Spatial Statistics Applied to Commercial Real Estate

Portfolio theory shows that diversification can enhance the risk-return trade-off. This study uses the absolute location of commercial real estate property along with spatial statistics to address the inherent problem of determining geographical diversification based upon a set of economic and property-specific attributes, some of which are unobservable or must be proxied with noise. We find that commercial real estate portfolios exhibit statistically significant spatial correlation at distances ranging from adjacent zip codes to neighboring metropolitan areas. Given the common structure of dependence found in the data series, we discuss feasible strategies for obtaining diversification within direct-investment real estate portfolios.     

一种新的包含可变时间效应的内生时空权重矩阵构建方法

研究目标：引入一种基于年度全局Moran指数比的内生时空权重矩阵构建方法,并评估其合理性。研究方法：基于标准化的空间权重矩阵和以年度全局Moran指数比为基础的时间权重矩阵,经过克罗内克积组合形成内生时空权重矩阵;并以两江新区辐射带动力影响因素分解问题为例,评估了内生时空权重矩阵的引入合理性。研究发现：相对于传统的外生时空权重矩阵而言,内生时空权重矩阵能够模拟空间溢出效应在时间上的动态转移和传导效应,却不会导致模型估计结果变异性质发生明显改变。研究创新：构建了一种新的内生性的、包含可变时间效应的时空权重矩阵。研究价值：为面板数据空间计量模型建模实践构建了一种更为精准的时空权重矩阵设计方式。     

Time Spent on Beneficial Leisure Activities Among Elder Caregivers in Their Third Age

The Third Age is an emerging postretirement life stage characterized by better health and greater independence than previous cohorts have experienced, and recognized as an ideal time for personal growth and leisure. Yet the same demographic force that is partially responsible for this new life stage—population aging—is also driving an increased need for long-term services and supports, and Third Agers often find themselves fulfilling these caregiving roles. Thus, data from the 2013 American Time Use survey were analyzed to assess elder-caregiving-related barriers to leisure among Third Agers. While, caregivers were found to report more total leisure time and social activities, they reported less time on physical activities than noncaregivers. Results were found to differ by weekday or weekend status. Future research needs to consider specific types of leisure time use, as well as timing of leisure activities, to promote quality of life among caregivers in their Third Age.     

The Determinants and Consequences of Information Acquisition via EDGAR

Using a novel data set that tracks all web traffic on the SEC's EDGAR servers from 2008 to 2011, we examine the determinants and capital market consequences of investor information acquisition of SEC filings. The average user employs the database very few times per quarter and most users target specific filing types such as periodic accounting reports; a small subset of users employ EDGAR almost daily and access many filings. EDGAR activity is positively related with corporate events (particularly restatements, earnings announcements, and acquisition announcements), poor stock performance, and the strength of a firm's information environment. EDGAR activity is related to, but distinct from, other proxies of investor interest such as trading volume, business press articles, and Google searches. Finally, information acquisition via EDGAR, both to obtain earnings news and to provide context for it, has a positive influence on market efficiency with respect to earnings news. Overall, our results are important because they provide a unique, user‐based perspective on investor access of mandatory disclosures and its impact on price formation.     

The impact of follower narcissism and LMX perceptions on feeling envied and job performance

Feeling envied is often an unfortunate consequence of excelling at one’s job. Despite much evidence that envied employees are the targets of resentment and hostility, little is known regarding the antecedents and consequences of feeling envied in the workplace. The current study addresses (1) the effect of employee narcissism on feeling envied, (2) the interactive effect of narcissism and leader-member-exchange (LMX) on feeling envied, and (3) the relationship between feeling envied and performance. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 20 locations of a restaurant chain (N = 184) and were supported. Specifically, narcissism positively affects feeling envied, which in turn negatively affects performance. Simple slopes analyses indicate that high narcissism and high LMX result in the highest levels of feeling envied while low narcissism and high LMX result in the lowest levels of feeling envied.     

Exploring the influence of envy on service engagement

Consumer retention is central to service firm objectives and is often the focus of firm initiated activities. However, consumer-driven processes that operate independently of firm initiated activities also influence retention. By understanding the consumption goals of service consumers, management can encourage behavioural engagement with service offerings and improve retention outcomes. Positional services provide opportunities for social status enhancement (e.g. higher education) and attract consumers seeking the positional benefits offered. Service consumers compete for positional benefits and monitor their success relative to other service consumers via positional comparisons. Envy, an emotion with benign and malicious types, is experienced if the positional comparison with another service consumer is unfavourable and influences behavioural engagement. This study proposes and qualitatively tests a conceptual model linking positional comparison and envy to changes in consumers’ behavioural engagement with a service depending on the type of envy experienced. The findings support benign envy as a motivator for increased behavioural engagement with a service. The study also supports the existence of a ‘positional’ service category in which envy is an endemic emotional theme influencing behavioural engagement in these service environments. A two-tiered approach to the management of envy involving positional goal recognition and appraisal based tactics is recommended.     

Producer Willingness to Pay for Precision Application Technology: Implications for Government and the Technology Industry

This paper focuses on the willingness to pay (WTP) for precision application/site-specific management technologies on the part of agricultural producers. We use a contingent valuation survey to elicit WTP for a package of technologies and examine the impact of government subsidies on potential demand. Results suggest that producer WTP is significantly lower than current technology prices, necessitating a 60% government subsidy to induce adoption, on average. Agronomic factors such as soil characteristic variability and soil quality are important determinants of WTP. In addition, how well the technology integrates into current farming practices and equipment also appears important.