This study presents an improved model for estimating life insurer cost of capital with the inclusion of upside and downside risk factors and controlling for life insurer characteristics. Although various asymmetric measures of market risk have been shown to be priced factors for the broader...

Several recent studies have found that women invest their pensions more conservatively than men (Bajtelsmit and VanDerhei, 1996; Hinz, McCarthy, and Turner, 1996) and that women are more risk averse (Jianakoplos and Bernasek, 1996). Although these findings have serious implications for the...

The financial planning process -- Financial planning tools: personal financial statements and the time value of money -- Budgeting and cash management -- Tax planning -- Managing credit: credit cards and consumer loans -- Making automobile and housing decisions -- Insuring cars and homes -- Life...

Pricing of commercial insurance has generally been thought to be more competitive than that of personal insurance. For this reason, there has been little academic interest in the impact of market structure on insurer profitability for these lines, despite findings of such a relationship in other...

This Issue Brief compares changes from 1989 to 1998 in pension participation, accumulation, and allocation for employed women, versus employed men, ages 18-62. In addition, it provides an estimate of the gender "pension gap" in defined contribution accumulations, contrasts this with the gender...