RISK PREFERENCES AND INFORMATION FLOWS IN RACETRACK BETTING MARKETS

Racetrack betting markets provide a unique environment to study risk preferences of investors. In this paper, we define the effects of different risk preferences on the subjective and objective probabilities of winning at racetracks. Our results indicate that up to three groups of bettors participate in these markets: risk loving, risk averse with an entertainment value in their utility functions, and risk averse with superior information or analytical ability. We find that information flows from the tote board concerning the three groups' behavior may be used to earn abnormal and possibly positive returns.     

Comparing Aggregate Housing Price Measures

Three methodologies to measure the aggregate price of housing JEL Classification C82,R31     

Ethics perceptions of American Farmers: An empirical analysis

A 123 item survey of ethics perceptions of Farmers had 796 respondents. Of these, 517 (64.9%) felt that farm ethics had gotten worse. A discriminant analysis employed to offer insight into the extent and nature of group differences produced 22 independent variables along with an adequate increase in classification results above expectations due to chance. These variables reflect a division between the outside business and political world and the concerns of farmers. The responses suggest an appreciation by the respondents of the interdependence of their business actions with their neighbors. The results are also suggestive of both an absolute and a relative ethics component. Further research on the relevance of communitarian ethics is suggested.Allen Rappaport is Professor of Finance at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA. He is a former Managing Editor of the North American Journal of Economics and Finance and current Executive Director of the North American Economics and Finance Association. He has published extensively in Academic Journals.Robert A. Himschoot is currently Real Estate Specialist with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was Instructor in Law, Management Department, at the University of Northern Iowa when this paper was written. He has worked in the mediation of Legal Disputes. He resides in Bethel, Alaska.     

Why do the poor live in cities? The role of public transportation

More than 19 percent of people in American central cities are poor. In suburbs, just 7.5 percent of people live in poverty. The income elasticity of demand for land is too low for urban poverty to come from wealthy individuals' wanting to live where land is cheap (the traditional explanation of urban poverty). A significant income elasticity for land exists only because the rich eschew apartment living, and that elasticity is still too low to explain the poor's urbanization. The urbanization of poverty comes mainly from better access to public transportation in central cities.     

An overview of the securitization of SBA guaranteed loans originated by commercial banks

Securitization involves the repackaging of individual SBA Guaranteed loans made by financial institutions into pools of varying maturities for resale to intermediaries and final investors. Pool volume has been increasing at a rapid rate since the program's inception in 1985. National and regional investment companies, acting as intermediaries, are the major pool buyers. Investors in pools include banks, savings & loans associations, and pension funds. Securitization has resulted in a major secondary market for institutions that make SBA Guaranteed loans. Public policy goals are served by the increase in SBA lending activity that appears related to the securitization process.