On the implied market price of risk under the stochastic numéraire

This papers addresses the stock option pricing problem in a continuous time market model where there are two stochastic tradable assets, and one of them is selected as a numéraire. An equivalent martingale measure is not unique for this market, and there are non-replicable claims. Some rational choices of the equivalent martingale measures are suggested and discussed, including implied measures calculated from bond prices constructed as a risk-free investment with deterministic payoff at the terminal time. This leads to possibility to infer a implied market price of risk process from observed historical bond prices.     

Procurement of logistics services and sustainable development in Europe: Fields of activity and empirical results

This paper strives to answer the general question; how far purchasers of logistics services take into account aspects of sustainable development. Modeled on the German Sustainable Development Strategy, which is based on the EU Sustainable Development plan, five fields of activity are defined: the reduction of transport intensity and emission, the reduction of land use, the choice of carrier under consideration of sustainable aspects, the permanent improvement of working conditions, and the enhancement of qualified employment. Then, propositions for purchasing companies of logistics services are developed, which contribute to safeguard ecological as well as social sustainability. In order to conduct an explorative study, a questionnaire was sent to 750 purchase and logistics managers. It was found that purchasing companies place high value on ecological and social aspects. But the perceived importance is not associated with purchasing companies' own contributions to logistics service providers' sustainable activities. Additionally, it was seen that purchasing companies exert only a minor influence on logistics service providers regarding ecologically and socially sustainable actions. A fundamental precondition for a sustainably oriented procurement of logistics services can be seen in the purchasing companies' awareness of the need for integrating sustainable aspects in economic decisions.     

Monotone comparative statics: changes in preferences versus changes in the feasible set

Let a preference ordering on a lattice be perturbed. As is well known, single crossing conditions are necessary and sufficient for a monotone reaction of the set of optimal choices from every chain. Actually, there are several interpretations of monotonicity and several corresponding single crossing conditions. We describe restrictions on the preferences that ensure a monotone reaction of the set of optimal choices from every sublattice whenever a perturbation of preferences satisfies the corresponding single crossing condition. Quasisupermodularity is necessary if we want monotonicity in every conceivable sense; otherwise, weaker conditions will do.     

Voting patterns of big eight representatives in setting accounting and auditing standards

The “Big Eight” accounting firms are alleged to dominate the setting of accounting and auditing standards. This paper identifies the recent criticisms and reviews the standard setting procedures of the APB, FASB, and the ASB. The results of five empirical studies designed to investigate the alleged domination issue are summarized. The conclusion drawn is that there is no empirical evidence to indicate that the Big Eight collectively govern the accounting and auditing standard-setting process.     

Misjudging the character of the welfare state: Hayek,generality, and the knowledge problem

What are the limits of collective action? As James Buchanan famously worried, is it possible to empower the productive state without lapsing into the predatory state? This paper uses insights from F.A. Hayek to address problems of public goods and the role of the state. Hayek convincingly argued that no central planner has sufficient knowledge to run an economy. Yet Hayek also allowed for state provision of some goods beyond the prevention of coercion. The question, then, is whether Hayek’s safeguards offer a satisfactory response to Buchanan’s worry. This paper contends that Hayek violated his own conditions for permissible government activity. Nevertheless, he offers a serious research agenda for limiting state abuses.     

Innovations in the Baltic Rim Region until 2025: Challenges and Prospects

This article examines the role of different actors (European Union [EU] structures, governmental institutions of the member-states, and regional companies with global outreach) in development of the innovation strategy in the Baltic Sea Rim. We identify three sub-regions, which are now in the stage of gradual convergence (“old” and “new” member-states of the EU as well as Russia), and focus on the main challenge to the region today, which is the ability of its countries to secure and strengthen the liberal nature of their socioeconomic systems. This research is based on the findings of the studies undertaken by authors as well as on our personal experience in the development of the Russian innovative ecosystem. It concludes that to avoid technological lagging behind other regions, governments of the Baltic Sea countries should complement the EU policies by implementing a set of proactive measures aimed at promotion of national innovations and intraregional cooperation.     

On the generic finiteness of equilibrium outcome distributions in bimatrix game forms

We provide an example of an outcome game form with two players for which there is an open set of utilities for both players such that, in each of the associated games, the set of Nash equilibria induces a continuum of outcome distributions.     

Children between the age of 5 and 11: what “don’t know” answers tell us

Children are increasingly seen as competent informants on their activities, views and needs. Different abilities of children can lead to inadequate (formally or regarding the content) answers or to the misunderstanding of proceedings during an interview process. One inadequate or at least unintended (on the part of the researcher) response is a “don’t know” answer (DK). To study when and why DK answers occur, a possible cause for them in the cognitive process and their relation to age, we analysed the DK answers given in qualitative semi-structured interviews with children aged 5–11, conducted face-to-face and on the telephone. Each of 56 children was interviewed twice, once face-to-face and once via telephone. The results show that age had an effect on DK responses due to the cognitive state of the respondent and their communicative intent, but there was no difference in the number of DKs due to problems with the research instrument or due to an adequacy judgement in respect of respondent age.     

Wege zwischen beruflicher und hochschulischer Bildung in den deutschsprachigen Ländern

Der neue europ?ische Regulierungsrahmen für Telekommunikation, der bis Mitte 2011 in deutsches Recht umgesetzt werden muss, bietet M?glichkeiten zur Neuausrichtung der Regulierungsziele. Die Autoren diskutieren in diesem Beitrag die M?glichkeiten und potentiellen Probleme der vorgeschlagenen Instrumente sowie weiterer politischer Initiativen der Bundesregierung und der Europ?ischen Kommission in Hinblick auf die ambitionierten Ziele einer fl?chendeckenden Versorgung mit schnellen Internetzug?ngen.