On military RDT&E in Israel

Military research, development, testing and evaluation in Israel are described in historical perspective prior to the 1973 war. Emphasis is given to the advantages of short, informal lines of communication, flexibility in the process of weapons development and to the immediacy of perceived military threat as possible reasons for success of weapons developed by or weapons technologies adapted by Israel. Relatively small size of the nation and the military organization are also seen to be advantages for effective development or adoption of military technology.     

Twenty-seventh international atlantic economic conference March 18–24, 1989 Barcelona,Spain

Twenty-seventh international atlantic economic conference March 18–24, 1989 Barcelona, Spain     

A new perspective on performance persistence: evidence using portfolio holdings

We investigate the existence and sources of performance persistence for Australian equity funds, using monthly portfolio holdings data. We find significant persistence among outperforming rather than underperforming funds, which is primarily related to security selection skill, and is associated with growth‐orientated funds. Meanwhile, the relation between persistence and momentum is secondary and nuanced. Further, persistence largely derives from existing holdings, while subsequent active trading contributes only moderately positive returns for both outperforming and underperforming funds. We also find that persistence fades beyond 6 months and vanishes after 24 months. Our findings differ from those for U.S. equity funds and previous Australian studies, implying that persistence may vary with market context and its identification may depend on data availability.