Are Co-integrated Stock Prices Consistent with the Efficient Market Hypothesis?

This paper responds to the unsatisfactory argument that there is no correspondence between co-integration and the efficient market hypothesis. A law of one co-integrating vector of prices is proposed for the exchange rate and domestic and overseas stock prices. Markets must therefore be efficient in long-run equilibrium because no arbitrage opportunities exist. However, arbitrage activity via the disequilibrium error correction allows above-average (risk-adjusted) returns to be earned in the short run. The elimination of these arbitrage opportunities means that stock market inefficiency in the short run ensures stock market efficiency in the long run.     

Individual and Institutional Concentration of Leisure Research in North America

The purpose of this article is to identify key characteristics of the community of leisure scholars in North America and to use patterns derived from data about publication activity as a platform for discussing the nature and implications of concentration in leisure research at the individual and institutional levels. The study uses cluster analysis to detect patterns of research and publication activity among 1785 people who were associated with leisure research in North America in the 1990s, concentrating on the slightly smaller number of people (1631) whose names were listed as authors on at least one publication in all editions of 6 research journals and 14 conference proceedings from 1990 to 1999 inclusive. The results demonstrate that leisure research in North America is concentrated at both the individual scholar and institutional levels. For example, at the individual level, less than one-fifth of authors accounted for more than two-thirds of journal articles and conference papers. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to issues such as the critical mass of scholars and problems of disciplinary isolation detected by previous researchers.     

Hyperpower Exceptionalism: Globalisation the American Way

We are in a unique position because of our unique assets, because of the character of our people, the strength of our ideals, the might of our military and the enormous economy that supports it. (Vice-President Dick Cheney, addressing the Council on Foreign Relations, February 2002) Today's era is dominated by American power, American culture, the American dollar and the American navy. (Thomas Friedman, 2000) In international affairs the USA displays growing unilateralism. International development policies have been constrained by the Washington consensus. The USA fails to sign on to international greening protocols. Until recently the USA was perennially in arrears in United Nations dues. On several occasions (such as Nicaragua, Panama) the USA has not followed international legal standards and it ignores the International Court if its verdict goes against it. American policies contribute to the enduring stalemate in the Middle East. Take any global problem and the USA is both the major player and the major bottleneck. It is a reasonable question to ask whether this is just a matter of the current US administration or whether more profound dynamics are at work.     

The Unobserved Economy and the UK Laffer Curve

It has been argued that higher tax rates would yield larger tax revenue. From a model of the British Laffer Curve Professors Feige and McGee argue that higher revenue could be derived only at the cost of lower productivity and increased tax rejection.