great men in history. The ability to distinguish right from wrong, however, is not entirely wisdom but acting upon learned knowledge and experience. LEARNING MORAL VALUES IN COLLEGE MOVIES This particular knowledge according to the scientific dimension of human development includes emotional and social intelligence, critical thinking, and other high order mental activities that are integrated into wisdom. The study shows that the quality of human wisdom is greatly influenced by education, technology, health, and age. Older people who have lived long enough, seen more and learned enough normally have more wisdom and able to face major life changes. Masters of all wisdom are likely those with long experience and vast knowledge of the world around us. They are aging individuals who love, fear and honor God. They do not get rich by doing wrong but feel joy and happiness from doing right. Cultivating the Right Wisdom in School â€Å"A prudent man is a man of wisdom† (Ken Barker). This man according to Christian teaching does not act according to the wisdom of the world but according to the will of God. Individual wisdom, therefore, varies according to his spiritual conviction and relevance of life events to this belief. Philosophical wisdom, on the other hand, regarded education as a pathway to wisdom thus only those with knowledge are wise and capable of making sound decisions. This is because knowledge is gained not only from life experience but also through education and training. Teaching, for instance, is not only about passing knowledge but transmitting wisdom to students. Wisdom acquired in normal education is transmitted through text and teacher’s classroom teaching aimed at initiating students’ responses, reflection, and critical thinking. Only through many years of education that we can gain wisdom or the power to face all challenges in life. Moreover, it is through education that we learned to make good use of our knowledge and become useful later in life. It is the wisdom that will help us do things right and in the best possible way of doing it. Classroom teachers often interest their students so they can assimilate knowledge effectively and get voluntary responses without stress or force. Practical active wisdom or mentally cultivated sense of values is one of the most important goals of education. In fact, evoking life wisdom and beauty through comprehension of the art, science, religion, and morality is an important teacher’s function. Through helpful knowledge, this function enhanced ordinary everyday life and in the process develops the appreciation of facts and their relevance to existing practical and religious values.

The subprime meltdown Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The subprime meltdown - Essay Example Automated systems allowed people to go online, apply for a housing loan and simply wait for the cheque to come in. Wall Street greedily provided the money for these loans as investors rushed to pick up shares in hedge funds that were supposed to give a high level of return with a high level of risk. The loans that were given out often required no down payments and could also have needed nothing more than interest payments for a year or more before the principal payments would be added to the bill. Effectively, what was considered a niche product only to be given out after careful scrutiny, became a mainstream product for banks and lending institutes (Browning, 2007). The subprime housing loan market was thus seen as virgin territory where banks needed to make inroads before the competition. They expected to get great returns but their investment risks were greatly underestimated. In fact, in some cases the risks appear to have been ignored while the search for short term profits and sales figures come out as the only important needs of the banks. The situation has taken the American economy to a place where experts are calling it the â€Å"worst financial crisis since the Great Depression (Essen, 2008, Pg. 1)†. In some ways, the problems in the current crisis can also be due to the very structure and nature of the American market and the American business environment. The buyers and sellers on Wall Street seem to respond to short term gains and short term results much better than looking at how stable the business practices of a company really are. This makes analysts such as Clendenning (2008) to say that American banks and other lending institutions with a ‘casino mentality’ while they were taking unnecessary risks. Even if the banks understood the risks involved, the lure of the rewards was simply too great for them to ignore. The crisis itself

The Evolution of Groups Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Evolution of Groups - Article Example The next stage arrives when the members of the group start to discuss their purpose of being together. Different members of the group may have their own purpose on mind; so this phase works to filter out those whose purpose differ from the majority of people in the group. Then comes the stage of choosing a leader; as a group cannot be directed in any direction if there is no leader to take command of the group. This is followed by the phase in which the group members increase their level of cooperation due to increased trust. This cooperation helps to achieve the common goals of the group. The final phase arrives when the members of the group work in a synergistic way to form a team to back-up each other and result in total success (Jones & George, 1998). The writer has very skillfully simplified the complex concept of formation of groups. It appears that the author has been studying the phenomenon very closely and in detail, since his interpretation is very practical and after reading his contribution one clearly feels that this has been going on in their life too; during formation of

Global and regional environmental Essay Example for Free

Global and regional environmental Essay People across the globe are being affected by global and regional environmental changes. The drastic environmental problems such ozone layer depletion and climate change are as a result of over consumption, unsustainable life styles and unhealthy patterns of development (Harris, 47). Environmental problems are likely to hit the marginalized and the poor first often with drastic consequences but latter they will also affect the privileged. Unless these environmental problems are curbed they are threatening to cause havoc to the life support systems and the ecosystems. This will therefore lead to an immense and unprecedented crisis for the whole humanity. To achieve sustainable development and the health of the environment it requires drastic changes in the current global order and formulation of the alternative ways of thinking. Within environmental movements there are huge wealth of experiences, ideas and visions of what an alternative environmental sustainable and people oriented societies can look like. Environmental destruction has always been part of the human history (Harris, 48). Throughout time the problems of the environment have been important factors affecting the health of people both at regional and global level. The pressure on the environment has increased enormously as a result of changing scales of the human society increases and development of the technology. This problem is fuelled by the runaway global economic systems which have created over consumption (unprecedented affluence) and enormous level of poverty. The environmental problems now threaten to cause irreversible harm to the ecosystems and increase inequalities on a global scale (Pickering Owen, 117). Some of the environmental problems are immediate local problems whose their causes can be known and their solutions be identified. On the other hand other environmental problems are incredibly complex and they are often complex to handle. Such environmental problems involve much uncertainty and affect the whole globe and are the result of combined human behavior. These problems are maintained and embedded on the societal structures (Harris, 50). Some critics argue that environmental problems are as a result of the present day population growth especially in the third world countries and natural resources depletion in the highly industrialized countries (Harris, 50). Alarmist argue that the explosive population growth in less developed countries and overexploitation of the non renewable resources by the highly industrialized countries are combining to produce sets of condition which cannot be sustained in the long-run by our finite world. The population problems of third world countries constitute an impediment to social economic development and can pose a threat to depletion of natural resources. However relatively low crude population densities in many third world countries with exception of some few areas they do not produce population pressure on the natural resources (Harris, 52). Most of the third worlds countries have an even population distribution and few urban centers are becoming overcrowded. High rates of population growth in third world countries is as a result of high and constant fertility that have possibilities of reducing mortality due to the improved health facilities. Because of high proportion of children and high patterns of fertility heavy dependence burden is produced within the populations in most third world countries. The heavy dependence implies large expenditures of provision of employment and education for the growing population (Pickering Owen, 134). Most bureaucrats, economists and political leaders in third world countries especially in Africa argue that third world countries in Africa have abundant resources which have not yet been tapped. They also argue that large area in Africa have not been inhabited and therefore the political question that population growth put pressure on the limited natural resources should not be taken seriously (Harris, 53). There is need for the political leaders, economist and bureaucrats to know the prospect of the third world countries in terms of the resources base that can absorb the population problems of the third world countries (Harris, 54). In comparison to other industrialized countries for example Europe nations the land under cultivation in third world African countries is three times higher per capita, the livestock per capita is two times higher, the grazing land per each unit of livestock is a bout seven times higher while the mineral resources out put of third worlds countries in Africa constitute one tenth of the mineral output of the whole world (Harris, 54). The primary energy resources of the third world countries are enormous which are comprised of natural gas and petroleum product coal and hydro power for example 32 percent of world hydro power which can be exploited, 12 percent of reserves of uranium and 60 percent of thorium reserves are found in Africa third world countries. Despite the abundant resources of the third world countries most countries in Africa are under developed (Harris, 57). It would be a weak argument to suggest that the high population growth in the third world countries is the root cause of their underdevelopment. However the high population growth of the third world countries is an important factor that impedes development. The rapid population growth constitutes pressure on the arable land. Several million hectares of land are being degraded in third world countries (Pickering Owen, 204). The degradation of land can be linked to population pressure and poverty, values and attitude of people weak tenure systems and land management and drought which often results in over exploitation of the natural resources such as the trees used for fuel wood, overgrazing deforestation and unsustainable agricultural activities. Degradation has decreased land productivity, increased desertification and causes loss of arable land in most third world countries (Pickering Owen, 206). As a result of degradation in the third world countries there is less food than can be produced in degraded lands and also the availability of biomass is greatly reduced. Land degradation also makes the ecosystems to be less resilient and increases chances of malnutrition and susceptibility of diseases in the local populations. Third world countries like china, Ethiopia, Brazil, Nepal, India and most African countries have caused much of environmental degradation. In recent time the respective government has began to introduce policies to minimize the extensive environmental degradation that their countries are facing (Pickering Owen, 213). The environmental policies have been developed soon after formation of and applying pressure by several activist groups in the field of environment. Initially before the activist groups applied pressure the governments in the third world countries did not see any needs to develop environmental policies. Environmental degradation is only the problem of the third world countries and most often thirds world countries have make do with what they owns and usually they compete with large populations (Pickering Owen, 208). Once a natural resource for example water is degraded it become of little use to the people. On the other hand western or industrialized countries have a higher standard of living than third world countries or less developed countries. In developed countries the communities have access to electricity, clean water, housing, employment, refrigeration, clothing, food, heating, hospital, schools, medicines, machinery, manufacturing, communication and road thus in the process they consume much of the resources (Pickering Owen, 209). The communities of the third world poor countries do not have access to these things and they rely on what they can hunt, gather or grow. People in the third world countries acquire other things if they have surplus produce to sell and therefore are disadvantaged to gain access to power supply, telecommunication, railways and roads thus becomes difficult to access the few schools hospitals etc and therefore third world countries are not degrading the environment as much as the developed nations (Pickering Owen, 210).

Explain what is implied by the assumption that decision-makers are Essa

Explain what is implied by the assumption that decision-makers are rational? How is the assumption of rationality used in the economic analysis of individual behaviour? In many academic disciplines much is spoken about rationality and rational choices. Economists generally refer to 'rational' choices and that individuals in economic theory are rational. By rational we mean people choose options which they perceive to be the best, given the circumstances they are in. In terms of making rational choices some of the conceivable options for example of going to work would be:  · Actually going to work.  · Staying at home  · Going out shopping  · Buying a house  · Fly to the moon etc. But with these choices we face constraints and it is these constraints that define our 'feasible' options so flying to the moon would not be a feasible option. Therefore the options we can choose from is called the 'feasible set' and it is our preferences i.e. our likes and dislikes and their relative intensity, which determines which feasible option we choose. When we make a choice it generates 'utility' which is a measure of the emotional experience associated with the outcome of a choice so basically the satisfaction from the consumption of a good. We talk about 'total utility' meaning the total satisfaction a person gains from all units of a commodity consumed within a time period. We also use the term 'marginal utility' which is additional satisfaction gained from consuming one extra unit within a time period. There is a general model of rational choice where economists assume that agents such as decision makers will firstly identify a feasible set of options and then assess the expected utility of each option ... ...tility and therefore the amount of meals must decrease to keep the utility constant. Due to the fact that the consumer will prefer more to less the curve must slope downwards. The slope of each curve does get steadily flatter as we move to the right due to the assumption of a diminishing marginal rate of substitution. For example in this case at point A the consumer will sacrifice a lot of films for few meals because he/she has so many films. Whereas point B he/she has less films relative to meals so willing to sacrifice a smaller amount of films for additional meals. However this kind of economic analysis is based on rational behaviour of consumers. It does not take into account people with maybe addictions such as smokers or people under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In economics we assume rational thinking and behaviour will always take place.

Opinion on Internet Privacy Essay

When thinking of internet security, my expectations change depending on where I am accessing the internet from. When I am accessing the web from home I feel some sort of safety because I have lots of different protection on my home computers as well as a secured network site key that cannot be accessed by my neighbors or anyone else unless my password is given to them by me. Although I have all these things that does not mean that hackers cannot get into my computer system so I am still very careful as to which sites I enter information onto. At work, I expect them to have some of the best internet security because if ever there is a problem they will have so much more too loose than an average person. Most businesses have things such as financial records and information that should not be accessed by outsiders. With there being a lot of business and organizations that compete they should be careful to make sure their private information cannot be stolen or viewed by anyone other than the people that the information is intended for. In a public setting, I will use my computer but I do understand that when doing so some of my information may be seen or accessed by others. Because of this, I am very careful of the sites that I visit. I do not enter personal information like Credit Card numbers, social security numbers, addresses or any information that I would not want to be in the eyes or hands of a stranger or a computer hacker. In my opinion, I would say that is it not legal or ethical to use your neighbor’s internet signal without their permission. Being a person who pays for internet service, I think that it is unfair to have someone else use your internet service at their convenience and not have to pay anything at all. Also because it is still unclear what information may be able to be seen or accessed by others I would say it is also unsafe to do so.

Cell Phones Use Cause Accidents

â€Å"Cell phones†, a heavy gadget when it comes to use because it can do things just as computers can but this gadget is also heavy when it comes to pocket and worth of consequences. Discussing about using cell phones is important for the audiences to avoid the consequences of cell phone misuse and avoid the accident that cell phones might cause.com/cell-phone-problem-solution/">Cell phones are a useful gadget and thus it is considered as a primary need of those who are in the business industry and even ordinary people who tends to be away from their family, but these said gadgets also causes accident especially on the road. Body According to the NHTSA, the national highway accidents reported were caused by using cell phones while driving. In addition, the report says that numbers of car crashes were caused by cell phone dialing, listening, as well as talking which leads the drivers to be distracted on the road.Statistics also says that there are almost 80 percent of car cras hes which occur within the span of a short 3 seconds just because of driving distraction caused by cell phone use. People should know that distraction on car driving is worth a big consequence and we, as responsible beings, should know that cell phone use should not be allowed while driving because it will take our attention from the road (Benton). ConclusionCell phone use as well as receiving important calls or responding to important texts messages are considered as the number one distraction factor while driving a car which leads to car accidents. With this very important issue supported by evidences, cell phone use must therefore be restricted while driving a car. If a certain person receives a call while driving, he/she should stop the car on the roadside before he/she should receive the call to avoid the risk of accident. Works Cited Benton, Joe. â€Å"Cell Phone No. 1 Driver Distraction. † 2006.

Chinas Rural and Urban Inequality

Chinas Rural and Urban Inequality Free Online Research Papers Introduction During the last three decades, China has great changes, and these changes were originally a series of progressive political reform-driven. The late 70’s of the last century, the agricultural sector reconstruct, this is known as the â€Å"agricultural reform†, lasted for eight years. The subsequent second period known as the â€Å"urban reform† began in 1985, until now it is still continuing. The rapid development of industrialization, restructuring of state-owned enterprises, trade openness increased export tax rebates and financial assistance links, as well as the gradual liberalization of the financial markets are the characteristics of this period. But the â€Å"urban reform† also brought the negatively impact: that is caused the inequalities between urban and rural increased again. The causes of inequality caused by urban and rural China is multifaceted, but the main reason is that â€Å"duality system†. Duality Household Registration System For a long time, China has implemented an urban-rural division of the duality household registration system. This household registration system was set up under the planned economic system, which is the product of urban-rural dual structure. The children born by urban residents are the urban account, and the children born in rural which rural farmers account, and from generation to generation. China was setup the high request for entry threshold of urban account, which was caused between urban and rural areas form an insurmountable gap. Unless the rural residents meet the harsh conditions requirements, otherwise not even think about into the city. In addition, coupled with the urban grain rationing system and the welfare housing allocation in the planned economy era, in effect, that was cut off the peasants into the city roads. This not only undermines farmers’ citizenship for the freedom of movement and choice of residence, but also objectively to curb the urban development. Until now, although some local government has relaxed the restriction of urban entrance, but the duality household registration system has not really been broken. Duality Employment System In the planned economy era, the urban employment problem by the government planned to make arrangements in urban areas, while the peasants were employed in the rural production teams. The jobs in urban are first offer to urban residents, only when the urban labor supply cannot meet the needs of urban jobs, then will offer to rural residents, so only a small number of peasants to the urban were fortunate sought the jobs. In addition to the planned recruitment and enrollment, the government strictly controlled the peasants into the urban. This system has 4 characteristic. First, policy support from the China’s government is inequality. For a long time, the China’s government was not bring the rural labor force into the national economic and social development plan, and they were not offer any special funds or project to support the rural labor force transfer to cities. A considerable period of time, the rural labor force cannot enjoy the vocational skills training from government. Even if the country has recently introduced training plan for peasant workers, but the amount of money and scale ratio of training are large differences compare with urban workers. In addition, the Government has not bring the management of peasant workers into the citys comprehensive management, the expenses for operation paid by peasants was increased their finance burden, resulting in rural labor force and urban labor force in terms of employment inequality. The second characteristic is employment pass inequality. Compared to the free movement of urban workers employed, the local government set up a number of restrictions and requirements in the transfer of rural labor employment, resulting in rural labor and urban labor have the great inequality in employment permit. For example: in some cities, the local government was stipulated the peasants to apply for a variety of procedures when they found the work in there, some local government also took the opportunity to collect various fees, increasing the cost of peasants to work elsewhere, resulting in an increasing burden on the farmers. Third is labor and social security inequality. In the course of employment of rural labor force are often subjected to unfair treatment. Firstly, the labor contract is not standardized. Most peasant workers do not sign labor contracts with employers; even if the signing of a contract, but also mostly one-way restriction contract, that means only restrict on migrant workers, but not restrict on the employing units. Secondly, the unequal pay. Rural laborers and urban workers engaged in the same work, but not the same as remuneration. Thirdly, production and living environment is poor. Look from the working conditions, peasant workers often do the dirtiest and the hardest work, and the safety and health conditions of enterprise were do not meet requirements of country. Working time of peasant workers in general is 10-12 hours, sometime up to 14-16 hours. Fourth are inequalities in social welfare. At present, farmers working in cities have not established the basic social security like medical care and injuries at work. When the peasant workers were injury suffered on the job or got the illness from the job, there is no corresponding system to protect their access to basic treatment costs, let alone compensate them. Although the state has issued the â€Å"Work-related Injury Insurance Regulations†, and explicitly requested that peasant workers into the insurance coverage of work-related injury, but still need to take some time for full implementation in China. In recent years with Chinas further reform, although the employment post implement the two-way choice, but the government will no longer restrict the farmers work in urban. However, some cities there are still occur a lot of the peasant discrimination policies on problem of employment, therefore urban enterprise recruitment is still biased towards urban dwellers. Some cities also expressly provides peasant workers are not allowed to enter in some industries, so mostly peasant workers in the city are do the dirty, tired, dangerous, and low wages jobs. Consequently, inequality employment opportunities for rural and urban residents still exist. Duality System of Income Distribution The citys industrial workers income comes from wages, while the income of peasants is mainly derived from agricultural income. Compared to urban industrial sector with a capital of a large scale, high level of accumulation, follow the rules of increasing returns to scale, advanced production methods, the technological progress is fast, high production efficiency, high economic efficiency, structure and other characteristics to change rapidly and so on, agricultural development has been remarkably weak position. This is because the farmers are engaged in agriculture has inherent weak nature: get the relatively large natural environment and climate influence, small-scale capital, per capita’s cultivated lands are few, low levels of accumulation, backward mode of production, technological progress is slow, sale prices of agricultural products are lower than its value, etc. Therefore, the income level of farmers is often lower than urban workers, this also caused many farmers were abandoning agricultural work to work in cities. In recent years, income disparities between urban and rural residents, and the income gap continued to widen. For example, rural per capita consumption expenditure in 2000 was only 33.4% of urban residents, 5.2% lower than in 1997, average declined 1.7% per annum. From an objective point of view, in the socialism stage, the income gap between urban and rural is impossible to eliminate, but the income gap between urban and rural should have a reasonable extent, this gap should be reduced gradually with the economic development, rather than the reverse. Duality Education System For a long time, Chinas dual education system continues to attract a lot of controversy; this is because the Chinese governments serious shortage of investment in education and all the money education business trend, resulting in the fact that education is not fair throughout China. The main reason for this inequality happened in the education system was: the government introduced the unfair policy in education. According to Southern Weekend reported: 75% of the compulsory education funds are burden by peasants. In this duality system, most of Chinas spending on education has focused on the urban education, specially the higher education. Sometimes, from newspapers and television news, we can see the rural schools are dilapidated, and even some rural schools did not have a classroom, the students are sitting on rocks to attend the class. In contrast, the urban schools are luxurious and beautiful, and their equipment is complete. In addition, the college entrance examination scores of rural candidates must be much higher than urban candidates, and then they are eligible to enter the same colleges or universities. Day after day, the inequitable education system will resulting in more rural students are obliged to discontinue schooling. Therefore, the Chinese Government can no longer ignore these problems. Conclusions We can conclude that Chinas dual system has created a heavy burden and unfair of rural residents. These burdens and inequality make the poverty life of peasants more difficult. As opposed to the high expenditure on education, the low income of peasants make they do not focus on education, coupled with inflated prices, many rural children are forced to work from an early age to earn money to alleviate the financial burden of the family. Duality systems will not only resulted in uneven distribution of wealth between urban and rural areas, and also led to situation of the rich people richer and the poor people poorer. Finally, I hope the Chinese Government will eliminate the duality system, so that Chinas economic development can be more comprehensive and powerful. I believe China will become a real powerful country, when the whole Chinese people were out of poverty. Research Papers on China’s Rural and Urban InequalityPETSTEL analysis of IndiaDefinition of Export Quotas19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesRiordan Manufacturing Production PlanMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionNever Been Kicked Out of a Place This NiceThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe

Mothers Day Quotes - What Writers Say About Mothers

Mothers Day Quotes - What Writers Say About Mothers What do the writers have to say about Mothers Day? From Edgar Allan Poe to Washington Irving, read what famous writers have written about their mothers. Writers Quotes The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness. - Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) Youth fades; love droops, the leaves of friendship fall; A mothers secret hope outlives them all. - Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms. - Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) Where we love is homehome that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. - Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894) A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavour by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. - Washington Irving (1783-1859) Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mothers love is not. - James Joyce (1881-1941) Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. - Marcel Proust (1871-1922) Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children. - William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. Thats his. - Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895 How have mothers influence the lives of writers? How have women writers balanced the demands of motherhood with the need to write? And, what have authors written about their mothers? Celebrate mothers in literature! Mothers in LiteratureTo My Mother - Edgar Allan PoeMother o Mine - Rudyard KiplingMother and Babe - Walt WhitmanMothers Day Proclamation - Julia Ward HoweAh, Woe is Me, My Mother Dear - Robert BurnsLittle Women - Louisa May AlcottEmilys Mother  - Emily Dickinson

Name one of the subdisciplines of Psychology and describe it. Describe Essay

Name one of the subdisciplines of Psychology and describe it. Describe the DSM-IV. Why is Wilhelm Wundt an important figure in Psychology How does Behaviorism differ from Structuralism - Essay Example and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which has been created and published by the APA (American Psychiatric Association and is manual that consists of information regarding to various mental disorders that are experienced by human beings (Rutherford, 2004, p.239). Wilhelm Wundt is recognized as the father of psychology and he has been regarded with such prestige because he was the creator of first laboratory for the field of psychology and separated psychology from philosophy and recognized that psychology was a separate field and had separate issues to solve through separate methods. It was his contribution that provided support to the formation of behaviorism and methods used by him to study psychology are still under operation. Behaviorism studies human behavior under the light of psychology, this means that behaviorists try to determine the reasons due to which human beings behave in a certain manner. Structuralism focuses on the fact that the aim of psychology is to interpret how environment impacts the consciousness of an individual and the changes in behavior exhibited by individuals when they come in contact with different

Civil Litigation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Civil Litigation - Essay Example It saves the aggrieved party of waiting for a long trial before gaining any compensation and also saves the defendant from inflated costs in case the ruling is to their disadvantage. In this case, the material facts are: 1. The motorcyclist suffered personal injuries by sustaining whiplash, a broken leg and a broken nose. 2. You do not have valid insurance to drive the car involved in the accident. 3. You have already been charged in a court of law for careless driving. It is also important to recognize that having been found guilty of careless driving, the court must have upheld one or more of the following elements of the provisions of Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 3: 1. If a person drives a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or other public place without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road or place, he is guilty of an offence. 2. A person is to be regarded as driving without due care and attention specifically if he fa ils o exhibit competence and care. 3. In order to determine the purposes of what shall constitute subsection (2) above of what would be expected of a careful and competent driver in a particular case, regard shall be had not only to the circumstances of which he could be expected to be aware but also to any circumstances shown to have been within the knowledge of the accused. 4. Other persons must be inconvenienced by the driving of a person for that person is to be regarded as driving without reasonable consideration for other persons. Procedure for Pre-action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims. 1. Early Notification The guidelines allow for a early notification of intent to file a claim to the defendant as soon as the legal representative feel that a personal injury claim is to be pursued. In your case, the letter from Mr Donnels’ Solicitors (A& T) amounts to early notification according to the guidelines. The early notification does not necessary have to be detailed as th e costs of the claim may not be crystal clear at this stage. However, you are not under any obligation to respond to this notification as it does not start the timetable for responding. At this stage, it would be wise to explore the likelihood of having to pay any legal claims that may arise relating to the personal injuries suffered by Mr. Donells. The possibilities at this stage is that the solicitors representing Mr. Donells are in all likelihood going to pursue personal injury claims against you and therefore early preparation is essential. 2. Letter of Claim If the solicitors for Mr Daniells choose to pursue personal injury claims, the next course of action will be sending you a letter of claim. The letter of claim is usually sent to the client’s insure for cases involving road accidents. However, the facts point out that you did not to enable you drive as at the occurrence of the accident. This means that the claim will be solely directly at you and you will be responsi ble for any financial interests arising from the claims. The letter of claim provides sufficient information for the defendant to assess the liability. Usually, it will include the full details of the hospital where the claimant was treated. This information is important in its entirety to help you estimate the size of the claim. The letter of claim that may be issued should have a clear summary of facts of the accident indicating the nature of injuries

The Effects of Prison Economy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Effects of Prison Economy - Research Paper Example Siegel (2009) has clearly and simply proffered the basic mechanics of the existence of a courtroom workgroup by averring that the prosecution and defense unite to work out a criminal case in a collaborative and cooperative juncture to arrive at an agreement amenable to both parties (20). The benefits that the courtroom workgroup would generate on all parties involved are deemed to outweigh the costs of going through the entire judicial proceedings of a trial. If people are to be made more aware of the essential ingredients, approach and pronounced benefits of courtroom workgroup, sentencing decisions and agreed settlement of criminal cases would be facilitated at the most appropriate time frame. The effect of courtroom workgroup on the outcome of criminal cases would be evaluated and assessed in terms of factors that influence the decision. In this regard, the current research aims to proffer issues relative of courtroom workgroups by expounding and exploring its definition, the basi c components of the workgroup, the essential ingredients to make it work. One would delve into the roles and functions of the components of the workgroup to determine the impact on sentencing decisions. Finally, the impact of courtroom workgroup would be closely analyzed from different perspectives as seen in diverse points of views. Do criminal justice outcomes arrived at by courtroom workgroups serve the best interests of all parties involved? Definition and Goals Courtroom Workgroups To clearly provide a greater understanding of courtroom workgroups, the exact definition of the terms would be presented. The research conducted by Haynes, Ruback and Cusick (2008) cited the studies made by Eisenstein and his colleagues (Eisenstein et al., 1988; Eisenstein & Jacob, 1977; Nardulli, Eisenstein, & Flemming, 1988), who averred that â€Å"courtroom workgroups consist of individuals who share a common workplace, who interact in the performance of their jobs, and whose collective purpose i s to dispose of case† (Haynes, et.al, 2008, 5). Vuolo (2007) expounded on the composition of the courtroom workgroup as â€Å" prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and occasionally police (who) work together with the mutual interest of getting the job done as efficiently as possible† (10). The author, likewise, emphasized that although there is a degree of cooperation, some level of restraint and control in the level of behavior of the participants. As Siegel (2009) indicated, the people who comprise the courtroom work group have established a degree of familiarity despite assumption of disparate roles and considered to have acquired competencies and expertise in their respective functions that their objective is to streamline the system to eliminate unnecessary delays and to circumvent costs related to trials. The study of Eisenstein and his colleagues, cited by Haynes, et.al (2008) have prompted the focus on the perception of courtroom workgroups, in terms of offen ders and cases, as significantly affecting the outcome of sentencing. Therefore, to answer the research question as the goal of the current study, a closer examination of the composition, function, and factors that influence courtroom work groups’ decision would provide the key to the response. The factors that need to be considered in courtroom work groups are the degree and extent of familiarity among the members, as well as â€Å"the context in which the court is located, and the county legal culture (i.e.,

Mauritius National Pension Fund Financial Analysis

Mauritius National Pension Fund Financial Analysis The National Pension Fund and its financial implications on the economy of Mauritius Chapter 1: Introduction The philosophy of the National Pension Fund (NPF) includes the idea that one ought to earn a reasonable proportion after pension age of what one earned during ones working life. If you have contributed to the NPF and built up your pension points, you will get a pension which, when added to your old-age pension will be a reasonable. The National Pension Fund scheme is proposed as another mandatory saving for retirement. Once it is set up, the NPF will fit into Pillar 2 of the Multi-Pillar Model of the World Bank. The NPF nevertheless will not replace provident funds or retirement mutual funds, but rather improves saving channels for future retirees. Mauritius is found in the developing countries group where contractual savings, savings with insurance companies and pension funds exceed 40 percent of Gross Domestic Product and which represent a greater potential force in the domestic financial system. Pension funds account for 75 percent of contractual savings. The pension system is a balanced and well-managed multi-pillar. In Mauritius there have not many authors that have write specifically on that subject, that is, financial implication of National Pension Fund on the Mauritian economy. I have mainly used the research made by other analysts in other countries and try to apply it on the Mauritian economy. Obviously the result will not be the same, but try to make an estimate of it. Objectives of that Project: Analyse the overall financial implication of NPF Testing the financial effect of NPF on national savings Estimating the relationship between fiscal balance of Mauritius non-retirement account and the net saving that occurs within the NPF Chapter Outline Chapter one gives a brief overview of how the project is carry on. Chapter two makes an overview of the National pension fund, its evolution, structure and its financing source as well as government expenditure and the future of NPF. Chapter three is the literature review, that is, what writers around the globe have commented on the pension system. Chapter four is the research methodology. The research is carried out using regression equation to examine the financial implication NPF on our variables. Chapter five then come the analysis based on the results obtained, that is the financial effect of NPF on national savings and the relationship between fiscal balance of Mauritius non-retirement account and the net saving that occurs within the NPF. Then finally chapter seven will include suggestions and conclusions. Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction Pension funds is be defined as forms of institutional investor, which collect, pool and invest funds contributed by sponsors and beneficiaries to provide for the future pension entitlements of beneficiaries (E PhilipDavis 1995). Pension fund offer individuals the mean to collect saving over their working life so as to finance their consumption needs in retirement, either by means of a lump sum or by provision of an annuity, while also supplying funds to corporations, households (via securitised loans) or governments for investment or consumption. Bodie(1990a) has formalized pension funds function as a form of retirement income insurance. E Philip Davis (1995) suggests that pension funds perform a number of the functions of the financial system more efficiently than banks or direct holdings. Their growth complements that of capital markets and they have acted as major catalysts of change in the financial landscape. But this is not the only reason for growth. It is also a consequence of fiscal incentives and benefits to employers, as well as growing demand arising from the ageing of the population. Pension funds are typically sponsored by employers, such as companies, public corporations, industry or trade groups; accordingly, employers as well as employees typically contribute. Funds may be internally or externally managed. The pension system is commonly divided into three pillars. The first pillar is the pay-as-you-go system based on payments by public institutions which are mainly funded by tax revenues. The second pillar constitutes fully funded pension funds with mandatory membership and the third pillar is based on fully funded pension saving schemes with voluntary membership. In a pay-as-you-go system, each generation pays for the costs of the currently retired in return for a commitment for the same treatment during its own retirement. Workers who spend their entire work and retirement life under a PAYGO system with constant tax rates will earn a real return on their contributions equal to the growth in the workforce plus the growth in the real wage (Samuelson, 1958, and Aaron, 1966). Pension funds provide millions of people in the world security and comfort in old age. Pension funds represent the savings of millions of people, and as Paul Myners says, the ability of funds to invest these assets effectively has a profound impact on their economic well being. Because so many people depend on pension funds to provide for their futures, ensuring the funds serve the needs of their members is a priority for Government. The social security system on the other hand as stated by law, guarantees people covered by its provisions either because they perform an occupational activity or meet the requirements established for non-contributory type social security, as well as dependent members of the family or similar, adequate protection in the contingencies and circumstances. Social Security has been defined as the protection which society provides for its members through a series of public measures against the economic and social distress that otherwise would be caused by the stoppage or substantial reduction of earnings resulting from sickness, maternity, employment injury, invalidity, old age and death; the provision of medical care; and the provision of subsidies for families with children. In the Social Security system, the money you pay into the system gets immediately paid back out to the people who are currently getting Social Security checks. The Social Security tax has been raising more money than is needed to pay for current benefits, in order to build up a surplus to help finance the retirement of the Baby Boom generation. The money is used in a sense to finance the government deficit, just like any other money the government borrows, Dean Baker (1998). The Social Security system is primarily a pay-as-you-go system, meaning that payments to current retirees come from current payments into the system. So Social Security will be the foundation of your retirement income. Thats because: You wont outlive your Social Security retirement benefit. It will be there for you for the rest of your life. Your Social Security benefit wont lose its value. From time to time, Social Security benefits are adjusted so they always keep pace with inflation. Why National Pension Fund? Worker myopia, or lack of foresight poor planning occurs because people give too little considerations to their future economic needs when making decisions about saving for retirement. Most people seem to have a natural inclination to live for today and avoid thinking about old age and death. Hence, they give very little systematic thought to the financial issues of old age until they come face to face with them. By the time they recognize they may have a problem when they retire, it is usually too late to fix. Government intervention through NPF has help people set aside a portion of their earnings when they are working so that they have an adequate income when they retire. Without compulsory contributions for retirement, myopic workers would not save enough to ensure an adequate retirement income and poverty would result. Another rationale for the existence of the compulsory contribution to the NPF is to protect the prudent that saves for retirement against those who do not save. Under a purely voluntary system some will contribute, others will not. As Boulding (1958) puts it in his argument, those who do not insure will have to be supported anyway-perhaps at lower levels and in humiliating and respect-destroying ways when they are in their non-productive phase of their life, but that they will escape the burden of paying premiums when they are in their productive phase. In fairness to those who insure voluntarily and in order to maintain the self-respect of those who would not otherwise insure, contributions for retirement should be made compulsory. Hence, mandatory contributions are necessary to achieve the retirement savings results that people need to have so as to have an adequate standard of living in their retirement years. Pension funds are also an important source of capital accumulation that can be used for different purposes as the build up the basic of national infrastructure, power stations and electric networks, Olli E. Kangas (2006). The Finnish case demonstrates that it was possible to unify social policy goals with the economic goals of building up modern industrial market economies. The Finnish experience has serves as a good example of how social policy has been successfully used as a developmental strategy, Mkandawire (2001). Pension funds are not only vital to the pension holders they provide for. They are also key players in the economy as a whole. Government Budget Pension funding issues have an important, but often hidden, impact on the finances of state governments, J. Fred Giertz (2003). In most countries, contributions to retirement funds are made by employers and employees each year. Yet, there is no requirement in the short run that these contributions be sufficient to fully fund the systems. Governments always ensure that pension payments are actually made to retirees, regardless of the level of contributions, as they are generally the funders of last resort. If pension systems are under funded, governments must deal with this problem sooner or later through additional contributions to the systems. If systems are over funded, government resources can be redirected from pensions to other government programs,J. Fred Giertz (2003). It is seen that private pensions reduce public pension spending in the longer term, once private schemes are mature. Private pensions is likely to increase budgetary pressures in the short term: if workers contributions go into their individual pension accounts, they cannot be used to pay for the pensions of the older generation; thus, governments have to finance pensions for the transition generation through taxation or borrowing, Nicholas Barr (2001). This will in a way affect the government budget. Unsustainable pension systems can be a problem to fiscal stability, economic growth, and poverty reduction. The need for pension reform has become pressing as demographic aging has strained pension systems around the world, leading to large expenditures, large deficits, and high contribution rates. In many cases the pension system has become a source of fiscal and macroeconomic instability, a constraint to economic growth, and an ineffective and or inequitable source of retirement income. J. Fred Giertz (2003)suggests thatnot only are pension asset changes large in comparison with state budgets, they are also growing and becoming more volatile. This trend is likely to continue and the relative size of state pension obligations is increasing. This suggests that pension funding is becoming an increasingly important aspect of state government. He also states that ‘state pension funding today is no sounder than in the early 1990s. This is not necessarily a cause for alarm, but it is a source of concern. Pension funding will be an increasingly important demand on state finances in the up coming years. In the G-10 (1998) report, it states that the ageing of populations could have dramatic effects on government finances. Under current policies, government spending in the G-10 countries is projected to rise sharply over the next several decades for several reasons. Per capita expenditure for the elderly is high in the areas of public retirement benefits and, in some countries, welfare support. Public expenditure on medical and health support for the elderly is also high and has been rising. If advances in medical technology come at ever increasing cost and if the incidence of health expenditure on the elderly continues to rise, the fiscal burden could become substantial in some countries. At the same time, government revenues will be adversely affected as the baby boom generation moves from its high income generating years to retirement. Countries whose revenues are tied more to consumption or value added taxes will tend to experience less of a deterioration in revenues than those that depend more heavily on income or payroll taxes. This would create a severe drag on national saving at a time when saving will be crucial to fostering the growth of labour productivity. Impacts of ageing population Norman Vincent Peale quotes that: â€Å"Age-based retirement arbitrarily severs productive persons from their livelihood, squanders their talents, scars their health, strains an already overburdened Social Security system, and drives many elderly people into poverty and despair. Ageism is as odious as racism and sexism.† Barry Bosworth (2003) argued that slowing economic growth and population aging in the major industrial countries have placed increased financial strain on pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) public pension systems. Retirement pensions have become a serious fiscal concern in most industrialized countries. Pensions are largely paid for from tax revenues and it is foreseen that contributions will need to be raised substantially during the coming decades. The World Bank (1994) states that high taxes are harmful to economic growth, since they reallocate resources to the informal sector, thereby reducing output in the more efficient formal market sector of the economy. The reasons are that many people are now nearing retirement age and that the populations nowadays live longer and have fewer children than in the past. Nicholas Barr (2001) argued that the effect on funded schemes is more restrained but equally unavoidable. When a large generation of workers retires, it liquidates its financial assets to pay for its pensions. If those assets are equities, sales of financial assets by the large pensioner generation will exceed purchases of assets by the smaller younger generation, leading to falling equity prices and, hence, to lower pensions. Alternatively, if those assets are bank accounts, high spending by the large pensioner generation will generate inflationary pressures and again reduce the value of pensions. Domestic savings The main views of the life-cycle theory stipulate that individuals try to smooth consumption over their lifetime, Brumberg and Modigliani (1954). Normally savings follow a hump shaped pattern, that is, income is relatively low when individuals are either very young or retired as during their working life savings rate is higher .Ageing Population increases the proportion of households with a relatively lower savings rate in the economy which leads to a decrease in private savings. Estimates of the impact of a change in the age structure of the population on private savings, shows that population ageing will be likely to reduce savings. As regard to public savings, population ageing is likely to exercise considerable pressure on public finances, Weil (2006). In the situation of the pension schemes of the current pay-as-you-go pension schemes that exist in many states, an ageing population implies that the number of beneficiaries increases while the number of contributors to the system decreases. The ageing population will also adversely affect public finances through higher healthcare and long-term care costs, given that older populations are more likely to make use of healthcare facilities, which, to a large extent, are provided by the public sector. Both microeconomic and macroeconomic studies find that the observed age profile of saving generally conforms with the life-cycle model, which implies that saving rates rise over a workers active career and then decline in retirement. Compared with macroeconomic analyses, microeconomic studies tend to show smaller variation in saving rates over the life cycle, this may be of the highly skewed distribution of wealth and saving across households, Ralph C. Bryant (2004). At a micro level, company or other obligatory pension funds can implement enforced saving by deferring wages and salaries, thereby reducing risk of a low replacement ratio. At a macro level, the increase in saving is not usually one-to-one, as increased contractual saving via pension funds is typically partly or wholly offset by declining flexible saving, E Philip Davis (1995). The remaining effect most likely results from liquidity constraints on some individuals (especially the young), who are unable to borrow in order to offset obligatory saving via pension funds early in the life cycle. It can also be anticipated that, even in a liberalized financial system, credit constraints will affect lower income individuals particularly severely, as they have no assets to guarantee and also have less secure employment. Therefore forced pensions saving will tend to increase their overall saving particularly markedly, Bernheim and Scholz (1992). On the other hand Samwick (2000) found a lower rate of saving in countries with extensive PAYG systems. Agosin (2002) extended their analysis and shows that the rise of saving was concentrated in the business sector, and that the net change in household saving was small. Implications for equilibrium real interest rates The forecasted declines in savings make the expected consequence of ageing on the equilibrium real interest rate ambiguous. If investment falls faster than domestic savings at each level of aggregate income, the real interest rate that clears the market for loanable funds is expected to fall, since it is difficult for savers to find profitable investment opportunities, J.C. Trichet (2007). On the other hand, if domestic savings were to fall faster than investment then the real interest rate would rise to reflect the relative scarcity of financial funds. This likely decline in interest rate that equalizes savings and investment could be identified developed financial markets. Even though the actual impact of the evolving demographic structure on the equilibrium real interest rate in the capital markets is something that is going to occur with a considerable lag, some economists have suggested that expectations of such developments may have already started to exert some influence on the pricing of bonds. Among other things, these analyses suggest that ageing could have contributed to the â€Å"flattening† of the yield curve that has been observed over the recent past, J.C. Trichet (2007). However as it is based on the assumption that capital market participants are perfectly forward looking, an assumption which is questionable, it should be treated with a great deal of caution: if it is true that financial markets tend to overreact to short term phenomena, the effects of ageing on the yield curve could be limited, DellaVigna and Pollet (2005). It has to be taken into consideration that these quantitative simulations require a number of qualifications. On one hand, some real world factors may make the true decline in the equilibrium real interest rate larger than estimated in macroeconomic models. For instance, older people may save more than predicted by the life cycle theory as they may want to leave a bequest to their children, putting further downward pressure on the equilibrium rate. The degree of risk aversion may also change with age as if the older people were systematically more risk averse than the young one, the accumulation of precautionary savings would lead to a higher than predicted savings rate and a lower than predicted real rate, Bakshi and Chen (1994).Moreover private savings rates may be significantly affected by pension reforms, Miles (2002). Pressures on Prices Hans J Blommestein (1998) states that concerns have been expressed that the growing demand for high quality private securities like equity and corporate bonds, associated with the growth of advance funded pension systems in search of investment opportunities (thereby increasing the demand for financial assets) and falling public sector borrowing requirements (thereby reducing the supply of government securities), would put strong upward pressure on the prices of financial assets. Here, the combination of the widespread privatisation of state owned enterprises and reform of pension systems brings the opportunity of killing two birds with one stone. Pension reform, which would increase the demand for equity, and privatisation, which expands the supply, at the same time permits a more balanced growth in private securities markets, at least over the medium term. In a somewhat longer term perspective, population ageing may have an impact on the risk premium, that is, the difference betwee n the returns on stocks and the yield on bonds. As asset preferences vary across age groups, the ageing of the baby boom generation could affect both absolute and relative positions of stock and bond prices. On average, middle age is the portion of the life cycle when saving rates are highest. Moreover, middle aged workers generally are more able and willing to hold a riskier portfolio; that is, one weighted more heavily towards stocks than bonds. This is a consequence of two factors: first, while still working, a stockholder is better able to make up for any bad equity returns; second, middle aged workers have a longer time horizon and thus are willing to accept more risk in exchange for the expectation of higher returns. Moreover, higher demand for stocks relative to bonds should increase the price of stocks relative to bonds, thus decreasing the equity premium. Thus, some have hypothesized that an ageing population would cause the equity premium to increase. But if the age of the population is increasing at least in part because life span is increasing, and thus time horizons are lengthening, then the ageing of the population does not necessarily imply that average risk aversion should be increasing and risk premium on stocks should be rising. After the baby boomers begin to retire, saving rates would tend to fall, stock and bond prices to decline, and the equity premium to rise as baby boom retirees shift their portfolios away from stocks toward bonds, Hans J Blommestein (1998). Population age structure can influence the demand for different classes of financial market assets both because of its effect on saving and because young, middle aged, and elderly savers may seek to hold their assets in different forms. Empirical studies have uncovered evidence that population age structure affects stock market prices and the real returns of different classes of financial assets, but the consistency of this evidence is not overwhelming. It is unclear whether the effects of demographic influences on asset prices and returns are large relative to the effects of other and less predictable determinants of prices and returns, Ralph C. Bryant (2004). Implications of population ageing for the conduct of monetary policy The life-cycle theory stipulates that , individuals during their working lives accumulate financial wealth in order to finance their consumption during retirement. As a consequence, populations who are near to retirement age will tend to have higher wealth to income ratios. Simultaneously, expected imbalances in publicly financed pension schemes make it possible to consider that the increasing number of retirees would depend more on their own accumulated wealth, as opposed to public pension provisions, to maintain their consumption levels. Consequently, the fraction of the population exposed to asset price fluctuations could increase with ageing, Young (2002). Bean (2004) argues that longer life expectancy would presumably strengthen this effect. Therefore, the transmission channel of monetary policy may be affected by ageing. In particular, the so called wealth channel, which links asset prices to consumption, may gain relative importance and play a vital role than in the past, G10 (2005). Miles (2002) points out that the monetary policy multiplier would probably rise with population ageing, mainly as a result of the increased wealth channel and greater price impact of monetary policy decisions. In spite of this, he also mentions that an older population is less likely to be credit constrained, especially when the pension system is reformed towards more funded systems. This might reduce the effectiveness of the credit channel. Depending on the relative importance of these channels, monetary policy could, in principle, become more or less effective with ageing. Miles suggests that the first effect is expected to dominate. A move towards demographic structure in which the population accounts for an increasing elderly population is expected to generate a gradual but persistent change in savings habits. This may results in an impact on the demand for all classes of assets even though certain sector of the capital market are likely to be affected more substantially than others. If, for example, older people are more risk averse and prefer to hold financial assets paying fixed income returns such as government securities, then the demand for government bonds would tend to increase relative to riskier investment options, such as equity, Bakshi and Chen (1994) and De Santis and Là ¼hrmann (2006). In this situation, where a larger part of households wealth is invested in nominal assets, price stability would be even more important for households, G10 (2005) and Bean (2004). Stable prices ensure that the real value of both pension entitlements and savings is maintained and prevent arbitrary redistributions of income and wealth to the detriment of the most vulnerable groups in society, in particular, pensioners. It is likely that, as a significant fraction of wealth is accumulated in real estate and financial assets, households exposure to asset price movements will tend to increase. This might coincide with a situation in which a large fraction of the population in their old age dis-saving phase are disposing assets in order to finance consumption during retirement. In this respect, some authors have warned that, when the baby-boom generation retires and starts to dissave, excess supply in financial markets could lead to a significant decline in asset prices, the consequences of which might be felt by the entire population, Siegel (1998), Abel (2001) and (2003). This view is known as the â€Å"asset meltdown† hypothesis. Yoo (1994) estimated that asset prices may drop by as much as 15% as a result of demographic change alone. This is why a credible commitment to maintaining price stability and, as a reflection, an orderly financial environment is and will remain so important for maintaining the standard of living of people, particularly for the poorest and the most vulnerable. Investment of Pension Fund The rapid growth of pension funds in many countries, and the stimulus they are providing to the growth of capital markets, both suggest that their activities as financial intermediaries merit considerable attention, E Philip Davis (2000). Pension funds have an impact on the stability of financial markets in several ways, most significantly through their investment behavior. Since early withdrawal of funds is usually restricted or forbidden, pension funds have long term liabilities, allowing holding of high risk and high return instruments. Accordingly, monies are intermediated by pension funds into a variety of financial assets, which include corporate equities, government bonds, real estate, corporate debt (in the form of loans or bonds), securitised loans, foreign holdings of the instruments mentioned above and money market instruments and deposits as forms of liquidity. Hellwig (1990) suggest that financial institutions can form long term relationships with borrowers, which reduce information asymmetry and hence moral hazard. Apart from economies of scale these considerations have arisen in the literature mainly for debt finance and for banks. Whereas the importance of information asymmetries and incomplete contracts is equally recognised for equity finance, the role of financial institutions as counterparts is less well developed. Equally, institutional investors such as pension funds may not rely on the same information and control mechanisms as banks. The role of pension funds is clearly not to facilitate exchange of goods, services and assets directly. This is because, unlike banks, money market funds, and to a lesser extent long term mutual funds, they do not offer liquid liabilities. Nevertheless, pension funds have had an important indirect role in boosting the efficiency of the financial systems, by influencing the structure of securities markets. This effect on micro structure links to their demand for liquidity, i.e. to transact in large size without moving the price against them, anonymously, and at low transactions costs. Pension funds provide risk control directly to households via the forms of retirement income insurance they provide, an advantage which largely reflects the unusual (among financial intermediaries) link of pension funds to employers. To assist in undertaking this risk control function they diversify assets as noted above and also act in securities and derivatives markets to hedge and control risk. As institutional investors, pension funds are well placed to use derivatives and other means of risk control; many innovations have been introduced or developed specifically to cater for their demand (Bodie 1990b, 1999). E Philip Davis (1995a) suggests that as pension funds focus mainly on government bonds and high grade corporate bonds, while banks tend to monopolise small business financing. And Lorenzo Bini Smaghi (2006) states that investing wisely matters for long term economic wellbeing, and that the portfolio allocation decision is of paramount importance in order to maintain living standards in the old age. Pension funds are the fastest growing of all financial institutions. They now cover half the labor force and represent one-eighth the financial assets of the entire household sector, Vincent P. Apilado (1972). The size of pension funds has also had an impact on the structure of financial markets: countries with large funded pension schemes tend to have highly developed securities markets; in countries with small pension-fund sectors, capital markets are relatively underdeveloped (the equity market in particular, Hans. J. Blommestein (1998). Living Standard M.  PONDS  (2003) states that the raison dà ªtre of wage indexed defined benefit pension funds is to provide insurance against standard of living risk after retirement, based on intergenerational risk sharing. Pension funds necessarily have to accept mismatch risk in providing this kind of insurance. Mismatch risk taken by the pension fund is risk for the funds stakeholders. The material living standards of tomorrows working and retired people will depend on the goods and services produced by those who will be working at the time. Changes in retirement income financing might alter the relative living standards of workers compared with retirees, but only later retirement could have a large effect in increasing living standards for both, Peter Hicks (2004). O Mauritius National Pension Fund Financial Analysis Mauritius National Pension Fund Financial Analysis The National Pension Fund and its financial implications on the economy of Mauritius Chapter 1: Introduction The philosophy of the National Pension Fund (NPF) includes the idea that one ought to earn a reasonable proportion after pension age of what one earned during ones working life. If you have contributed to the NPF and built up your pension points, you will get a pension which, when added to your old-age pension will be a reasonable. The National Pension Fund scheme is proposed as another mandatory saving for retirement. Once it is set up, the NPF will fit into Pillar 2 of the Multi-Pillar Model of the World Bank. The NPF nevertheless will not replace provident funds or retirement mutual funds, but rather improves saving channels for future retirees. Mauritius is found in the developing countries group where contractual savings, savings with insurance companies and pension funds exceed 40 percent of Gross Domestic Product and which represent a greater potential force in the domestic financial system. Pension funds account for 75 percent of contractual savings. The pension system is a balanced and well-managed multi-pillar. In Mauritius there have not many authors that have write specifically on that subject, that is, financial implication of National Pension Fund on the Mauritian economy. I have mainly used the research made by other analysts in other countries and try to apply it on the Mauritian economy. Obviously the result will not be the same, but try to make an estimate of it. Objectives of that Project: Analyse the overall financial implication of NPF Testing the financial effect of NPF on national savings Estimating the relationship between fiscal balance of Mauritius non-retirement account and the net saving that occurs within the NPF Chapter Outline Chapter one gives a brief overview of how the project is carry on. Chapter two makes an overview of the National pension fund, its evolution, structure and its financing source as well as government expenditure and the future of NPF. Chapter three is the literature review, that is, what writers around the globe have commented on the pension system. Chapter four is the research methodology. The research is carried out using regression equation to examine the financial implication NPF on our variables. Chapter five then come the analysis based on the results obtained, that is the financial effect of NPF on national savings and the relationship between fiscal balance of Mauritius non-retirement account and the net saving that occurs within the NPF. Then finally chapter seven will include suggestions and conclusions. Chapter 2: Literature Review Introduction Pension funds is be defined as forms of institutional investor, which collect, pool and invest funds contributed by sponsors and beneficiaries to provide for the future pension entitlements of beneficiaries (E PhilipDavis 1995). Pension fund offer individuals the mean to collect saving over their working life so as to finance their consumption needs in retirement, either by means of a lump sum or by provision of an annuity, while also supplying funds to corporations, households (via securitised loans) or governments for investment or consumption. Bodie(1990a) has formalized pension funds function as a form of retirement income insurance. E Philip Davis (1995) suggests that pension funds perform a number of the functions of the financial system more efficiently than banks or direct holdings. Their growth complements that of capital markets and they have acted as major catalysts of change in the financial landscape. But this is not the only reason for growth. It is also a consequence of fiscal incentives and benefits to employers, as well as growing demand arising from the ageing of the population. Pension funds are typically sponsored by employers, such as companies, public corporations, industry or trade groups; accordingly, employers as well as employees typically contribute. Funds may be internally or externally managed. The pension system is commonly divided into three pillars. The first pillar is the pay-as-you-go system based on payments by public institutions which are mainly funded by tax revenues. The second pillar constitutes fully funded pension funds with mandatory membership and the third pillar is based on fully funded pension saving schemes with voluntary membership. In a pay-as-you-go system, each generation pays for the costs of the currently retired in return for a commitment for the same treatment during its own retirement. Workers who spend their entire work and retirement life under a PAYGO system with constant tax rates will earn a real return on their contributions equal to the growth in the workforce plus the growth in the real wage (Samuelson, 1958, and Aaron, 1966). Pension funds provide millions of people in the world security and comfort in old age. Pension funds represent the savings of millions of people, and as Paul Myners says, the ability of funds to invest these assets effectively has a profound impact on their economic well being. Because so many people depend on pension funds to provide for their futures, ensuring the funds serve the needs of their members is a priority for Government. The social security system on the other hand as stated by law, guarantees people covered by its provisions either because they perform an occupational activity or meet the requirements established for non-contributory type social security, as well as dependent members of the family or similar, adequate protection in the contingencies and circumstances. Social Security has been defined as the protection which society provides for its members through a series of public measures against the economic and social distress that otherwise would be caused by the stoppage or substantial reduction of earnings resulting from sickness, maternity, employment injury, invalidity, old age and death; the provision of medical care; and the provision of subsidies for families with children. In the Social Security system, the money you pay into the system gets immediately paid back out to the people who are currently getting Social Security checks. The Social Security tax has been raising more money than is needed to pay for current benefits, in order to build up a surplus to help finance the retirement of the Baby Boom generation. The money is used in a sense to finance the government deficit, just like any other money the government borrows, Dean Baker (1998). The Social Security system is primarily a pay-as-you-go system, meaning that payments to current retirees come from current payments into the system. So Social Security will be the foundation of your retirement income. Thats because: You wont outlive your Social Security retirement benefit. It will be there for you for the rest of your life. Your Social Security benefit wont lose its value. From time to time, Social Security benefits are adjusted so they always keep pace with inflation. Why National Pension Fund? Worker myopia, or lack of foresight poor planning occurs because people give too little considerations to their future economic needs when making decisions about saving for retirement. Most people seem to have a natural inclination to live for today and avoid thinking about old age and death. Hence, they give very little systematic thought to the financial issues of old age until they come face to face with them. By the time they recognize they may have a problem when they retire, it is usually too late to fix. Government intervention through NPF has help people set aside a portion of their earnings when they are working so that they have an adequate income when they retire. Without compulsory contributions for retirement, myopic workers would not save enough to ensure an adequate retirement income and poverty would result. Another rationale for the existence of the compulsory contribution to the NPF is to protect the prudent that saves for retirement against those who do not save. Under a purely voluntary system some will contribute, others will not. As Boulding (1958) puts it in his argument, those who do not insure will have to be supported anyway-perhaps at lower levels and in humiliating and respect-destroying ways when they are in their non-productive phase of their life, but that they will escape the burden of paying premiums when they are in their productive phase. In fairness to those who insure voluntarily and in order to maintain the self-respect of those who would not otherwise insure, contributions for retirement should be made compulsory. Hence, mandatory contributions are necessary to achieve the retirement savings results that people need to have so as to have an adequate standard of living in their retirement years. Pension funds are also an important source of capital accumulation that can be used for different purposes as the build up the basic of national infrastructure, power stations and electric networks, Olli E. Kangas (2006). The Finnish case demonstrates that it was possible to unify social policy goals with the economic goals of building up modern industrial market economies. The Finnish experience has serves as a good example of how social policy has been successfully used as a developmental strategy, Mkandawire (2001). Pension funds are not only vital to the pension holders they provide for. They are also key players in the economy as a whole. Government Budget Pension funding issues have an important, but often hidden, impact on the finances of state governments, J. Fred Giertz (2003). In most countries, contributions to retirement funds are made by employers and employees each year. Yet, there is no requirement in the short run that these contributions be sufficient to fully fund the systems. Governments always ensure that pension payments are actually made to retirees, regardless of the level of contributions, as they are generally the funders of last resort. If pension systems are under funded, governments must deal with this problem sooner or later through additional contributions to the systems. If systems are over funded, government resources can be redirected from pensions to other government programs,J. Fred Giertz (2003). It is seen that private pensions reduce public pension spending in the longer term, once private schemes are mature. Private pensions is likely to increase budgetary pressures in the short term: if workers contributions go into their individual pension accounts, they cannot be used to pay for the pensions of the older generation; thus, governments have to finance pensions for the transition generation through taxation or borrowing, Nicholas Barr (2001). This will in a way affect the government budget. Unsustainable pension systems can be a problem to fiscal stability, economic growth, and poverty reduction. The need for pension reform has become pressing as demographic aging has strained pension systems around the world, leading to large expenditures, large deficits, and high contribution rates. In many cases the pension system has become a source of fiscal and macroeconomic instability, a constraint to economic growth, and an ineffective and or inequitable source of retirement income. J. Fred Giertz (2003)suggests thatnot only are pension asset changes large in comparison with state budgets, they are also growing and becoming more volatile. This trend is likely to continue and the relative size of state pension obligations is increasing. This suggests that pension funding is becoming an increasingly important aspect of state government. He also states that ‘state pension funding today is no sounder than in the early 1990s. This is not necessarily a cause for alarm, but it is a source of concern. Pension funding will be an increasingly important demand on state finances in the up coming years. In the G-10 (1998) report, it states that the ageing of populations could have dramatic effects on government finances. Under current policies, government spending in the G-10 countries is projected to rise sharply over the next several decades for several reasons. Per capita expenditure for the elderly is high in the areas of public retirement benefits and, in some countries, welfare support. Public expenditure on medical and health support for the elderly is also high and has been rising. If advances in medical technology come at ever increasing cost and if the incidence of health expenditure on the elderly continues to rise, the fiscal burden could become substantial in some countries. At the same time, government revenues will be adversely affected as the baby boom generation moves from its high income generating years to retirement. Countries whose revenues are tied more to consumption or value added taxes will tend to experience less of a deterioration in revenues than those that depend more heavily on income or payroll taxes. This would create a severe drag on national saving at a time when saving will be crucial to fostering the growth of labour productivity. Impacts of ageing population Norman Vincent Peale quotes that: â€Å"Age-based retirement arbitrarily severs productive persons from their livelihood, squanders their talents, scars their health, strains an already overburdened Social Security system, and drives many elderly people into poverty and despair. Ageism is as odious as racism and sexism.† Barry Bosworth (2003) argued that slowing economic growth and population aging in the major industrial countries have placed increased financial strain on pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) public pension systems. Retirement pensions have become a serious fiscal concern in most industrialized countries. Pensions are largely paid for from tax revenues and it is foreseen that contributions will need to be raised substantially during the coming decades. The World Bank (1994) states that high taxes are harmful to economic growth, since they reallocate resources to the informal sector, thereby reducing output in the more efficient formal market sector of the economy. The reasons are that many people are now nearing retirement age and that the populations nowadays live longer and have fewer children than in the past. Nicholas Barr (2001) argued that the effect on funded schemes is more restrained but equally unavoidable. When a large generation of workers retires, it liquidates its financial assets to pay for its pensions. If those assets are equities, sales of financial assets by the large pensioner generation will exceed purchases of assets by the smaller younger generation, leading to falling equity prices and, hence, to lower pensions. Alternatively, if those assets are bank accounts, high spending by the large pensioner generation will generate inflationary pressures and again reduce the value of pensions. Domestic savings The main views of the life-cycle theory stipulate that individuals try to smooth consumption over their lifetime, Brumberg and Modigliani (1954). Normally savings follow a hump shaped pattern, that is, income is relatively low when individuals are either very young or retired as during their working life savings rate is higher .Ageing Population increases the proportion of households with a relatively lower savings rate in the economy which leads to a decrease in private savings. Estimates of the impact of a change in the age structure of the population on private savings, shows that population ageing will be likely to reduce savings. As regard to public savings, population ageing is likely to exercise considerable pressure on public finances, Weil (2006). In the situation of the pension schemes of the current pay-as-you-go pension schemes that exist in many states, an ageing population implies that the number of beneficiaries increases while the number of contributors to the system decreases. The ageing population will also adversely affect public finances through higher healthcare and long-term care costs, given that older populations are more likely to make use of healthcare facilities, which, to a large extent, are provided by the public sector. Both microeconomic and macroeconomic studies find that the observed age profile of saving generally conforms with the life-cycle model, which implies that saving rates rise over a workers active career and then decline in retirement. Compared with macroeconomic analyses, microeconomic studies tend to show smaller variation in saving rates over the life cycle, this may be of the highly skewed distribution of wealth and saving across households, Ralph C. Bryant (2004). At a micro level, company or other obligatory pension funds can implement enforced saving by deferring wages and salaries, thereby reducing risk of a low replacement ratio. At a macro level, the increase in saving is not usually one-to-one, as increased contractual saving via pension funds is typically partly or wholly offset by declining flexible saving, E Philip Davis (1995). The remaining effect most likely results from liquidity constraints on some individuals (especially the young), who are unable to borrow in order to offset obligatory saving via pension funds early in the life cycle. It can also be anticipated that, even in a liberalized financial system, credit constraints will affect lower income individuals particularly severely, as they have no assets to guarantee and also have less secure employment. Therefore forced pensions saving will tend to increase their overall saving particularly markedly, Bernheim and Scholz (1992). On the other hand Samwick (2000) found a lower rate of saving in countries with extensive PAYG systems. Agosin (2002) extended their analysis and shows that the rise of saving was concentrated in the business sector, and that the net change in household saving was small. Implications for equilibrium real interest rates The forecasted declines in savings make the expected consequence of ageing on the equilibrium real interest rate ambiguous. If investment falls faster than domestic savings at each level of aggregate income, the real interest rate that clears the market for loanable funds is expected to fall, since it is difficult for savers to find profitable investment opportunities, J.C. Trichet (2007). On the other hand, if domestic savings were to fall faster than investment then the real interest rate would rise to reflect the relative scarcity of financial funds. This likely decline in interest rate that equalizes savings and investment could be identified developed financial markets. Even though the actual impact of the evolving demographic structure on the equilibrium real interest rate in the capital markets is something that is going to occur with a considerable lag, some economists have suggested that expectations of such developments may have already started to exert some influence on the pricing of bonds. Among other things, these analyses suggest that ageing could have contributed to the â€Å"flattening† of the yield curve that has been observed over the recent past, J.C. Trichet (2007). However as it is based on the assumption that capital market participants are perfectly forward looking, an assumption which is questionable, it should be treated with a great deal of caution: if it is true that financial markets tend to overreact to short term phenomena, the effects of ageing on the yield curve could be limited, DellaVigna and Pollet (2005). It has to be taken into consideration that these quantitative simulations require a number of qualifications. On one hand, some real world factors may make the true decline in the equilibrium real interest rate larger than estimated in macroeconomic models. For instance, older people may save more than predicted by the life cycle theory as they may want to leave a bequest to their children, putting further downward pressure on the equilibrium rate. The degree of risk aversion may also change with age as if the older people were systematically more risk averse than the young one, the accumulation of precautionary savings would lead to a higher than predicted savings rate and a lower than predicted real rate, Bakshi and Chen (1994).Moreover private savings rates may be significantly affected by pension reforms, Miles (2002). Pressures on Prices Hans J Blommestein (1998) states that concerns have been expressed that the growing demand for high quality private securities like equity and corporate bonds, associated with the growth of advance funded pension systems in search of investment opportunities (thereby increasing the demand for financial assets) and falling public sector borrowing requirements (thereby reducing the supply of government securities), would put strong upward pressure on the prices of financial assets. Here, the combination of the widespread privatisation of state owned enterprises and reform of pension systems brings the opportunity of killing two birds with one stone. Pension reform, which would increase the demand for equity, and privatisation, which expands the supply, at the same time permits a more balanced growth in private securities markets, at least over the medium term. In a somewhat longer term perspective, population ageing may have an impact on the risk premium, that is, the difference betwee n the returns on stocks and the yield on bonds. As asset preferences vary across age groups, the ageing of the baby boom generation could affect both absolute and relative positions of stock and bond prices. On average, middle age is the portion of the life cycle when saving rates are highest. Moreover, middle aged workers generally are more able and willing to hold a riskier portfolio; that is, one weighted more heavily towards stocks than bonds. This is a consequence of two factors: first, while still working, a stockholder is better able to make up for any bad equity returns; second, middle aged workers have a longer time horizon and thus are willing to accept more risk in exchange for the expectation of higher returns. Moreover, higher demand for stocks relative to bonds should increase the price of stocks relative to bonds, thus decreasing the equity premium. Thus, some have hypothesized that an ageing population would cause the equity premium to increase. But if the age of the population is increasing at least in part because life span is increasing, and thus time horizons are lengthening, then the ageing of the population does not necessarily imply that average risk aversion should be increasing and risk premium on stocks should be rising. After the baby boomers begin to retire, saving rates would tend to fall, stock and bond prices to decline, and the equity premium to rise as baby boom retirees shift their portfolios away from stocks toward bonds, Hans J Blommestein (1998). Population age structure can influence the demand for different classes of financial market assets both because of its effect on saving and because young, middle aged, and elderly savers may seek to hold their assets in different forms. Empirical studies have uncovered evidence that population age structure affects stock market prices and the real returns of different classes of financial assets, but the consistency of this evidence is not overwhelming. It is unclear whether the effects of demographic influences on asset prices and returns are large relative to the effects of other and less predictable determinants of prices and returns, Ralph C. Bryant (2004). Implications of population ageing for the conduct of monetary policy The life-cycle theory stipulates that , individuals during their working lives accumulate financial wealth in order to finance their consumption during retirement. As a consequence, populations who are near to retirement age will tend to have higher wealth to income ratios. Simultaneously, expected imbalances in publicly financed pension schemes make it possible to consider that the increasing number of retirees would depend more on their own accumulated wealth, as opposed to public pension provisions, to maintain their consumption levels. Consequently, the fraction of the population exposed to asset price fluctuations could increase with ageing, Young (2002). Bean (2004) argues that longer life expectancy would presumably strengthen this effect. Therefore, the transmission channel of monetary policy may be affected by ageing. In particular, the so called wealth channel, which links asset prices to consumption, may gain relative importance and play a vital role than in the past, G10 (2005). Miles (2002) points out that the monetary policy multiplier would probably rise with population ageing, mainly as a result of the increased wealth channel and greater price impact of monetary policy decisions. In spite of this, he also mentions that an older population is less likely to be credit constrained, especially when the pension system is reformed towards more funded systems. This might reduce the effectiveness of the credit channel. Depending on the relative importance of these channels, monetary policy could, in principle, become more or less effective with ageing. Miles suggests that the first effect is expected to dominate. A move towards demographic structure in which the population accounts for an increasing elderly population is expected to generate a gradual but persistent change in savings habits. This may results in an impact on the demand for all classes of assets even though certain sector of the capital market are likely to be affected more substantially than others. If, for example, older people are more risk averse and prefer to hold financial assets paying fixed income returns such as government securities, then the demand for government bonds would tend to increase relative to riskier investment options, such as equity, Bakshi and Chen (1994) and De Santis and Là ¼hrmann (2006). In this situation, where a larger part of households wealth is invested in nominal assets, price stability would be even more important for households, G10 (2005) and Bean (2004). Stable prices ensure that the real value of both pension entitlements and savings is maintained and prevent arbitrary redistributions of income and wealth to the detriment of the most vulnerable groups in society, in particular, pensioners. It is likely that, as a significant fraction of wealth is accumulated in real estate and financial assets, households exposure to asset price movements will tend to increase. This might coincide with a situation in which a large fraction of the population in their old age dis-saving phase are disposing assets in order to finance consumption during retirement. In this respect, some authors have warned that, when the baby-boom generation retires and starts to dissave, excess supply in financial markets could lead to a significant decline in asset prices, the consequences of which might be felt by the entire population, Siegel (1998), Abel (2001) and (2003). This view is known as the â€Å"asset meltdown† hypothesis. Yoo (1994) estimated that asset prices may drop by as much as 15% as a result of demographic change alone. This is why a credible commitment to maintaining price stability and, as a reflection, an orderly financial environment is and will remain so important for maintaining the standard of living of people, particularly for the poorest and the most vulnerable. Investment of Pension Fund The rapid growth of pension funds in many countries, and the stimulus they are providing to the growth of capital markets, both suggest that their activities as financial intermediaries merit considerable attention, E Philip Davis (2000). Pension funds have an impact on the stability of financial markets in several ways, most significantly through their investment behavior. Since early withdrawal of funds is usually restricted or forbidden, pension funds have long term liabilities, allowing holding of high risk and high return instruments. Accordingly, monies are intermediated by pension funds into a variety of financial assets, which include corporate equities, government bonds, real estate, corporate debt (in the form of loans or bonds), securitised loans, foreign holdings of the instruments mentioned above and money market instruments and deposits as forms of liquidity. Hellwig (1990) suggest that financial institutions can form long term relationships with borrowers, which reduce information asymmetry and hence moral hazard. Apart from economies of scale these considerations have arisen in the literature mainly for debt finance and for banks. Whereas the importance of information asymmetries and incomplete contracts is equally recognised for equity finance, the role of financial institutions as counterparts is less well developed. Equally, institutional investors such as pension funds may not rely on the same information and control mechanisms as banks. The role of pension funds is clearly not to facilitate exchange of goods, services and assets directly. This is because, unlike banks, money market funds, and to a lesser extent long term mutual funds, they do not offer liquid liabilities. Nevertheless, pension funds have had an important indirect role in boosting the efficiency of the financial systems, by influencing the structure of securities markets. This effect on micro structure links to their demand for liquidity, i.e. to transact in large size without moving the price against them, anonymously, and at low transactions costs. Pension funds provide risk control directly to households via the forms of retirement income insurance they provide, an advantage which largely reflects the unusual (among financial intermediaries) link of pension funds to employers. To assist in undertaking this risk control function they diversify assets as noted above and also act in securities and derivatives markets to hedge and control risk. As institutional investors, pension funds are well placed to use derivatives and other means of risk control; many innovations have been introduced or developed specifically to cater for their demand (Bodie 1990b, 1999). E Philip Davis (1995a) suggests that as pension funds focus mainly on government bonds and high grade corporate bonds, while banks tend to monopolise small business financing. And Lorenzo Bini Smaghi (2006) states that investing wisely matters for long term economic wellbeing, and that the portfolio allocation decision is of paramount importance in order to maintain living standards in the old age. Pension funds are the fastest growing of all financial institutions. They now cover half the labor force and represent one-eighth the financial assets of the entire household sector, Vincent P. Apilado (1972). The size of pension funds has also had an impact on the structure of financial markets: countries with large funded pension schemes tend to have highly developed securities markets; in countries with small pension-fund sectors, capital markets are relatively underdeveloped (the equity market in particular, Hans. J. Blommestein (1998). Living Standard M.  PONDS  (2003) states that the raison dà ªtre of wage indexed defined benefit pension funds is to provide insurance against standard of living risk after retirement, based on intergenerational risk sharing. Pension funds necessarily have to accept mismatch risk in providing this kind of insurance. Mismatch risk taken by the pension fund is risk for the funds stakeholders. The material living standards of tomorrows working and retired people will depend on the goods and services produced by those who will be working at the time. Changes in retirement income financing might alter the relative living standards of workers compared with retirees, but only later retirement could have a large effect in increasing living standards for both, Peter Hicks (2004). O