Macroeconomic and bank-specific determinants of non-performing loans: the case of baltic states

Empirica - This study examines selected macroeconomic and bank-specific determinants of non-performing loans (NPLR) for a panel of 21commercial banks from the Baltics States (Estonia, Latvia and...     

A comparative analysis of perception of dividends by financial managers

This paper is a report about the perception of dividends by Chief financial officers (CFOs). The research encompasses five countries, on three continents, and covers three types of economies. Our cross-sectional study is concerned with both inter- and intra-societal differences that may or may not exist regarding the perception of dividends by those who are in charge of making such decisions in the firm. Using a survey instrument, we find that both similarities and dissimilarities exist inter- and intra-culturally. Perhaps the most important conclusion we reach is that dividend research must take a different track than it has been following so far.     

Financial development and the evolution of property rights and legal institutions

Using a panel of 129 countries over the period from 1965 to 2008, we examine the role of financial development in the evolution of property rights and legal institutions. We postulate that changes in the level of financial development change the costs and benefits of, and the demand for property rights institutions. We predict, and find, a positive causal relationship between the level of financial development and the subsequent quality of property rights institutions, even after we control for country level heterogeneity and reverse causality. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that this relationship is especially strong in emerging market countries.     

Impact of Modeling Approaches on Dispatch Optimization of Combined Cycle Gas Turbines

Due to the age structure of the German generation system and the nuclear phase out, a significant amount of older power plants will be substituted during the coming years by newly built generation units. Such projects are frequently realized as combined gas and steam turbines, so-called Combined Cycle Power Plants or Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT). These power plants, mostly fired by natural gas, possess high efficiency factors combined with low specific CO₂-emissions compared to other conventional power plants, e.g. fired by coal and moreover provide a high operational flexibility. As they represent a combination of several thermal processes, their generation planning and optimized dispatch are more demanding than those of existing steam or gas turbines. Therefore, a new formulation of the unit commitment problem is required, including all relevant technical and economic restrictions for scheduling CCGT. In this paper, the relevant characteristics of the different types of CCGT are analyzed. This especially includes part load efficiency and the permitted modes of operation. For modeling of these characteristics and for optimizing the CCGT dispatch, a decomposition approach as well as a linearized closed-loop formulation is introduced. In the decomposition the optimization problem is split into sub problems, which can be solved with specialized algorithms. As the recombination of these sub problems may result in a limitation of the overall solution quality, the closed-loop approach considers the entire problem, but has to linearize the formulation to ensure solvability. By applying both methods on an exemplary case the advantages and shortcomings of both approaches can be analyzed in detail. This comprises model accuracy, overall solution quality and a detailed schedule analysis and comparison. The paper??s results will also show the deviations caused by the different modeling approaches. Finally, the results show the added value of the adequate modeling of combined cycle power plants towards gas or steam turbines.     

The state and evolution of information systems research in canada: a scientometric analysis

This paper investigates the state and evolution of information systems (IS) research in Canada as reflected in publications of the proceedings of the annual conference of the Administrative Sciences Association of Canada from 1974 to 2007. We present a scientometric analysis of (a) individual and institutional research outputs; (b) differences in three productivity score calculation methods: straight count, equal credit, and author position; (c) study topics; (d) research methods; and (e) use of student samples. Copyright © 2008 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stock Market Development and Long-Run Growth

Is the financial system important for economic growth? One lineof research argues that it is not; another line stresses theimportance of the financial system in mobilizing savings, allocatingcapital, exerting corporate control, and easing risk management.Moreover, some theories provide a conceptual basis for the beliefthat larger, more efficient stock markets boost economic growth.This article examines whether there is a strong empirical associationbetween stock market development and long-run economic growth.Cross-country growth regressions suggest that the predeterminedcomponent of stock market development is positively and robustlyassociated with long-run economic growth.     

Policies to change the priority of claimants: The case of depositor preference laws

Depositor preference laws have been proposed to reduce the cost of bank failures to the deposit insurance agencies. This article shows how depositor preference rules change the payoff functions for bank creditors, including the deposit insurer, depositors, and nondepositor claimants. The adoption of depositor preference laws would appear to make nondepositors worse off, but they can improve their standing by collateralizing their claims. If a large enough proportion of nondepositor claims becomes collateralized, depositor preference could increase the cost of bank failure to the deposit insurance agency. Empirical analysis indicates that depositor preference will induce a substantial increase in collateralization, eliminating a significant share of the savings envisioned for the deposit insurer. Depositor preference will also reduce interest rates on uninsured deposits.     

Models for quality analysis of services in the local public administration

The quality of services in the local public administration in Romania is a subject of high actuality in the context of the ever changing modern society, of making activities more efficient, aligning them to the international standards of democracy foundation in Romania (Androniceanu , in Nout??i în managementul public, 1992; Baltador, in Managementul capacit??ii admininistrative în administra?ia public? local?, 2005; Comsa, in M?surarea performan?ei municipiilor re?edin?? de jude? din România în furnizarea serviciilor publice locale în perioada 2003–2005, 2006; Raboca, in M?surarea satisfac?iei clien?ilor serviciilor publice, 2008). The mathematical modelling can be used successfully in this field too, at least through the quantifications that can be done with the help of the aggregated indicators. The scope of the article is to identify, describe and evaluate the services quality indicators in the local public administration and mathematical models in a society based on optimal communication of institutions with the citizens and to propose solutions in order to prevent and limit deficiencies in this communication. The research models were: the management theory, mathematical modelling and simulation. The results are made out of two global indicators for the quantification of the services quality in the local public administration, from justifying their composition by using the multi-criteria optimization and the simulation example in the SPSS16 software, for the statistical analysis of the defined indicators. The two types of global indicators that are proposed for quantifying the quality of the services in the local public administration can be used for both precise analysis, as well as estimations regarding the evolution of the quality level within the mentioned services or for establishing conclusions and measure plans regarding improving the quality of services in the local public administration. The scientific foundation of quality and quality management in the field of services in the local public administration together with an application of a study represent another part of this scientific paper. Using the group of quality indicators and the SWOT analysis previously proposed, by dividing this group into sub-groups corresponding to the four components of the Deming cycle, it was created and proposed a mathematical programming solution, which offers an optimal solution for the evaluation and improvement of services in the local public administration.     

Investor Protection and the Role of Firm‐Level Financial Transparency in Attracting Foreign Investment

We ask if companies can attract foreign equity capital by improving the transparency of their financial statements. Using a large panel of firms across 51 countries outside the United States, we show that the answer is yes, but only in countries with relatively high levels of investor protection. In countries with poor investor protection, unilaterally increasing firm‐level transparency has no effect on foreign ownership. Furthermore, our results indicate that in countries with higher levels of investor protection, the positive association between transparency and foreign ownership is stronger following a country's adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards.