Independence in bank governance structure: Empirical evidence of effects on bank risk and performance

We investigate how different governance arrangements affect risk and return in banks. Using a new data set for UK banks over the period 2003–2012, we employ a simultaneous equations framework to control for the reciprocal relationship between risk and return. We show that separation of the roles of CEO and Chairman increases bank risk without causing a concurrent increase in return. We also find that oversight by a Remuneration Committee and Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) lowers the probability of bank failure, indicating that empowering an independent Chairman has different effects from empowering independent NEDs. Overall, our results underline the importance of accounting for the heterogeneity in corporate governance arrangements within banks.     

Objective methods for graphical structural learning

Graphical models are used for expressing conditional independence relationships among variables by the means of graphs, whose structure is typically unknown and must be inferred by the data at hand. We propose a theoretically sound Objective Bayes procedure for graphical model selection. Our method is based on the Expected-Posterior Prior and on the Power-Expected-Posterior Prior. We use as input of the proposed methodology a default improper prior and suggest computationally efficient approximations of Bayes factors and posterior odds. In a variety of simulated scenarios with varying number of nodes and sample sizes, we show that our method is highly competitive with, or better than, current benchmarks. We also discuss an application to protein-signaling data, which wieldy confirms existing results in the scientific literature.     

Nowcasting China’s GDP Using a Bayesian Approach

Real time nowcasting is an assessment of current-quarter GDP from timely released economic and financial series before the GDP figure is disseminated. Providing a reliable current quarter nowcast in real time based on the most recently released economic and financial monthly data is crucial for central banks to make policy decisions and longer-term forecasting exercises. In this study, we use dynamic factor models to bridge monthly information with quarterly GDP and achieve reduction in the dimensionality of the monthly data. We develop a Bayesian approach to provide a way to deal with the unbalanced features of the dataset and to estimate latent common factors. We demonstrate the validity of our approach through simulation studies, and explore the applicability of our approach through an empirical study in nowcasting the China’s GDP using 117 monthly data series of several categories in the Chinese market. The simulation studies and empirical study indicate that our Bayesian approach may be a viable option for nowcasting the China’s GDP.     

The role of banks in the governance of nonfinancial firms: Evidence from Europe

The aim of our research is to investigate the important role of banks in the governance of companies listed in the Euronext 100 index. Primarily, this research seeks to examine the impact of a bank’s presence within a firm, as a creditor or shareholder, on firm performance, as well as the motivations of banks to acquire holdings, and whether the presence of a bank as a shareholder of a firm facilitates its access to bank loans. Empirical analyses are conducted with a sample of 86 nonfinancial institutions listed in the Euronext 100 index over the period 2008–2013 using the three-stage least squares method. The study shows, first, that the presence of a bank within a firm, as a creditor or shareholder, is positively related to firm performance. Moreover, the firm’s performance is an important determinant of the presence of bank shareholding. Finally, the presence of a bank as a shareholder of a firm does not facilitate its access to bank loans.     

亚洲地区股票指数收益率的波动性研究——基于GARCH族模型

为防范股票市场上的不确定性和风险,有效地度量股票指数收益率的波动性显得尤为重要。本文运用GARCH族模型,拟合了股票指数收益率的波动性方程,并实证研究了亚洲地区四个最具代表性国家:日本、中国、印度和韩国的股票指数收益率的波动性。结果表明:亚洲地区股票指数收益率的波动呈现出聚集性和持续性,股票市场存在着冲击的非对称性;中国和印度的股票市场抗风险能力比日本和韩国弱,股票指数收益率的波动性带来的负面影响更大。     

Prospects and problems in modeling group decisions

This paper summarizes some of the major issues related to group decision modeling. We briefly review the existing work on group choice models in marketing and consumer research. We draw some generalizations about which models work well when and use those generalizations to provide guidelines for future research.     

通胀预期与货币需求:实际调整与名义调整机制检验

货币存量调整机制一般可分为两类设定方式:实际调整过程和名义调整过程.在实际调整机制下,预期通胀对货币需求没有独立的影响,而在名义调整机制下,通胀预期自然成为货币需求的一个解释变量.通胀预期在货币需求函数中显著可能并不意味着通胀预期直接影响了货币需求,而是表明了部分调整机制的误设.本文根据预期通胀率在货币需求函数中的显著性,比较了货币持有量名义调整和实际调整机制假说对我国的解释能力,认为名义机制比实际机制更好地描述了中国的经验.我们在一个状态空间中联合估计预期通胀以及货币需求方程,避免了传统"两步法"的不足.     

Stock returns and economic activity: the UK case

This paper investigates the relationships between real stock returns and a number of financial and economic variables for the UK economy for the period 1980 to 1994. We begin by discussing a theoretical model proposed by Balvers et al. and then re-estimate for the UK what may be regarded as an application of that model by Fama applied to the US market. This reproduces Fama's main results. For the UK we than suggest a slightly, different application of the Balvers model, the most important feature of which is the use of expectational macro-economic variables instead of Fama's use of leading values of industrial production. We then go on to investigate the unit root properties of the data and show that much of the data is indeed characterized by the presence of unit root non stationarity In the light of this, we propose an application of the Phillips-Loretan error-correction model and show that this provides a plausible relationship between real stock returns and most of the financial and economic variables.     

Some Reflections on the Spatial Dimensions of Occupational Segregation

This paper considers the role that urban spatial structure may play in the process of occupational segregation, and argues that neoclassical economic models of urban employment and residential location decisions have not considered the relationship between gender-based labor market status and space. The paper provides a critical feminist perspective on how conventional urban models have been used to explain patterns of segregation, and suggests reasons for limitations in existing theoretical and empirical analysis. It also explores ways in which economists can draw on work in other disciplines to develop fuller and more useful models of the relationship between urban spatial structure and occupational segregation.