Free Course Finance of Aging

The aging of the population raises numerous economic and financial issues for pension funds, insurance companies and governments.
To take wise decisions, expert knowledge in these organizations is crucial. To provide this knowledge a Dutch organization called Netspar initiated courses on an academic level.

Netspar is an independent network for research, education and knowledge exchange in the field of pensions, aging and retirement.

In 2009 Netspar introduced a new course Master's program Economics and Finance of Aging, that can also be followed individually or in tracks.

To make things even easier, Netspar developed the

Free Online Course

Introduction to Economics and Finance of Aging

Lans Bovenberg, professor ar the Tilburg University, introduces you in the interesting world of Economics and Finance of Aging.

This course is completely free and ca be viewed online.

So, whether you're an actuary or not, if you've got a few spare minutes left a day, don't miss this free course......

Shareholder or Stakeholder model?

Does the corporation exist for the benefit of shareholders, or does it have other, equally important stakeholders, such as employees, customers and suppliers?

In a study titled, "Stakeholder Capitalism, Corporate Governance and Firm Value" (2007), finance professor Franklin Allen (e.a.) tackles this issue. In showing the various benefits of the stakeholder approach, he demonstrates that the issue is not as settled as some researchers and business people in the US or the UK might think.

Several conclusions emerge from the study, which uses a mathematical model to explore the advantages and disadvantages of stakeholder-oriented firms. First, stakeholder-oriented companies have lower output and higher prices, and can have greater firm value than shareholder-oriented firms. Second, firms may voluntarily choose to be stakeholder-oriented because it will increase their value, according to the study.

In a recent study (2008) called, "Rhineland Exit", Dutch (CPB) researchers Bovenberg and Teulings defend the victory of the Shareholder model over the stakeholder model (Rhineland model). They also state that the principle of maximization of shareholder value, being the ultimate goal of the firm, is at odds with the Rhineland philosophy of a balanced treatment of the interests of all stakeholders.

Why arguing so much about share or steak? By choosing the "stakeholdermodel with weights" it's simple to accomodate and optimize the final model to the company goals.

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