University of Luxembourg

About: University of Luxembourg is a education organization based out in Luxembourg, Luxembourg. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & European union. The organization has 4744 authors who have published 22175 publications receiving 381824 citations.

Dissecting Network Externalities in International Migration

Abstract: Existing migrant networks play an important role in explaining the size and structure of immigration flows. They affect the net benefits of migration by reducing assimilation costs (’self-selection channel’) and by lowering legal entry barriers through family reunification programs (’immigration policy channel’). This paper presents an identification strategy allowing to disentangle the relative importance of these two channels. Then, it provides an empirical analysis based on US immigration data by metropolitan area and country of origin. First, we show that the overall network externality is strong: the elasticity of migration flows to network size is around one. Second, only a quarter of this elasticity is accounted for by the policy channel. Third, the policy channel was stronger in the 1990s than in the 1980s as the family reunification programs became more effective with growing diasporas. Fourth, the overall diaspora effect and the policy channel are more important for low-skilled migrants.

The Privatization and Marketization of Pensions in Europe: A Double Transformation Facing the Crisis

Abstract: In response to the demographic challenges and fiscal constraints, many European welfare states have moved toward the privatization and marketization of pensions in order to improve their financial sustainability. The privatization of retirement income responsibility has led to a shift from dominantly public pensions to a multi-pillar architecture with growing private pillars composed of personal, firm-based, or collectively negotiated pension arrangements. At the same time, marketization has led to the introduction and expansion of prefunded pension savings based on financial investments as well as stronger reliance of market-logic principles in the remaining public pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pensions. However, there are also important cross-national variations in the speed, scope, and structural outcome of the privatization and marketization of European pension systems. Liberal market economies, but also some coordinated market economies (the Netherlands and Switzerland) as well as the Nordic countries have embraced multi-pillar strategies earlier and more widely, while the Bismarckian pensions systems and the post-socialist transition countries of Eastern Europe have been belated converts. The recent financial market and economic crisis, however, indicates that the double transformation may entail short-term problems and long-term uncertainties about the social and political sustainability of these privatized and marketized multi-pillar strategies.

Practical methods for measuring and managing operational risk in the financial sector: A clinical study

Abstract: This paper analyzes the implications of the advanced measurement approach (AMA) for the assessment of operational risk. Through a clinical case study on a matrix of two selected business lines and two event types of a large financial institution, we develop a procedure that addresses the major issues faced by banks in the implementation of the AMA. For each cell, we calibrate two truncated distributions functions, one for “normal” losses and the other for the “extreme” losses. In addition, we propose a method to include external data in the framework. We then estimate the impact of operational risk management on bank profitability, through an adapted measure of RAROC. The results suggest that substantial savings can be achieved through active management techniques.

Behavior of Circular Fiber-Reinforced Polymer–Steel-Confined Concrete Columns Subjected to Reversed Cyclic Loads: Experimental Studies and Finite-Element Analysis

Abstract: This paper studied experimentally the behavior of circular fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP)–steel-confined concrete columns subjected to reversed cyclic loads. The influence of main structura...

The foreign language classroom anxiety scale and academic achievement: an overview of the prevailing literature and a meta-analysis

Abstract: Foreign language learners experience a unique type of anxiety during the language learning process: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA). This situation-specific anxiety is frequently examined alongside academic achievement in foreign language courses. The present meta-analysis examined the relationship between FLCA measured through the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and five forms of academic achievement: general academic achievement and four competency-specific outcome scores (reading-, writing-, listening-, and speaking academic achievement). A total of k = 99 effect sizes were analysed with an overall sample size of N = 14128 in a random effects model with Pearson correlation coefficients. A moderate negative correlation was found between FLCA and all categories of academic achievement (e.g., general academic achievement: r = -.39; k = 59; N = 12585). The results of this meta analysis confirm the negative association between FLCA and academic achievement in foreign language courses.