Yield curves from different bond data sets

Review of Derivatives Research - It is well known that zero coupon rates are not observable variables. Their estimation process may be cumbersome and time consuming. We explore the extent to which...     

Some properties of the minimum and the maximum of random variables with joint logconcave distributions

It is shown that if (X ₁, X ₂, . . . , X _n ) is a random vector with a logconcave (logconvex) joint reliability function, then X _P = min _i∈P X _i has increasing (decreasing) hazard rate. Analogously, it is shown that if (X ₁, X ₂, . . . , X _n ) has a logconcave (logconvex) joint distribution function, then X ^P  = max _i∈P X _i has decreasing (increasing) reversed hazard rate. If the random vector is absolutely continuous with a logconcave density function, then it has a logconcave reliability and distribution functions and hence we obtain a result given by Hu and Li (Metrika 65:325–330, 2007). It is also shown that if (X ₁, X ₂, . . . , X _n ) has an exchangeable logconcave density function then both X _P and X ^P have increasing likelihood ratio.     

The effects of education on spouses’ satisfaction in Europe

This article identifies the effects of both own and spouses' education levels on individual economic satisfaction for European households. To that end, it estimates several specifications based on the family collective approach, for each of the 14 EU countries, by using the eight waves of the European Community Household Panel, 1994–2001. After demonstrating that the IV Hausman–Taylor procedure is the selected estimation method in the majority of cases, the empirical results show that male and female income satisfaction significantly increases when the husband achieves higher education qualifications in the majority of European countries. However, the positive effect of the wife's higher education on female income satisfaction only appears in a very limited number of countries. Additionally, increases in individual wage and nonwage incomes generally lead to higher satisfaction levels.     

Dynamic discrete choice and dynamic treatment effects

This paper considers semiparametric identification of structural dynamic discrete choice models and models for dynamic treatment effects. Time to treatment and counterfactual outcomes associated with treatment times are jointly analyzed. We examine the implicit assumptions of the dynamic treatment model using the structural model as a benchmark. For the structural model we show the gains from using cross-equation restrictions connecting choices to associated measurements and outcomes. In the dynamic discrete choice model, we identify both subjective and objective outcomes, distinguishing ex post and ex ante outcomes. We show how to identify agent information sets.     

The influence of price and brand loyalty on store brands versus national brands

Abstract

This article investigates how price and brand loyalty of three frequently purchased product categories can influence the purchase decision process of store brands versus national brands. A multinomial logit model was constructed to analyse the data obtained from a consumer panel. The results confirmed that brand loyalty is the main variable which influences the purchase decision process of both national and store brands. The influence of price on the purchase decision process is product specific. There is a clear distinction between the buyer's profile of store brands and national brands. But there is no evidence of any correlation between demographic variables and national brands or store brands.     

Housing deprivation and health status: evidence from Spain

Living in inadequate housing conditions not only supposes a failure of a basic functioning. It also has effects on other essential aspects of well-being such as health. This study questions to what extent living in poor housing conditions can determine individuals’ health status once the possible influence of other factors is controlled for. By estimating a logistic model with individual effects and a housing deprivation index based on a latent variable model, we reach a number of relevant conclusions concerning the relationship between these two different dimensions of multidimensional well-being. We find a negative effect of housing deprivation on the individuals’ health, both when housing conditions are introduced in a disaggregated manner in the model and when they are combined in a latent variable.     

Creative industries and Britpop: the marketisation of culture,politics and national identity

Do contemporary governments adapt to rising social movements or do they actually cause them? This paper endeavours to argue that although it is often difficult to determine the origins of social transformations, there are reasons to believe that there exists not only a co-option but also a conscious shaping of social changes by political projects or governments for their own benefit. Building on other contributions that state that popular culture and youth consumerism are used in favour of nation branding, the present study moves beyond this to analyse the active role that governments play in the marketisation and consumption of culture, thus artificially multiplying the effective impact of some cultural waves that ultimately serve political purposes. In particular, I examine the so-called “Cool Britannia” phenomenon that, founded on the flourishing of new creative industries, with Britpop in the lead, had a significant historic impact in Britain.     

An application of health-portals to improve electronic listening

Electronic listening (eListening) is an innovation that potentially provides patients and other users with the right answer in the right place at the right time. Thus, eListening can potentially improve service flexibility, adaptability and quality. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which new web-based service delivery channels, which we refer to as health-portals (he-portals), facilitate eListening in the Spanish public healthcare sector. In this paper, we investigate the relative importance and significance of hospital size and three different types of information and communications technologies (Internet, groupware and collective systems) on the use of eListening through an empirical investigation of 300 Spanish public he-portals. Our main conclusion is that the implementation of Internet systems alone does not guarantee the development of effective eListening. In addition, we demonstrate that hospital size does not affect the level of eListening achieved by hospitals.     

Environmental Management Systems and Local Community Perceptions: the Case of Petrochemical Complexes Located in Ports

Most oil refineries and factories producing basic chemical products are located in port areas, with the result that industrial complexes potentially have a strong environmental impact on their area of influence. These externalities result in a loss of welfare for citizens residing in neighbouring areas. In a context of sustainable development, companies must integrate concerns about the natural environment in their business strategy. External stakeholders, as residents, find it difficult to visualize the actions firms take to reduce their environmental impact, and the adoption of voluntary certified environmental management systems (EMSs) acts as a signal indicating the adequate environmental behaviour of these companies. These certifications enable companies to achieve the social legitimacy they need for long‐term survival and competitiveness. In the context of a petrochemical industrial complex located in the port of Castellón (Spain), this paper primarily discusses whether such certifications – which act as signals of firms’ desirable environmental conduct – translate into higher trust in firms and lower risk perception by residents. Contrary to what might be expected, despite the widespread use by companies of voluntary and certified EMSs, the research findings confirm a relatively high citizen perception of risk regarding the industrial complex and a low trust in companies. On the other hand, the findings also show a low trust in the public institutions responsible for authorizing and monitoring firms’ activities and for enforcing possible sanctions in non‐compliance cases. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Entrepreneurial capacities as antecedents of business performance in Brazilian firms

We investigate the relationship between entrepreneurial capacities and firm performance. More specifically, we investigate the effects of radical innovation and learning orientation on business performance. We test the effects of entrepreneurial orientation on learning orientation and radical innovation. The results suggest that radical product innovation and companies' orientation to learn have a positive effect on organizational performance. Additionally, we find that entrepreneurial orientation positively influences a firm's capability to learn and innovate. Our findings also show a direct effect of learning orientation on radical innovation, which means that companies with a higher proclivity to learn are more likely to create products and processes, representing a major departure from the state of current knowledge. Copyright © 2014 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.