Description: This paper presents multiple book reviews: Reports from Staff of U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, Reports in Connection with Social Security Legislation 1975-77, 'Statement on Cost Comparisons of Individual Life Insurance Policies', by Canadian Institute of Actuaries, 'Investment Activities of Life Insurance Companies' from Huebner Foundation Lectures, 'The Life Insurance Industry's Marketing Dilemma' by Johns, 'The Future of Social Security' by Munnell, 'Social Security - Today and Tomorrow' by Ball, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Batten, 'Mortality Table Construction' by Batten, 'The Crisis in Social Security - Problems and Prospects' by Boskin, 'A History of Interest Rates' by Homer, 'Indexation of Pensions and Other Benefits' by Robert Myers, 'Life Insurance Accounting' by Strain, '1978 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund...' by US Congress. Brief summaries of additional readings are also included.

Description: This paper is a theoretical examination of the structure of the property-casualty insurance industry using economic theory to compare companies with agency distribution versus direct distribution. The purpose of the paper is to justify the existence of both types of distribution systems in equilibrium.

Description: This paper considers the development of the insurance and investment markets in the EC from an historical and legal point of view. The likely changes as a result of the Single European Act are also considered along with possible ways of ensuring the act is met and the role of the actuary in that process. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1991, Vol. 1.

Description: This paper is about a concept known as the 'rate of transmission of information' or, more simply, as the 'information rate.' The authors establish the equivalence of arbitrage-free economic systems and a generalized betting model in such a way that the interpretation of the information rate, as the maximum rate of increase of an investor's capital, is preserved. As a corollary to this result, they show that the difference in the information rate between models represents the achievable incremental return associated with the superior predictor model. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1993, Vol. 3.

Description: This section features various book reviews: 'How to Cope with the Developing Financial Crisis' by Bladen, 'Policymaking for Social Security' by Derthick, '1979 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal OASDI Trust Funds' by US Congress, 'Integration of Plans with Social Security and Funding' by Grubbs, 'Pension and Profit Sharing Plans - a Basic Guide' by Mamorsky, 'Joint Trust Pension Plans' by McGinn, 'Financing the Civil Service Retirement Systems...' by McGill, 'Pension Task Force Report on Public Employee Retirement Systems' by Committee on Education and Labor. Brief descriptions of additional readings are also included.

Description: This paper summarizes default experience on bonds from 1900 through 1987. Although the information is more extensive for publicly traded bonds, the paper includes some information on private placements, some of which is not otherwise available.

Description: This is a panel discussion about the economic outlook in the 1960's particularly for equities. From Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1962, Vol. 14 Pt. 2