Institutional Constraints,Stakeholder Pressure and Corporate Environmental Reporting Policies

Within the theoretical framework of socio‐political economics, and more specifically of stakeholder theory, this work examines whether companies operating under different institutional constraints and stakeholder pressure tend to emphasize different models of corporate environmental reporting. Furthermore, the paper tests whether different corporate environmental reporting policies are driven by the countries' corporate governance systems. A sample of 3931 international companies was examined through a logistic biplot and conditional mean linear regression models. The main results reveal that companies follow two distinct environmental reporting approaches, which depend on specific stakeholders and institutional requirements. The first model, which is followed by firms within codified law countries, mostly focuses on water and emissions. The second approach, mainly followed by companies operating in common law countries, emphasizes materials and energy issues. This finding reveals that companies gradually modify their environmental strategies to make themselves more compatible with the characteristics of the social and institutional environment, which will result in several corporate benefits. The paper provides several outstanding implications for companies' strategic managers, national institutions and firms' stakeholders, especially for investors and customers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Evaluating the Technical Provisions for Traditional Brazilian Annuity Plans: Continuous-Time Stochastic Approach Based on Solvency Principles

This article presents an approach for evaluating the liabilities of traditional Brazilian annuity plans, using a continuous-time stochastic approach based on modern solvency principles. The technical provisions are obtained by means of conditional expectation, under a real-world measure and considering the peculiar characteristics of each plan and the financial guarantees and profit participations (bonus and dividend plans) embedded in the annuity plans. We assume that policyholder behavior is not optimal, but we also illustrate a calculation of provision assuming optimal policyholder behavior to show the differences between both assumptions. In this article all explicit provisions formulas are derived, and several relevant conclusions about the values of these provisions are discussed.     

On the index tracking and the statistical arbitrage choosing the stocks by means of cointegration: the role of stock picking

In this paper, we propose a new methology for Index Tracking (IT) by means of cointegration which provides some significant improvements on that field. As the quality of the tracking portfolio (TP) depends highly on the stock selection procedure, we propose picking the stocks using a model selection technique based on optimizing the cointegration level of the TP and the benchmark index instead of selecting, as in previous papers the assets by ad hoc decisions. To illustrate an empirical application of these techniques we use daily closing prices in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) index over two different periods; one period which goes from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 2001 previously used by other authors, and the bear and a turmoil period, which goes from January 2007 to May 2012, inside the current financial crisis. Using only five assets we are able to successfully track the DJIA index and our results improve the IT technique based on cointegration that chooses stocks with maximum capitalization level. We also have compared our results with a more traditional procedure based on correlation and again our results reveal superiority. The empirical illustration not only has been focused on the TP itself, but has also been extended to tracking the index with an added profitability of 5, 10, 15 or 20% and to long-short strategies, producing profitable results.     

Inference on factor structures in heterogeneous panels

This paper develops an estimation and testing framework for a stationary large panel model with observable regressors and unobservable common factors. We allow for slope heterogeneity and for correlation between the common factors and the regressors. We propose a two stage estimation procedure for the unobservable common factors and their loadings, based on Common Correlated Effects estimator and the Principal Component estimator. We also develop two tests for the null of no factor structure: one for the null that loadings are cross sectionally homogeneous, and one for the null that common factors are homogeneous over time. Our tests are based on using extremes of the estimated loadings and common factors. The test statistics have an asymptotic Gumbel distribution under the null, and have power versus alternatives where only one loading or common factor differs from the others. Monte Carlo evidence shows that the tests have the correct size and good power.     

Optimal close-to-home biases in asset allocation

This article studies optimal portfolio decisions with (long-term) liabilities for small open economy based investors, including the optimality of currency hedging (Walker (2008a). Chile is the home country of the representative investor, but results are likely to hold more generally. The problem is set up as in [Sharpe & Tint, 1990] and [Hoevenaars et al., 2007]. Hedging the liabilities and the consumption currency may imply optimal close-to-home biases, defined as overweighting asset classes which are highly correlated with local ones. The implementation challenges include: developing a methodology to estimate expected returns in local (real) currency; estimating the covariance matrix allowing for serial and crossed-serial correlations; and checking the results' robustness using a resampling method. The findings are: (i) portfolios always have optimal close-to-home biases, beyond the investment in local fixed income to hedge liabilities; (ii) currency hedging reduces investment in close-to-home asset classes, (iii) but has ambiguous effects on welfare — detected with the resampling method; (iv) currency hedged long-term US bonds are useful for hedging local interest rate risk; and (v) liabilities give access to high risk-return portfolios, not affecting otherwise the overall shape of the efficient regions. This article can be useful to investors based on small open economies, including pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds and Central Banks.     

Optimal exploration investments under price and geological‐technical uncertainty: a real options model

This article develops a real options model for valuing natural resource exploration investments (e.g. oil or copper) when there is joint price and geological‐technical uncertainty. After a successful several‐stage exploration phase, there is a development investment and an extraction phase. All phases are optimized contingent on price and geological‐technical uncertainty.
Several real options are considered. There are flexible investment schedules for all exploration stages and a timing option for the development investment. Once the mine is developed, there are closure, opening and abandonment options for the extraction phase. Our model maintains a relatively simple valuation structure by collapsing price and geological‐technical uncertainty into a one‐factor model.
We apply the model to a copper exploration prospect and find that a significant fraction of total project value is due to the operational, development and exploration options available to project managers.     

The future of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

Concern about the future of Amazonian forests is growing as both the extent and rate of primary forest destruction increase. We combine spatial information on various biophysical, demographic and infrastructural factors in the Brazilian Amazon with satellite data on deforestation to evaluate the relative importance of each factor to deforestation in the region. We assess the sensitivity of results to alternative sampling methodologies, and compare our results to those of previous empirical studies of Amazonian deforestation. Our findings, in concert with those of previous studies, send a clear message to planners: both paved and unpaved roads are key drivers of the deforestation process. Proximity to previous clearings, high population densities, low annual rainfall, and long dry seasons also increase the likelihood that a site will be deforested; however, roads are consistently important and are the factors most amenable to policymaking. We argue that there is ample evidence to justify a fundamental change in current Amazonian development priorities if additional large-scale losses of forests and environmental services are to be avoided.     

The determinants of bond call premia: A signalling approach

A signalling model is presented that provides an additional explanation for the determination of call premia on corporate bonds. It is shown that firms may signal their exclusive information about their probability of default by the choice of their call premia. Stockholders of safer firms (i.e., those that have a lower probability of bankruptcy) have a higher incentive for providing a low call premium. This occurs because the call option will be valuable only if the firm survives by the first call date. This event, however, is more likely for the safer firm. The safer firm will therefore be more willing to sacrifice some current revenues (or equivalently, to provide a higher coupon than it would otherwise have to pay in order to sell the bond at par) by determining a lower call premium. The model therefore predicts a negative correlation between safety and call premia, a correlation that has been empirically confirmed by Fischer, Heinkel, and Zechner (1989). This correlation provides support to the signalling theory vis-à-vis the alternative explanation of taxes determining the call premia. Another contribution of this model is that it ties the call premium decision with expectations of future interest rates. Such expectations are considered important by practitioners, but were rarely considered in previous research.     

Patents and R&D as Real Options

This article develops and implements a simulation approach to value patents and patent‐protected R&D projects based on the Real Options approach. It takes into account uncertainty in the cost‐to‐completion of the project, uncertainty in the cash flows to be generated from the project, and the possibility of catastrophic events that could put an end to the effort before it is completed. It also allows for the possibility of abandoning the project when costs turn out to be larger than expected or when estimated cash flows turn out to be smaller than anticipated. This abandonment option represents a very substantial part of the project's value when the project is marginal or/and when uncertainty is large. The model presented can be used to evaluate the effects of regulation on the cost of innovation and the amount on innovative output. The main focus of the article is the pharmaceutical industry. The framework, however, applies just as well to other research‐intensive industries such as software or hardware development.
(J.E.L.:G31, O22, O32).