Does competition influence bank failures?

There has been a notable debate in the banking literature on the impact of bank competition on financial stability. The aim of this article is to provide the first investigation of the role of bank competition on the occurrence of bank failures. We analyse this issue on a large sample of Russian banks for the period 2001–2007, as the Russian banking industry is a unique example of an emerging market which has undergone a large number of bank failures during the last decade. Our findings support the view that tighter bank competition enhances the occurrence of bank failures. Thus, measures that increase bank competition could undermine financial stability.     

结缘菩提妙相 收藏般若光辉

引言:召唤内在心灵的艺术品,和只用于陈设和单纯把玩的艺术品不一样。佛教艺术品承载了超越人的形而上的精神内涵,除此之外如果它又是一件很好的艺术品,那么它的价值一定会越来越被广泛地获得认可。     

Natural estimation of variances in a general finite discrete spectrum linear regression model

The method of “natural” estimation of variances in a general (orthogonal or nonorthogonal) finite discrete spectrum linear regression model of time series is suggested. Using geometrical language of the theory of projectors a form and properties of the estimators are investigated. Obtained results show that in describing the first and second moment properties of the new estimators the central role plays a matrix known in linear algebra as the Schur complement. Illustrative examples with particular regressors demonstrate direct applications of the results.     

Zum Problem des „neutralen“ Geldes

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Variable neighborhood search heuristic for nonconvex portfolio optimization

Abstract

In this article we consider a portfolio optimization problem under multiple real-world constraints, such as: cardinality constraints, tracking error, active share, and turnover. We propose a heuristic based on variable neighborhood search (VNS) that effectively addresses additional constraints that introduce non-convexities. In the VNS-based heuristic, several neighborhood structures are introduced and fast local search is implemented. We develop a VNS portfolio rebalancing framework (VNS-PRF) with two rebalance strategies. Data sets provided by a financial investment firm are used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the proposed VNS-PRF. Computational experiments and different portfolio performance measures indicate that our approach is able to obtain solutions with competitive quality and can be applied on large-scale data sets.     

Two Approaches to Business Ethics

Following an historical survey of ethical perspectives, the author focuses on an emerging "market ethics" dictating economic, cultural and legal principles and practices. He is especially concerned with the subsequent loss of human and social capital, and suggests the need for reviving those vital ethical considerations, especially during this time of transition for The Czech Republic and other Eastern European nations.     

Mobile Dwelling Unit Developed by a Group of Mechanical Engineering Design Students

The increasing number of homeless people is one of the most burning problems of nowadays world. Society has to find the way to fight against it and provide help to those people that have no place to stay. For short-term interventions, the application of the mobile dwelling units seems to be the only possible solution. However, existing mobile dwelling units are rather limited to specific areas of application. A group of students faced this problem and decided to develop an alternative, more universal mobile dwelling unit that will fulfil a wide range of different technical and social requirements at a reasonable price. The paper describes a systematic approach to development of the mobile dwelling unit, which was performed as a part of the education process at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor. The project presented is interdisciplinary. In addition to the educational aspect that is emphasized in this paper, technical, economic and social aspects of the project have also a very important role. From educational point of view, the project was concluded successfully. Moreover, we believe our proposal for a mobile dwelling unit is both novel and suitable for general application. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transition to a market type economy: The case of Czechoslovakia

Conclusion The privatisation and liberalisation steps referred to are an expression of the endeavour to accompany stabilisation efforts as quickly as feasible with the institutional and systemic changes as well as with policies for restructuring, to change the behaviour patterns of economics agents. Until this change takes place, the more effective the restrictive policies are in the financial sphere, the higher the costs incurred in the real sphere will tend to be.The achievement of the desirable trade-offs between the conflicting aims of the macroeconomic development is thus linked with the degree of success in the changes of behaviour of economic agents. The macroeconomic stabilisation will therefore in the longer run depend on the extent to which the regime actually changes, on the positive destabilisation of economic agents and on the progress in their restructuring.In Czechoslovakia there does not therefore seem to be as clear-cut a distinction, as in other reforming countries, between the phases of stabilisation policies, institutional and systemic changes and those of the restructuring policies.The measures to transform the Czechoslovak economy and the implementation of these measures represent an attempt to proceed on a wider front, to take coordinated steps in all the relevant spheres, implying a greater degree of simultaneity. This is a reflection of the strategy chosen which aims at a qualitative change to be accomplished rapidly, taking into account the fact that the individual steps in the various spheres of the transition process are closely interconnected. The approach followed could thus be considered a strategy to introduce groups of complementary policy measures, that is to say, to make several reform packages and to implement them sequentially.     

Web-hosting market development status and its value as an indicator of a country's e-readiness

A country's e-readiness is essentially a measure of its business environment, a collection of factors that indicate how amenable a market is to Internet-based opportunities. An e-readiness assessment is based on several quantitative criteria, and among them the ICT market development indicators are considered as the most influential. Studies in the past have shown that the well-known indicators used for assessing the level of ICT market development in countries with emerging economy are not directly applicable. This paper provides another insight into the level of ICT market development in an emerging economy by analysing the adoption of web-hosting services in the country's business sector. The potential of such assessment to be as an indicator of the level of ICT development in a country is analysed. The underlying study of the web-hosting development was carried out as part of the European project WEBHOSTS. The approach applied and the findings were intended to be used as a decision support in locating and managing some of the risks in e-business development and potential investment by new entrants in a region that is accessing the developed part of Europe.     

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