Stochastic dominance relations for integer variables

The objective of this paper is to derive some integer-majorization results for variable-sum comparisons. We use an axiomatic framework to establish equivalence between several intuitively reasonable conditions.     

Gender‐Biased Breastfeeding in Egypt: Examining the Fertility Preference Hypotheses of Jayachandran and Kuziemko (2011)

Jayachandran and Kuziemko (Why do mothers breastfeed girls less than boys? Evidence and implications for child health in India. Quarterly Journal of Economics 2011; 126 (3): 1485–1538) develop and empirically validate a theory showing son preference in India generates ‘passive’ parental bias against girls in breastfeeding due to gender‐differentiated birth spacing and fertility stopping. I scientifically replicate their empirical exercises to test the validity of the theory in Egypt, where there is also high prevailing son preference, but little research on its implications for child health investments. I additionally examine whether using the exclusive breastfeeding rate as an alternative outcome yields supportive evidence for the theory. I find the theory is strongly supported by empirical results from Egyptian data, bolstering its policy relevance for developing countries besides India. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Differential Effects of Online Word-of-Mouth and Critics' Reviews on Pre-release Movie Evaluation

In this paper, we examine the persuasive influences of online user comments (or word-of-mouth) and of the reviews by movie critics on moviegoers' evaluation of to-be-released movies. Two distinctive features of this study are: (1) moviegoers are considered to be heterogeneous in their movie going frequency and (2) word-of-mouth and critical reviews are concurrently available, and the views expressed in the two messages are in conflict. Using three experiments with natural stimuli, we find that the persuasive effect of online word-of-mouth is stronger on infrequent than on frequent moviegoers, especially when it is negative (Study 1). The effect of negative word-of-mouth on infrequent moviegoers is enduring even in the presence of positive reviews by movie critics (Study 2). The relative influence of word-of-mouth and critical reviews are asymmetric with infrequent moviegoers more influenced by word-of-mouth, while frequent moviegoers more influenced by the reviews (Study 3). We validate this source–segment alignment through secondary data analysis.     

Multidimensional Poverty and Material Deprivation with Discrete Data

We propose a characterization of a popular index of multidimensional poverty which, as a special case, generates a measure of material deprivation. This index is the weighted sum of the functioning failures. The important feature of the variables that may be relevant for poverty assessments is that they are discrete in nature. Thus, poverty measures based on continuous variables are not suitable in this setting and the assumption of a discrete domain is mandatory. We apply the measure to European Union member states where the concept of material deprivation was initiated and illustrate how its recommendations differ from those obtained from poverty measures based exclusively on income considerations.     

How significant is the alleged unfair advantage enjoyed by state-owned banks in Germany?

The European Commission argues that the state-owned banks inGermany enjoy an unfair advantage over the private sector banksin the cost of borrowing funds in the financial markets becauseof state guarantees that public sector banks are perceived toenjoy. This note demonstrates that the blame for the comparativelypoor profitability of private sector banks in Germany cannotbe laid at the door of the relatively cheaper funds that thepublic sector banks can raise in the wholesale markets.     

A Multistage Model of Loans and the Role of Relationships

We develop a multistage model of the loan granting process to understand the contradictory findings of the existing literature on bank‐borrower relationships, credit availability, and loan rates. Upon estimating our model with the 1993, 1998, and 2003 versions of the Survey of Small Business Finances data set, we find that relationships matter in a borrower's decision whether to apply for a loan and in the loan approval/rejection decision by the financial institution. However, the effect of relationships on loan rates depends on the prevailing economic climate. While firms with preexisting relationships obtain credit at lower rates during periods of economic expansion, loan rates are not negatively correlated with preexisting relationships during periods of economic recession.     

Informed Trading in Stock and Option Markets

We investigate the contribution of option markets to price discovery, using a modification of Hasbrouck's (1995) "information share" approach. Based on five years of stock and options data for 60 firms, we estimate the option market's contribution to price discovery to be about 17% on average. Option market price discovery is related to trading volume and spreads in both markets, and stock volatility. Price discovery across option strike prices is related to leverage, trading volume, and spreads. Our results are consistent with theoretical arguments that informed investors trade in both stock and option markets, suggesting an important informational role for options.     

An experimental investigation of entry cost effects in sealed-bid dollar auctions

We experimentally study the effect of entry costs on bidding and entry behavior in common value auctions. We find, with entry costs, players bid lower in first price and higher in second price auctions, compared to no entry fee auctions.