In its long-range projections of expenditures under the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) system, the Office of the Actuary considers benefit payments, administrative expenses, net transfers under the Railroad Retirement interchange, and vocational rehabilitation expenses for the next 75 years. Benefit payments are by far the largest element, accounting for over 97 percent of...

At this point, it is nearly impossible to escape discussion of the aging of the baby boom and its implications for Social Security. No set of reasonable demographic and economic assumptions yields a forecast of long-term solvency for the program as it exists today (Board of Trustees 1997; Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 1997). Some reform is necessary. The open questions are which reforms and...

OBJECTIVE To identify the factors associated with fatal occupational injuries in Mexico in 2012 among workers affiliated with the Mexican Social Security Institute. METHODS Analysis of secondary data using information from the National Occupational Risk Information System, with the consequence of the occupational injury (fatal versus non-fatal) as the response variable. The analysis included ...

This study aims at estimating variability in exposure to respirable dust and assessing whether the a priori grouping by job team is appropriate for an exposure-response study on respiratory effects among workers in a manually operated coal mine in Tanzania. Furthermore, estimated exposure levels were used to calculate cumulative exposure. Full-shift personal respirable dust samples (n = 204) we...

The Congressional Budget Office, the Rand Corporation, and the Urban Institute have estimated that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will leave employer-sponsored coverage largely intact; in contrast, some economists and benefit consultants argue that the ACA encourages employers to drop coverage, thereby making both their workers and their firms better off (a "win-win" situa...

This study analyzed a post office clerk's tasks, comparing two workstation models. The clerk was facing the client in one, and seated at 45 degrees to the counter in the other. We analyzed the most frequent tasks and those presenting the most critical points: 1) payment of a postal order; 2) accepting a registered letter, breaking them down into subtasks. We used an optoelectronic system for ki...

A side-effect of the national debate about employer-provided benefits has been to focus attention on the cost of hiring and retaining employees. This has led to renewed interest in the issue of when a worker is an employee vs. an independent contractor. The IRS must make determinations regarding worker status. This determination process which has evolved through judicial precedent, is subjectiv...

A 38 year old female office worker was admitted with a newly discovered blood pressure of 250/110 mm Hg. Evaluation for secondary forms of hypertension was negative and treatment was begun. Sodium excretion was markedly reduced, plasma aldosterone was normal, and plasma renin activity was low. Therefore, presence of an aldosterone-like activity was suspected. Eventually, the patient confessed t...

Over the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the share of executive compensation paid through stock options. We examine the extent to which tax policy has inuenced the composition of executive compensation, and discuss the implications of rising stock-based pay for tax policy. We begin by describing the tax rules for executive pay in detail and analyzing how changes in various...

We analyze the effect of committee formation on how corporate boards perform two main functions: setting CEO pay and overseeing the financial reporting process. The use of performance-based pay schemes induces the CEO to manipulate earnings, which leads to an increased need for board oversight. If the whole board is responsible for both functions, it is inclined to provide the CEO with a compen...