A Vector Error Correction Model for Japanese Real Exports

Atlantic Economic Journal - Japanese exports did not immediately react to the depreciations of the yen after a change in the economic policy framework in 2012, with the launching of Abenomics. This...     

Does the Reserve Bank of Australia follow a forward-looking nonlinear monetary policy rule?

ABSTRACT

The conventional monetary policy rule describes a simple linear relationship between the domestic interest rate, inflation rate and output gap. An important extension to this rule is to incorporate the forward-looking behaviour of central banks, where it is assumed that they target an expected level of inflation instead of its current realised value. Using quarterly observations for the period 1993:1-2018:2, this paper investigates whether the conduct of monetary policy in Australia can be described by a forward-looking linear monetary policy rule, or by a nonlinear forward-looking monetary policy rule. In particular, the nonlinear forward-looking monetary policy rule is analysed in a regime-switching framework using a smooth logistic transition regression model. While the results show that the conventional forward-looking linear monetary policy rule describes the application of monetary policy in Australia reasonably well, the interest rate setting behaviour of the RBA is best described by a nonlinear forward-looking monetary policy rule.     

Tracking the U.S. health sector: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Business Economics - Health spending has grown faster than the U.S. economy for decades and currently represents approximately 18% of gross domestic product. As with other sectors of the economy,...     

Acquisition of Additional Equity Capital by Small Firms – Findings from the National Survey of Small Business Finances

While the importance of venture capital to the growth of small firms has been widely discussed during the past decade, little is known about the acquisition of additional equity capital, especially internal equity capital, by the majority of small firms in the U.S. This paper utilizes the information collected in the Federal Reserve Board’s 1993 and 1998 Small Business Finance Surveys to investigate the acquisition of additional equity capital by small firms. While the importance of public issue markets and venture capital investment in promoting the growth of small dynamic firms cannot be denied, the importance of external equity capital seems to be overstated. Only a very small number of small firms acquired additional external equity capital. It is the internal equity capital, not external, equity, that is one of the major financing sources for most small firms. We found that younger, lower quality firms were more likely to acquire additional internal equity capital than other firms. There appeared to be a “pecking order” of borrowing from internal sources to traditional lenders to non-traditional lenders. In addition, internal equity capital and debt acquired from traditional and non-traditional lenders appeared to be complementary financial resources.     

The Intersection of Law and Ethics – at 600 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA: Is it Ethical to Assert a Legal Technicality to Avoid Liability for a Debt Created by Fraud?

A considerable literature exists regard-ing the moral obligation to keep one's promises. Several authors have focused on the exceptional circumstances which may or should excuse this moral duty. Less frequently discussed is the question of how this general moral obligation and its possible exceptions play out in the context of negotiable written promises to pay money, i.e., so-called "commercial paper."This paper focuses on the application of the legal rules governing commercial paper, and on the ethical implications involved in the application of those rules. More specifically, it asks whether the assertion of the technical doctrine known as "holder in due course," and the denial of that status in some cases, promotes ethical behavior in the marketplace. By examining the circumstances of one case, involving a substantial investment and a large bank, I hope to shed some light on how the legal and ethical rules do in fact "intersect."     

An evaluation of ecotourism in Amazonas, Brazil

Registered “ecotour” lodges were studied using observation and interviews with visitors, employees, and local people. Findings were evaluated using proposed ecotourism principles. Besides providing employment, lodges improve access, stimulate new services (health utilities, etc.), and make valued but limited local purchases. In other ways, lodges fall short of the ideals inherent in the principles. They contribute little to conservation education, resource protection, or the involvement and empowerment of local people. Tourists wish to see and would support conservation and community development programs both financially and via their future selection of ecotour operators. Numerous implications for concessions, protected area management, and rural development in Amazonas are discussed.     

Deception in Computer-Mediated Communication

An integrated model of interpersonal deception, focusing on the particular characteristics and impacts of computer-mediated modalities, is derived and presented. Although there is a wealth of research investigating both mediated communication and deception, there has been relatively little empirical work at the intersection. Our purpose is to provide a model that spans these areas, to summarize relevant literature, and to advance a set of empirically testable propositions to guide future work.