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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

An Analysis Of Risk-Taking Behavior For Public Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang Mar 2015

An Analysis Of Risk-Taking Behavior For Public Defined Benefit Pension Plans, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Nancy Mohan

This paper investigates the determinants of public pension plan risk-taking behavior using the percentage of total plan assets invested in the equity markets and the pension asset beta as measures of investment risk. We find that government accounting standards strongly affect public fund investment risk, as higher return assumptions (used to discount pension liabilities) are associated with higher equity allocation and beta. Unlike private pension plans, public funds undertake more risk if they are underfunded and have lower investment returns in the previous years, consistent with the risk transfer hypothesis. Furthermore, pension funds in states facing financial constraints allocate more …


What Determines Public Pension Investment Risk-Taking Policy?, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang Mar 2015

What Determines Public Pension Investment Risk-Taking Policy?, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Nancy Mohan

No abstract provided.


Public Pension Crisis And Investment Risk Taking: Underfunding, Fiscal Constraints, Public Accounting, And Policy Implications, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang Mar 2015

Public Pension Crisis And Investment Risk Taking: Underfunding, Fiscal Constraints, Public Accounting, And Policy Implications, Nancy Mohan, Ting Zhang

Nancy Mohan

Public pension funds that cover retirement benefits for almost 20 million active or retired employees have been significantly underfunded. An important, though largely overlooked, issue related to pension underfunding is the excessive investment risk levels assumed by public plans. Our analysis suggests government accounting standards strongly affect public fund investment risk, as higher return assumptions (used to discount pension liabilities) are associated with higher investment risk. Public funds undertake more risk if they are underfunded and have lower investment returns in previous years, consistent with the risk transfer hypothesis. Furthermore, pension funds in states facing fiscal constraints allocate more assets …


Sibling Position And Risk Attitudes: Is Being An Only Child Associated With A Person’S Risk Tolerance?, Jennifer M. Brown M.S., John E. Grable Ph.D., Cfp® Feb 2015

Sibling Position And Risk Attitudes: Is Being An Only Child Associated With A Person’S Risk Tolerance?, Jennifer M. Brown M.S., John E. Grable Ph.D., Cfp®

Journal of Financial Therapy

The influence of birth order on personality has been studied for several decades, but little research has been conducted on the association between sibling position and risk tolerance. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between being an only child and risk-taking attitudes. Data from the 2010 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 sample was used to test the hypotheses that only children and first borns are similar, only children exhibit a lower risk tolerance when compared to those with siblings, and only children exhibit a lower risk tolerance when compared to those with siblings when first …