In this paper we provide a framework for how the traditional life and pension contracts with a guaranteed rate of return can be optimized to increase customers' welfare. Given that the contracts have to be priced correctly, we use individuals' preferences to find the preferred design. Assuming...

In this paper we show that there exist an intergenerational cross-subsidization effect in guaranteed interest rate life and pension contracts as the different generations partially share the same reserves. Early generations build up bonus reserves, which are left with the company at expiry of...

This article assesses the unilateral effects on prices of a merger in the Portuguese mobile telephony market. We use aggregate quarterly data from 1999 to 2005 and a nested logit model to estimate the price elasticities of demand and the marginal costs of subscription of mobile telephony. Given...

The paper is a general equilibrium analysis of an energy tax reform in a federation. It gives us a tool to measure the welfare effects and the vertical tax externalities of the tax reform. Vertical tax externalities may arise when two government levels impose taxes on common tax bases. We show...

The aim of this paper goes some steps beyond the specification and estimation of production technologies and nonlinear dynamic optimization rules by instrumental variables methods as initially proposed by Kennan (1979). The question, that remains unanswered by the mere estimation of the...

Stochastic simulations are used on the Liverpool Model of the UK to assess the effect of UK euro entry on macroeconomic stability. Instability increases substantially, particularly for inflation and real interest rates. A key factor is the extent of the euro's instability against the dollar; by...

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has the potential to become the world's largest free trade area, encompassing both developed and developing countries. At the same time, environmental standards vary substantially in the region. A multilateral computable general equilibrium (CGE)...

A few years after the introduction of the Amato and Dini laws, a renewed debate on reforming the Italian pension system and on modifying its structure and technical parameters is taking place. The present work simulates individual reactions to systemic changes, distinguishing among the different...