Portfolio analysis of intraday covariance matrix in the Greek equity market

The intraday nonparametric estimation of the variance–covariance matrix adds to the literature in portfolio analysis of the Greek equity market. This paper examines the economic value of various realized volatility and covariance estimators under the strategy of volatility timing. I use three types of portfolios: Global Minimum Variance, Capital Market Line and Capital Market Line with only positive weights. The estimators of volatilities and covariances use 5-min high-frequency intraday data. The dataset concerns the FTSE/ATHEX Large Cap index, FTSE/ATHEX Mid Cap index, and the FTSE/ATHEX Small Cap index of the Greek equity market (Athens Stock Exchange). As far as I know, this is the first work of its kind for the Greek equity market. Results concern not only the comparison of various estimators but also the comparison of different types of portfolios, in the strategy of volatility timing. The economic value of the contemporary non-parametric realized volatility estimators is more significant than this when the covariance is estimated by the daily squared returns. Moreover, the economic value (in b.p.s) of each estimator changes with the volatility timing.     

Efficiency and productivity of the food and beverage listed firms in the pre-recession and recessionary periods in Greece

This study uses data envelopment analysis to examine the liquidity and sales efficiency of the Food and Beverage listed firms in Athens Exchange in the period 2006–2012. The liquidity efficiency of the firms is higher than the sales efficiency but the results indicate that there are not statistical significant differences in the rankings estimated by the two models in each period. The Malmquist Productivity Index reveals that over the period of the study, firms have experienced an annual average increase in productivity of 0.5% (a slight progress). On examining the components of this productivity change, it becomes evident that firms have experienced an annual average of 2% increase in technology combined with a decrease in technical efficiency of –1.5%. The results indicate that 52.4% of the firms experienced productivity gains in the examined period, and this was mainly the result of technological gain rather than efficiency improvement. More than 90% of the firms in the sample shift the efficiency frontier and only 33.3% of the firms are catching up, improving their productivity by reducing inefficiency. Moreover, the empirical study reveals that the overall technical inefficiencies of the firms are primarily caused by pure technical inefficiencies rather than scale inefficiencies.     

The impact of IFRS on accounting quality: Evidence from Greece

This paper examines the impact of IFRS adoption on the quality of accounting information within the Greek accounting setting. Using a sample of 101 firms listed in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) for a period of eight years (2001–2008) we find convincing evidence that the implementation of IFRS contributed to less earnings management, more timely loss recognition and greater value relevance of accounting figures, compared to the local accounting standards. Also, our findings document that audit quality further complements the beneficial impact of IFRS since those companies that are audited by Big-5 audit firms exhibit higher levels of accounting quality. Our findings are robust in regard to different model specifications and after controlling for firm-specific effects like size, risk, profitability and growth opportunities.     

The Formation of a Tourist Destination's Image via Information Sources: the Moderating Effect of Culture

The present study aims to outline the growing importance of culture in the field of tourism. More specifically, it highlights culture as a moderating variable in pre‐visit tourist destination image formation, through the information sources utilized by the tourist in the selection of a holiday destination (that is, travel agencies alone vs. travel agencies together with the Internet). For this purpose primary research used a multicultural sample of 371 tourists from different European countries. The results show that the formation of a destination's pre‐visit image amongst tourists, based on the information sources they use, is moderated by the level of uncertainty‐avoidance of their national cultures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hotelling was Right

This paper proves existence of a subgame perfect equilibrium in Hotelling's original (unidimensional city, linear transportation costs, uniform distribution of the consumers, two firms with identical and constant marginal cost, perfectly inelastic demand) location–price game such that in the location subgame the location choices of the firms are pure and identical. The result can be extended to variations of the original setup (multidimensional city, nonlinear transportation costs, nonuniform distribution of consumers, many firms with identical and constant marginal costs, two or more firms with nonidentical but constant marginal costs).     

Tourism in Greece: Strategic Analysis and Challenges

This paper provides a strategic analysis of the competitiveness of Greek tourism. It illustrates the importance of tourism as an economic activity and analyses the current situation and structural problems of Greece as a destination. Although Greece offers unique nature, culture and heritage, the lack of differentiation of the tourism product as well as competitive disadvantages in marketing and planning cause an over-dependence on intermediaries for the promotion and distribution of the tourism product whilst jeopardising its quality. This affects the profitability and competitiveness of both the destination and its small and medium-sized tourism enterprises. The paper proposes a grand strategy as well as numerous strategic directions, objectives and tasks aiming to demonstrate the way ahead for Greek tourism. Several major opportunities emerge through the Olympic Games in 2004 as well as the major projects currently being undertaken which will enhance the infrastructure of the country. It is argued that a consistent tourism policy based on professional development and implemented through a Master Plan is urgently required. Strategies and methodologies need to be identified, whilst private enterprises need to increase their cooperation locally in order to enhance the quality and competitiveness of the product.     

Q-methodology and tourism research

Tourism research is in the midst of a ‘critical turn’ away from traditional positivist approaches, towards more reflective and critical paths of inquiry. This paper introduces readers to Q-methodology, a method of research that tourism researchers rarely use and that can provide useful information in critical tourism research concerning the exploration and comparison of subjectivity. The paper presents the fundamentals of the approach and provides examples of its application in tourism and other areas that may directly interest tourism researchers. In so doing, the paper encourages and facilitates the use of Q-methodology amongst tourism researchers interested in enhancing the nature and richness of their methodological alternatives for developing tourism knowledge.     

State prices,liquidity, and default

We show, in a monetary exchange economy, that asset prices in a complete markets general equilibrium are a function of the supply of liquidity by the Central Bank, through its effect on default and interest rates. Two agents trade goods and nominal assets to smooth consumption across periods and future states, in the presence of cash-in-advance financing costs that have effects on real allocations. We show that higher spot interest rates reduce trade and as a result increase state prices. Hence, states of nature with higher interest rates are also states of nature with higher risk-neutral probabilities. This result, which cannot be found in a Lucas-type representative agent model, implies that the yield curve is upward sloping in equilibrium, even when short-term interest rates are fairly stable and the variance of the (macroeconomic) stochastic discount factor is 0. The risk-premium in the term structure is, therefore, a monetary-cost risk premium.     

The allocation of volatile aid and economic growth: Theory and evidence

We analyse, both theoretically and empirically, the growth effects associated with two components of volatile foreign financial assistance: ‘directly productive’ (or ‘tied’) aid and ‘pure’ aid. We find that scenarios in which aid can hurt the recipient's growth rate emerge only in cases where foreign aid is volatile. As a result, we conclude that it is only in conjunction with the presence of aid variability that aid allocation determines whether foreign aid hurts or promotes long-run growth.