A frequently used test for unspeciÞed nonlinear omissions is the parametric RESET, which is based upon a Þnite polynomial. We follow Abadir (1999), who suggests that the generalized hypergeometric function may provide a more ßexible proxy for the omission; and propose a new approach,...

China is a relatively young country now, but about to undergo a remarkable demographic transformation in the near future. Despite foreseeable dramatic demographic changes, the current retirement system in China is badly structured, and not able to cope with the rapid ageing population in this...

This paper analyses the relationship between monetary policy and asset prices in the context of optimal policy rules. The transmission mechanism is represented by a linearized rational expectations model augmented for the effect of asset prices on aggregate demand. Stabilization objectives are...

Pension fund assets have increased markedly during recent decades, and there are signs that this trend will continue, particularly given demographic changes and the current pattern of pension reform towards funded systems. However, research on the extent to which growth in pension assets...

This paper proposes a method to asses the potential problems of sustainability of a country’s sovereign debt. We claim that the relevant variables used for this analysis are typically subject to changes which are associated with changes in macroeconomics policies. We propose a procedure for...

Corsetti and Roubini (1991) reported that the government finances of Greece, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands did not satisfy the intertemporal budget constraint (IBC). We re-examine this issue by utilizing a new empirical approach and extended data set. Structural shifts, an issue which...

The purpose of this work is to investigate the efficiency of the current Euro spot and current forward exchange rates. Within the past three decades there have been large movements in the exchange rate markets and often these movements were not related with the changes in the “fundamentals”...

The UK pension system is traditionally seen as offering a good example to other countries, having features such as a low social security burden of the public sector as well as a high coverage of well-financed voluntary private schemes. But recent developments suggest that the model has shown...

Pension fund assets have been accumulated rapidly during the past decades, and it is evident that this trend will continue. An immediate problem arising from the rapid accumulation of such a large volume of assets across countries is how to invest them. Pension funds differ from other...