Ngee-Choon Chia

Life annuities of compulsory savings and income adequacy of the elderly in Singapore

Singapore has a publicly managed central provident fund (CPF) system, which is compulsory and based on individual accounts with an explicit link between contribution and benefits. This paper assesses the adequacy of the CPF saving to meet the retirement needs of the elderly in Singapore. Instead of emphasizing the mechanism of accumulation, we focus on the expenditure side of the lifetime budget of the elderly and estimate the present value of retirement consumption (PVRC). The estimated PVRC is obtained by simulations through three major components: calibration of subsistence and medical expenses of the elderly; forecast of cohort survival probability by age and by sex; and generation of yield curves to discount the future cash flows. Our results indicate that the existing CPF-decreed minimum sum is inadequate to meet the future consumption needs of the female elderly. The inadequacy becomes more severe when medical expense is set at higher growth rates. Moreover, the monthly payouts of a single premium deferred annuity are computed as illustrative examples.

The Tax Treatment of Financial Intermediation

Whether and how to tax financial intermediation services is unclear because individual preferences are not defined directly over financial services, but only over the goods that are consumed. Intermediation services facilitate consumption but do not directly provide utility. In this paper, we show how taxing goods alone (but not financial services) can be welfare preferred to taxing both goods and financial services on an equal-yield basis and at a lower rate in a general equilibrium model with transactions costs. This is consistent with Foleys (1970) and Hahns (1971) well-known treatments of general equilibrium with transactions costs which suggest that the two fundamental theorems of welfare economics may not hold in such circumstances. Use of more intermediation services yields gains from trade, but reduces resources available for provision of other (consumption) goods. We explore the net effect first using a numerical example, and then using U.S. data, drawing out implications for policy.

Environmental Taxation in Practice

Contents: Series preface Introduction. Part I Overview and Comparison of Different Taxes: Environmental taxes in Europe, Thomas Sterner and Gunnar KA hlin Environmental taxes in developing and transition economies, Randall A. Bluffstone. Part II Institutional Aspects and Political Economy of Implementation: Political economy obstacles to fuel taxation, Henrik Hammar, A...sa LA fgren and Thomas Sterner The Btu tax experience: what happened and why it happened, Dawn Erlandson Comparative politics and environmental taxation, Per G. Fredriksson and Daniel L. Millimet Enforcement of environmental charges: some economic aspects and evidence from the German waste water charge, Erik Gawel Inspections, pollution prices, and environmental performance: evidence from China, Susmita Dasgupta, Benoit Laplante, Nlandu Mamingi and Hua Wang The distributional implications of higher energy prices for the UK, Michael Common Public support for pollution fee policies for motor vehicles with revenue recycling: survey results, Alan Krupnik, Winston Harrington and Anna Alberini Distributional effects of alternative vehicle pollution control policies, Sarah E. West Cost-effectiveness of air pollution abatement in Poland, Tomasz Zylicz Environmental policy in transition economies: will pollution charges work?, Patrik SA derholm. Part III Ex-ante Analysis: A presumptive pigovian tax: complementing regulation to mimic an emissions fee, Gunnar S. Eskeland A deposit-refund system applied to non-point nitrogen emissions from agriculture, Lars GA[yen]rn Hansen UKs climate change levy: cost effectiveness, competitiveness and environmental impacts, Ardash Varma The environmental consequences of tax differentiation by vehicle age in Costa Rica, Nick Johnstone, Jaime EcheverrA--a, Ina Porres and Ronald MejA--as The scope for fuel substitution in manufacturing industries: a case study of Chile and Colombia, Diana L. Moss and James R. Tybout Estimates from a consumer demand system: implications for the incidence of environmental taxes, Sarah E. West and Roberton C. Williams III An econometric evaluation of sulphur taxes, James M. Griffin Impact analysis of car-related taxes on fuel consumption in Japan, Masayoshi Tanishita, Shigeru Kashima and William J. Hayes The cost effectiveness of alternative instruments for environmental protection in a second-best setting, Lawrence H. Goulder, Ian W.H. Parry, Roberton C. Williams III and Dallas Burtraw.Part IV Ex-post Analysis: Motor vehicle taxes as an environmental management instrument: the case of Singapore, Ngee-Choon Chia and Sock-Yong Phang Equilibrium, pollution and economic development in China, Hua Wang and David Wheeler Household responses to pricing garbage by the bag, Don Fullerton and Thomas C. Kinnaman Garbage and recycling with endogenous local policy, Thomas C. Kinnaman and Don Fullerton State taxes and interstate hazardous waste shipments, Arik Levinson The phase-out of leaded gasoline in the EU: a successful failure?, A...sa LA fren and Henrik Hammar Greenhouse gas emissions in Norway: do carbon taxes work?, Annegrete Bruvoll and Bodil Merethe Laesen Name index.

Motor vehicle taxes as an environmental management instrument: the case of Singapore

Being geographically small, land scarcity poses a potential constraint for economic growth in Singapore. Restraining car ownership and car use through motor vehicle taxes is part of the land-transport policy to ensure smoother traffic flow. This paper analyses the use of motor vehicle taxes in Singapore as an environmental management instrument. It evaluates the effectiveness of ownership and use taxes as instruments to internalise congestion and environment externality. Economic issues relating to the use of such taxes are also highlighted. It concludes that motor vehicle taxes offer Singapore a double dividend.