Assessing the performance of alternative investments using non-parametric efficiency measurement approaches: Is it convincing?

DEA-based performance assessment in the alternative investment fund industry is often motivated by the fact that DEA is capable of simultaneously handling multiple input (risk) and multiple output (return) measures, thereby still offering a single real number as a performance index without utilizing subjective weights to aggregate these inputs and outputs. This paper aims at investigating whether DEA-based performance indexes previously used to assess alternative investment fund performance are actually able to satisfy these properties, and to contrast the findings using a DEA-based performance index with those using a traditional financial performance index.     

Optimal Tax-Transfer Systems and Redistributive Policy

In this paper we develop "optimal yardsticks" to gauge the effectiveness of given tax and benefit policies in reducing inequality. We show that the conjunction of the optimal tax and optimal benefits policies constitutes the optimal tax-and-benefit policy, given the tax and benefit budget sizes. A decomposition formula enables trends in the inequality impact of taxes and benefits to be explained in terms of changing policy effectivess (targeting) and budget size effects. The analysis incorporates a distributional judgement parameter, for sensitivity analysis, and concludes with an examination of the Finnish case for the period 1971–1990.
JEL Classification : D 63     

Efficiency and Ownership Structure: The Case of Poland

We examine the effects of foreign entry on productive efficiency during the Polish investment liberalisation. The performance of foreign acquisitions is compared to foreign firms entering the market through greenfield entry, as well as domestic acquisitions of privatised firms, domestic greenfields and remaining state‐owned (non‐privatised) firms during the period 1995–2000. We find that foreign privatised firms have realised larger productivity gains than all types of domestic firms and that this is not due to higher price‐cost margins, which is consistent with the idea that foreign firms bring in firm‐specific knowledge. Foreign greenfields have the highest average labour productivity, while foreign privatisations show the largest productivity increase.     

Overtime reductions: Negligible employment effects

Summary Overtime hours were worked in Germany during the period 1990–1997 primarily by well-qualified blue-collar and white-collar workers. In addition, it is evident that overtime is increasingly being compensated by flexible leisure schedules. The scope for potential employment effects from a reduction of paid overtime is thus constantly decreasing and is much lower than the figures cited by unions in the current discussion. If the regulations to make working time more flexible being discussed in the “Alliance for Jobs’ were to be implemented, this would reinforce the observed trend towards compensation for overtime through leisure, further diminishing the potential employment effects. If the bargaining parties or the legislators would implement a reduction of overtime nonetheless, well-qualified blue-collar and white-collar workers in western Germany will suffer income losses.     

Ecomagination — Ein Unternehmen positioniert sich nachhaltig

Zusammenfassung  Nachhaltigkeit hat sich zu einer Art Mantra für das 21. Jahrhundert entwickelt. Damit steigt für Unternehmen der Erkl?rungsbedarf gegenüber der ?ffentlichkeit: Wie nachhaltig ist ihr eigenes wirtschaftliches Handeln? Verantwortungsbewusster Umgang mit natürlichen Ressourcen wird zunehmend zu einer Herausforderung von existenzieller Bedeutung. Unternehmen sollten die eigene Positionierung an diese Entwicklungen anpassen. Ein Beispiel für eine erfolgreiche Nachhaltigkeitspositionierung ist das Umweltengagement von General Electric.     

Understanding Basel II Operational and Strategic Implications

In 2004/05 McKinsey and Company conducted a major international research project to understand the operational and strategic implications of Basel II for credit institutions and capital markets. In this paper, which is a condensed summary of the findings of this effort, Krall foresees a number of interacting developments influencing banks operational and strategic choices as well as the overall level of systemic risk in the global credit markets.     

Redistribution in the age of austerity: evidence from Europe 2006–2013

We examine the relationship between changes in a country’s public sector fiscal position on inequality at the top and bottom of the income distribution during the age of austerity from 2006 to 2013. We use a parametric Lorenz curve model and Gini-like indices of inequality as our measures to assess distributional changes. Based on Statistics of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and IMF data for 12 European countries, we find that more severe adjustments to the cyclically adjusted primary balance (i.e., more austerity) are associated with a more unequal distribution of income driven by rising inequality at the top. The data also weakly suggests a decrease in inequality at the bottom. The distributional impact of austerity measures reflects the reliance on regressive policies and likely produces increased incentives for rent-seeking while reducing incentives for workers to increase productivity.