Price elasticity and bid-ask price spreads in the treasury bond market

Typical analyses of transactions costs in the bond markets explain these costs in terms of yield, term to maturity, coupons, and issue size. However, these analyses do not recognize the price elasticity of bonds to interest rate movements, which provides better measures of market risk and bid-ask price spreads. Elasticity or duration and issue size together display stronger associations with bid-ask price spreads than do the traditional variables. The association is also less subject to multicollinearity of the independent variables. Finally, stepwise regressions show that coupon and yield data add no information about bid-ask price spreads not already impounded in the duration statistic. This casts doubt on the nonduration arguments often used to support these variables as separately meaningful in transactions cost analyses.     

Parameter nonstationarity in retail choice models

The question of spatial nonstationarity in retail choice models generally has been ignored in the literature. This paper discusses why such nonstationarity might arise and presents an empirical test of nonstationarity in grocery choice data collected from a midwestern city. Based on these findings a nonstationarity retail choice model is proposed. The nonstationary model predicts data from a hold-out sample better than the stationary model.     

Culture and organizational control

The influence of socio-cultural processes on organizational control is explored. The concepts of external and internal control are developed and related to several key dimensions of socio-cultural analysis which vary cross-culturally. Ethnographic evidence is presented to illustrate these different relationships.     

Statistical classification models applied to common stock analysis

The application of statistical classification techniques to various aspects of equity financing and returns performance has been an attractive and fairly prolific area of research in the last 10–15 yrs. The various aspects of equity analysis relevant to classification techniques are more diverse than fixed income analysis and, until recently, presented more interesting empirical as well as theoretical challenges.The purpose of this paper is to review and comment upon numerous classification studies related to several aspects of common stock analysis, and, in so doing, to provide a clear picture of the variety of application areas amenable to statistical classification techniques. These areas include (1) common stock investment categories; (2) price-earnings and return-risk equity classification; (3) information content and return performance; and (4) capital structure questions.     

Experience seeking: A subjectivist perspective of consumption

The present research examines consumer behavior from a subjectivist perspective. In a phenomenological sense consumption consists of the generation of internal thoughts and|or sensations, which constitute the content of experience. The sociopsychological characteristics of consumers who primarily seek cognitive stimulation (cognition seekers), sensory stimulation (sensation seekers), novel stimulation (noveltry seekers), or are seekers of all three forms of experience (experience seekers) are delineated. Preliminary causal rationales for each type of consumption are put forward based on these findings.     

Automatic adjustment clauses and allocative efficiency in public utilities

This paper presents a formal analysis of the efficiency effects of automatic adjustment clauses (AACs) is regulated industries. Using a two-input model of ex ante/ex post input choice and a general putty-clay technology, we analyze the relative extent of allocative distortions due to each of three alternative regulatory policies—periodic rate review with and without an AAC, and an AAC without any rate review—for the case of a regulated firm that chooses an ex post technology to maximize the present value of future profits.Our results indicate that the economic rationale for using AACs in industries already subject to intermittent rate review is not unambiguous, even in the face of severe cost inflation, and is particularly sensitive to the magnitude of the price elasticity of demand for output and the rate and direction of input price changes. We are forced to conclude that the use of AACs in regulated industries such as electric power, while originally justified on the basis of financial viability, may well carry significant economic costs in the form of allocative inefficiency that may outweigh the benefits.     

The entrepreneur: A capable executive and more

In the United States, entrepreneurs have been cussed and discussed, glorified and vilified, declared to be social misfits and bastions of the private enterprise system. Early in the life cycle of an entrepreneur, he or she may have been classified as being “unable to relate to family or peers,” later as “unwilling and unable to submit to or work with authority” to “jungle fighter” to “robber barron” to “philanthropist.” 5A common but incorrect assumption is that if one cannot adjust to the corporate environment, he or she should pursue an entrepreneurial career. Whether or not one can adjust does not preclude the necessity for the development of the skills and techniques required of a competent executive. The authors hypothesize that an entrepreneur must be a capable executive, and in addition, must possess a number of psychological characteristics to a greater or lesser degree than their corporate counterparts.This does not imply that all entrepreneurs are alike any more than all managers or executives are alike. Nor that the presence of a higher or lower level of a psychological trait or characteristic is itself sufficient for success. There are a number of sociological, psychological, demographic, and economic factors that appear to impact on the decision to enter entrepreneurial occupations. Although neither the absolute level of the impact of a psychological trait nor the interrelationship of the combined factors on the final decision-making process are known, research has indicated that significant differences in the intensity level of psychological traits or characteristics exist between entrepreneurs and managers or executives.This article discusses those traits that entrepreneurs exhibit at significantly different levels than do their corporate counterparts; how these factors may influence the decision to enter entrepreneurial occupations: and how these same traits have the propensity, if ignored, to have a negative influence on both the entrepreneur's organization and personal life-style.Entrepreneurs tend to be 1) tolerant of ambiguous situations, 2) prefer autonomy (autonomy may be described as self-reliance, dominance, and independence), 3) resist conformity, 4) be interpersonally aloof yet socially adroit, 5) enjoy risk-taking, 6) adapt readily to change, and 7) have a low need for support. These factors can lead to serious problems in delegation and communication, two factors of paramount importance to a growing concern. They may also cause intense stress or loneliness for the entrepreneur. Fortunately, the traits of willingness to accept change and ability to adapt to it will help the entrepreneur to accept and respond to problems that arise due to poor delegation or communication. Coping methods and a tolerance of ambiguity will assist the entrepreneur in dealing with stress and loneliness. The main problem is to alert the entrepreneur to the potentiality of these problems—which is what this article attempts to do.     

International bank lending: Political risk and portfolio diversification

The extent to which a large U.S. bank, all U.S. banks, and banks in the Group of Ten took account of political risk in their international country exposures in 1976 is tested using a simple portfolio diversification model. Assuming that political risks are important relative to economic risks, and that political risks are uncorrelated across countries, these banks' exposures should be negatively related to political risk indices. However, the portfolios of these banks appear to be related to political risk only insofar as political risk is roughly approximated by GNP per capita. International banks were not yet able to systematically vary their international portfolios with respect to political risk.     

Stability of mutual fund systematic risk statistics

Empirical data for 85 mutual funds are used to test the intertemporal stability of their systematic risk statistics. Reasons why the portfolios may be nonstationary are suggested. A random coefficient model developed by Theil [37] is employed to test for the stability of each fund's beta. The data suggest that some funds do exhibit a beta that is best described as being a random coefficient. However, the percentage of funds exhibiting this characteristic was not statistically different from the percentage of randomly created portfolios that exhibited a random beta coefficient. The findings of this study support the statistical models employed in two other recent studies [18,21] to test for the stability of beta. Yet, for mutual funds that do exhibit a random beta coefficient, the partitioning of the total risk of the portfolio return into systematic and unsystematic risk is no longer valid for explaining the total risk.     

A note on the association between systematic risk and common stock and bond rating classifications

Relative risk classifications for both common stock and bonds are provided by several financial services, based upon their analysis of the financial and operating data of the issuer. Systematic risk, on the other hand, is a quantitative measure of relative risk based upon market-generated data. Using several multivariable statistical techniques and a sample of 443 listed companies, this note provides empirical evidence of the association between 1) systematic risk and common stock rankings, 2) systematic risk and bond ratings, 3) two popular common stock ranking classification systems, and 4) common stock rankings and bond ratings.     

Concept testing

This paper is a review of concept testing based on the published literature and a series of personal interviews with leading practitioners. While there is considerable agreement on the usefulness of concept testing, practitioners disagree on the best way to perform them. In addition to highlighting these disagreements, the paper covers general suggestions for improving concept testing.     

Some factors determining municipal revenue bond interest costs

This paper tests for variations in risk premiums on municipal revenue bonds that are related to the geographic location of the issuer, the issue's second rating, and secondary collateral provisions. The empirical findings indicate that investors required risk premiums that depended on local economic conditions. Issuer borrowing costs were also shown to be related to factors that cause or reinforce segmentation of the tax-exempt bond market.     

The medical expense deduction and income levels: Progressive or regressive?

The medical expense deduction (MED) allows taxpayers to deduct from taxable income a proportion of their out-of-pocket medical insurance and health care expenses. Because the rate of subsidy is equal to the marginal tax rate previous studies have found MED to be a regressive tax mechanism biased toward benefiting higher-income taxpayers. The authors demonstrate, using GINI coefficients, that MED makes the tax structure more progressive than it would otherwise be and increases equality of after-tax incomes.     

Exponents of multiattribute models

The effect of different exponents on the predictive ability of multiattribute models is examined. Survey data on 1202 individuals concerning their preferences for television shows is analyzed. The results indicate that the optimal power is not 1, and that consequently it may be somewhat more advantageous to improve on an already strong attribute than on relatively weak ones.     

Note,advance refunding and municipal bond market efficiency

This study uses the public announcement of an advance refunding to examine the informational efficiency of the secondary market for municipal bonds. The data show that bond yields respond quickly and in the direction predicted. The text discusses methodological considerations and the data sources used in the tests. The results of the study indicate that even for infrequently traded bonds, yields can be expected to reflect fully changes in default risk.     

A new approach for measuring wage ignorance in the labor market

In this article we offer a new econometric approach to the evaluation of information content within labor markets. We define ignorance as the difference between the wage (price) individuals earn (pay) with full information and the wage (price) they actually receive (pay) given their limited information stocks, and we make use of a frontier production function approach to measure ignorance for various markets. Our empirical results are highly consistent with the analytical results in six areas of search theory. Furthermore, our results suggest a new interpretation of the role of unions.     

Product complexity effects on information source preference by retail buyers

This study employed an experimental procedure for examining the effects of product complexity on the importance of various information sources to buyers in retail organizations. In agreement with characteristics of products theories, the results showed that the perceived importance of these information sources was influenced by complexity. Contrary to results of similar studies done in industrial settings, personal selling was not viewed as the most important information source at either of the two levels of product complexity studied. Based on the findings, recommendations for improving marketing theory and practice and for future research on organizational buyer behavior were made.     

The error learning hypothesis: The evidence reexamined

This paper reexamines the error learning hypothesis, taking explicit account of both the measurement error in forward rates and the nonstationary of liquidity premiums. The evidence is consistent with the model, but with lower explanatory power than the previous results of Meiselman (1962) and Van Horne (1965).     

Predictive power of joint space models constructed with composition techniques

A comparison of different methods of building joint spaces indicates significant differences across both product classes and modeling techniques in the ability to predict preferences for validation brands. Perceptual spaces constructed with discriminant analysis combined with vector representations of preference gave the best predictions across the product clases analyzed. Also, segment-specific perceptual spaces did not, in general, improve the predictive ability of the models studied.