Exogenous information and input-output updating: An evaluation

Input-output coefficients' intertemporal instability, costs, and time lags involved in the construction of survey-based tables necessitate employment of nonsurvey updating techniques. Analysts, however, may want to include exogenous information in the updating process. The issue, then, is whether this inclusion ameliorates or aggravates the results. This paper attempts to assess the wisdom of incorporating exogenous information into the updating procedure. First, using the naive, RAS, and LaGrangian techniques, the 1966 table of the former Soviet Union was updated to 1972. Next, treating the top 10 percent largest 1972 coefficients as exogenous estimates, the remaining coefficients were updated via the same three methods. Comparison of the results indicates that exogenous determination of the largest coefficients does not change the methods' rankings while yielding substantial improvements in the forecasts. This paper was presented at the Forty-Sixth International Atlantic Economic Conference, Boston, MA, October 8–11, 1998.     

Dynamic lot sizing problem with continuous-time Markovian production cost

This paper develops a polynomial algorithm for obtaining dynamic economic lot sizes in a single product multiperiod production system with the objective of minimizing total production and inventory costs over T periods. It is assumed that production costs are linear, inventory costs are concave, setup costs are zero and backlogging is not permitted in all periods. Moreover, the unit production cost is a stochastic variable, which is evolved according to a continuous-time Markov process over the planning horizon. The model is formulated as a stochastic dynamic programming (DP) optimization with the state variable being unit production cost. Then, it is solved using the backward dynamic programming approach. To justify the application of the proposed model, two practical cases are presented.     

Pricing of time-varying liquidity risk in Finnish stock market: new evidence

Using two recently developed illiquidity measures, we estimate a conditional version of liquidity-adjusted capital asset pricing model (LCAPM), which allows for a time-varying decomposition of the total illiquidity premium into a level component and three risk components. The total estimated annualized illiquidity premium for the Finnish equities during 1997–2015 is 1.13–1.90% depending on the illiquidity measure. Of the three systematic liquidity risk components, risk arising from hedging of wealth shocks is the most important followed by commonality in liquidity risk, whereas flight to liquidity risk is not significantly priced in the Finnish stock market. Our results show that the liquidity risk is time varying, therefore the models estimating the risk-return relationship should address the issue of conditionality.     

Oil booms and inequality in Iran

We study the response of income inequality to positive per capita oil and gas revenue shocks in Iran. Using historical data from 1973 to 2016 and vector autoregression (VAR) as well as vector error correction (VECM) model‐based impulse‐response functions, we find a positive and statistically significant response of income inequality to oil booms. We also explore possible channels through which oil booms may increase inequality, including private sector credit growth, construction investment, international trade (imports) and real economic output. We find that following an oil boom, higher imports, private sector credit growth, and real economic output can explain the increased income gap to a certain degree in Iran's oil‐based economy. Our analysis can help policymakers evaluate and accommodate the possible positive or negative effects of inequality in Iran resulting from the 2016 lifting of the embargo against the country.     

Foreign direct investment and civil violence in Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite the steady growth in foreign direct investment (FDI) flow into Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which is facilitated by the United Nations "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", economic development in SSA countries remains relatively weak, due in part to frequent incidents of civil violence. The critics of FDI inflow into SSA posit that the cross-border capital flow fuels civil conflict and unrest, whilst the proponents maintain that FDI inflow helps developing countries raise their economies. To reconcile these two views, this paper considers the impact of FDI on civil violence in SSA by distinguishing recipient industries of FDI. The results from a new general equilibrium theory suggest that an increase in resource-directed FDI inflow to countries where the resource sector is skilled labour (unskilled labour) intensive reduces (increases, respectively) the risk of violence. Using a panel data consisting of 34 SSA countries for 1972–2013, the dynamic panel estimates provide support for our theoretical findings. In particular, an increase in FDI inflow reduces the risk of civil violence for skilled labour intensive fuel-resource-rich SSA countries. However, the likelihood of violence can increase in FDI inflow for countries that are rich in unskilled labour intensive non-fuel, ore and other mineral resources.     

Too much of a good thing: The interactive effects of cultural values and core job characteristics on hindrance stressors and employee performance outcomes

This study contributes to research on core job characteristics by examining when employees may perceive enriched jobs as a hindrance stressor and in turn may experience lower performance at work. Utilizing time-lagged data collected from a sample of 386 employee–coworker dyads and drawing on cognitive appraisal theory of stress and coping, we explore the mediating role of hindrance stressors on the relationship between core job characteristics and key employee performance outcomes (i.e., creativity, counterproductive work behaviors, in-role performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors) and the moderating roles of cultural values (i.e., power distance and uncertainty avoidance) in influencing this mediation. The results supported the hypotheses, providing evidence that the experience of hindrance stressors mediates the relationship between core job characteristics and job performance outcomes when employees score high on power distance and uncertainty avoidance cultural values, and not when their scores on these cultural values were low. Practical implications and future research are discussed.     

Does takeover competition affect acquisition choices and bidding firm performance? Australian evidence

We examine the influence of takeover competition on three acquisition choices: (i) public versus private target acquisitions; (ii) stock versus cash financed acquisitions; and (iii) related versus unrelated acquisitions. We find strong evidence of acquirers’ preference for public targets, stock swaps and business focus, in the face of takeover competition. Further, we find that the takeover competition has a positive influence on the bid premium paid to acquirer public targets and those financed with stock issues; competitive bids offered to acquire related targets are associated with significantly low bid premiums. In the short-term announcement window, competition-induced bids to acquire public targets and those financed with stock are penalised by the capital market. However, only stock-financed takeovers undertaken in a competitive takeover market show a long-run decline in performance of acquirers.     

Creating advocates: understanding the roles of CSR and firm innovativeness

Although previous studies revealed the positive effect of CSR perceptions on customer behaviour, the relationship between CSR and perceived firm innovativeness (PFI) has been underexplored. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it attempts to propose and validate a model to comprehend the relationship between CSR and PFI. Second, it aims to investigate the mediating role of corporate image stemming from CSR and PFI in order to foster customer advocacy intentions. Data were collected from 360 customers of the retail banking industry in Pakistan, and the results indicate that customers’ CSR perceptions directly and positively influence PFI. Interestingly, corporate image fully mediates the relationship between PFI and advocacy intentions, whereas it plays a partial mediation role in the CSR-advocacy intentions relationship. The findings of this research expand the corpus regarding the roles of CSR and PFI in creating advocacy intentions among customers through the corporate image.

     

Returns to schooling in Kazakhstan

This paper examines rates of return to schooling in Kazakhstan using OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) and instrumental variable (IV) methodologies. We use spouse's education and smoking as instruments. We find that spouse's education is a valid instrument and that conventional OLS estimates that assume the exogenous nature of schooling, and hence do not control for endogeneity bias, may underestimate the true rates of return. The results indicate that the returns to schooling in Kazakhstan have increased with transition. This may reflect the relative scarcities of highly educated people in Kazakhstan with human capital that employers require and, following the market reforms, reward accordingly.