Are stock price dynamics affected by financial analysts recommendations? Evidence from Italian green energy stocks

Quality & Quantity - In this paper we analyze whether financial analysts recommendations on trading strategies related to a given stock can influence its price dynamics. The recommendation for...     

The effects of technology shocks on hours and output: a robustness analysis

We analyze the effects of neutral and investment‐specific technology shocks on hours and output. Long cycles in hours are removed in a variety of ways. Hours robustly fall in response to neutral shocks and robustly increase in response to investment‐specific shocks. The percentage of the variance of hours (output) explained by neutral shocks is small (large); the opposite is true for investment‐specific shocks. ‘News shocks’ are uncorrelated with the estimated technology shocks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Food Package Familiarity and Perceived Amount of Verbal Information: The Moderating Effect of Frugal Behavior

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the moderating effect of frugal behavior on the relationship between food package familiarity and the perceived amount of verbal information. Two experiments were conducted on food packaging to analyze two central points: (a) the relationship between food package familiarity and the perceived amount of verbal information and (b) the moderating effect of frugal behavior on this relationship. The studies demonstrate the negative influence of food package familiarity on the perceived amount of verbal information. We demonstrate that the greater (smaller) the familiarity with food packaging is, the smaller (greater) the visual attention to the verbal information will be. Second, we show that frugal behavior moderates this behavior. Our experiment shows that a greater (smaller) tendency toward frugal behavior tends to have a positive (maintain negative) effect on the relationship between food package familiarity and the perceived amount of verbal information.     

Unspoken demands for farm technology

For three years in Bolivia (2002–2005) the INNOVA Project finished researching several technologies for sustainable agriculture, started by earlier DFID-funded projects. Before INNOVA started critics suggested that these technologies should be discarded in favour of a demand survey. Instead, INNOVA kept the existing technologies, but judged the demand for them with several methods (CIAL, sondeo technology fair, and others). INNOVA found that there was demand for some of the technologies, but that a survey would have missed much of the demand, which is implicit. That is, people are not initially aware of all their problems or of all the possible solutions. Over the years, farmers made more specific, sophisticated demands on the technologies, which evolved as a result. Demand and supply of farm technology are like two sides of an unfolding conversation.     

Keynesian theorising during hard times: stock-flow consistent models as an unexplored 'frontier' of Keynesian macroeconomics

This paper argues that the stock-flow consistent approach tomacroeconomic modelling (SFCA) is a natural outcome of the pathtaken by Keynesian macroeconomic thought in the 1960s and 1970s,a theoretical ‘frontier’ that remained largely unexploredwith the end of Keynesian academic hegemony. It does so in twosteps. First, it phrases the representative views of Davidson,Godley, Minsky and Tobin as different ‘closures’of the same (SFC) accounting framework, calling attention totheir similarities and logical implications. Second, it discussesunresolved issues within this approach and how it differs from‘modern’ theorising.     

BI-REGIONAL SAM LINKAGES: A MODIFIED BACKWARD AND FORWARD DISPERSION APPROACH

The aim of the paper is to apply a new backward and forward dispersion approach, starting from the original Rasmussen definition, which can give further insight into the interactions between industries and institutional sectors in a multiregional framework. The method is based on identification of the Macro Multipliers and the related impact components of a model based on a bi-regional SAM, which allows for the representation of the bi-regional multisectoral and multi-industry model in a two-dimensional space defined by the two dominating impact components. From such representation, we derive a set of indices of intraregional and interregional backward and forward dispersion that identifies key groups of industries and institutional sectors. The strength of these groups is further evaluated in terms of correlation of the impact components within the groups and cross-correlation between industry and institutional sectors groups. Comparative analysis among regional results gives a full picture of regional income policies.     

Ethics,ideology and nutrition

What drives nutritionists in their daily work? Why do they choose nutrition and not another field? Presumably it is the appeal of working, either locally or globally, to alleviate the suffering caused by malnutrition. This article explores the political awareness of nutritionists, the political implications of their daily activities and suggests an enhanced role for nutritionists in the battle against malnutrition. The starting point for this article is the motivating principles behind individual nutritionists.     

The evaluation of forest crop damages due to climate change. An application of Dempster–Shafer method

In order to assess damage risk caused by climate change in forest areas, Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence and fuzzy measures were applied to develop a framework for the estimation of economic forest damage. According to the definition of risk supported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a function of hazard and resilience lines of evidence was defined. The results of the hazard and resilience assessment were used to develop an economic framework based on Faustmann studies. The evaluation model, implemented through a spatial analysis procedure, was carried out linking Faustmann formula with hazard and resilience raster maps. The model permitted to estimate in monetary terms two possible costs to be supported: the first one is expressed as the expected damage to the forest crop on the basis of the current obtainable woody assortments and the second one referred to the potential expenses to pay in order to mitigate the risk. Finally, the framework was tested on an area of central Italy (Tuscany region).     

Les producteurs brésiliens et l'instabilité des prix : Différences de comportement entre le Nord et le Sud

Cet article présente une analyse des décisions des agriculteurs brésiliens en situation d'incertitude. Après avoir souligné les problèmes liés au calcul de l'instabilité des prix en série temporelle, une équation d'offere est développée à partir d'un modèle « de sécurité>> selon lequel le producteur est supposé maximiser son profit espéré, sous des contraintes de liquidité et de sécurité. Le modèle est testé sur données de panel, pour trois produits — le coton, le riz et le maïs – de façon à mettre en évidence des différences de comportement vis-à-vis du risque de prix entre les agriculteurs du Nord-Est et du Centre-Sud du Brésil.