Total‐Factor Energy and Emission Efficiencies of ASEAN and Other Asian Economies

This research uses the slack‐based measure data envelopment analysis to compute the energy and emission efficiencies of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other Asian economies during the 2001–2017 period, employs the Malmquist productivity index to check for the main source of efficiency score changes due to technical changes, and then applies panel Tobit regressions to determine the factors explaining the efficiencies. Our empirical results show that the energy efficiency scores of ASEAN economies had been catching up to other Asian economies after the Global Financial Crisis, whereas the emission efficiency scores of various ASEAN economies had been falling behind other Asian economies over the same period. The main source of efficiency score changes over time is efficiency changes and not technical changes. Decreases in the fossil fuel ratio of net electricity generation and the secondary industry ratio within total industry improve both lead to improvements in energy and emission efficiencies.     

Country asymmetry,trade agreements,and transfers

Using a standard 2 × 2 trade agreement model, I show that the welfare effects of a free trade agreement (FTA) depend on the asymmetry on supply and demand functions. When countries are sufficiently asymmetric with respect to the size or the demand functions, the small country tends to be better off, while the large country is worse off. Thus, the small country must compensate the large country for the FTA to be incentive‐compatible. However, in the presence of sufficient asymmetry in the supply functions, the small country is worse off, while the bigger is better off. In this case, the transfer must flow from the large to the small country. This last finding helps explain why some FTAs between rich and poor countries provide for adjustment transfers to the latter.     

Noise Trading and the Management of Operational Risk; Firms,Traders and Irrationality in Financial Markets*

abstract Efficient market models cannot explain the high level of trading in financial markets in terms of asset portfolio adjustment. It is presumed that much of this excessive trading is irrational ‘noise’ trading. A corollary is that there must either be irrational traders in the market or rational traders with irrational aberrations. The paper reviews the various attempts to explain noise trading in the finance literature, concluding that the persistence of irrationality is not well explained. Data from a study of 118 traders in four large investment banks are presented to advance reasons why traders might seek to trade more frequently than financial models predict. The argument is advanced that trades do not simply occur in order to generate profit, but it does not follow that such trading is irrational. Trading may generate information, accelerate learning, create commitments and enhance social capital, all of which sustain traders' long term survival in the market. The paper treats noise trading as a form of operational risk facing firms operating in financial markets and discusses approaches to the management of such risk.     

EXPERIMENTAL AND SELF‐REPORTED MEASURES OF RISK TAKING AND DIGIT RATIO (2D:4D): EVIDENCE FROM A LARGE,SYSTEMATIC STUDY

We systematically investigate the links between the digit ratio (2D:4D)—a biomarker for prenatal testosterone exposure—and two measures of individual risk taking: (i) risk preferences (RP) over lotteries with real monetary incentives and (ii) self‐reported risk attitude (RA). We find that both the right‐hand and the left‐hand digit ratio are significantly associated with RP: Subjects with lower digit ratios tend to choose riskier lotteries. Neither digit ratio, however, is associated with self‐reported RA.     

When innovation in education works: stimulating teachers' innovative work behaviour

The twenty‐first century labour market requires employees that proactively shape innovations and solve complex problems. Professionals in the education sector are expected to perform innovative behaviour that not only entails the generation, but also the realization and sustainable implementation of new ideas. In a sample of 458 employees in Dutch secondary and higher vocational education (abbreviated in Dutch to MBO and HBO, respectively), this study investigated the relation between environmental factors (namely task variety, management support and exposure to innovation) and Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) across the different phases of the innovation process, including a sustainability phase. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that management support and exposure to innovations served as a predictor for all phases of IWB. Teachers with supportive managers and a high degree of exposure to innovations showed higher scores on innovative behaviour across all phases. Linear regressions revealed a significant relationship between task variety and IWB. In the hierarchical model, only management suport and exposure to innovations showed significant relations. Background characteristics, such as gender, age, tenure, number of working hours and type of education, for which we controlled during the analyses, played a role in how much IWB is displayed. It can be concluded that a work environment, in which employees are exposed to innovation and are supported is crucial. Additionally, in view of the role background characteristics play, it is recommended to select teachers with specific profiles for the different phases of the innovation process.     

Consumers' perception of and attitudes towards organic food in Galicia (Northern Spain)

Although the organic sector is still relatively small, the demand for organic food is increasing throughout the world. The characterization of consumers' perception of and attitudes towards organic food is important to enable the development of marketing policies aimed at attracting conventional consumers to the sector. Consumers' behaviour studies must be conducted specifically for different regions and countries as perceptions and attitudes vary across the world. In the present study, a questionnaire was designed for administration to consumers in Galicia (Northern Spain). The questionnaire was administered to 830 consumers in 200 establishments to obtain data about the consumers' perception of and attitudes towards organic food. The survey results showed that one‐third of responders consume organic food and that the typical profile of a consumer of organic food is a middle‐aged, medium‐high class, university‐educated female living in a large village, who shops in supermarkets and preferably consume vegetables, fruits and eggs. Most people who declared that they consume organic products confuse these with home and locally produced food, indicating the potential for growth of the organic sector by providing such consumers with appropriate information. Most consumers (including conventional consumers) have a good opinion of organic food and consider that it is better for health, is of better quality than conventional food and avoid pesticide residues. However, price continues to be a barrier to the consumption of organic produce. Most respondents stated that they would consume more organic food if the price was only between 10% and 30% higher than the conventional equivalent. Finally, organic consumers in Galicia showed positive attitudes towards using local breeds in organic agriculture, both for producing food and for ecotourism and educational activities. Such activities could contribute to conserving breed biodiversity and adding value to organic farming.     

Investment Committee,Corporate Cash Holdings and Corporate Life Cycle

We investigate the association between voluntary formation of board investment committee (IC) and corporate cash holdings of nonfinancial firms over the corporate life cycle stages for a large sample of Gulf Cooperation Council firms during 2005–2016. We find that IC increases corporate cash holdings in growth and maturity stages of firm, compared to introduction, shake‐out, and decline stages. These results have important implications for investors, policy makers, and regulators. Our findings are robust to various econometrics specifications.     

THE PHILLIPS CURVE IN A MATCHING MODEL

Following ideas in Hume, monetary shocks are embedded in the Lagos‐Wright model in a new way: There are only nominal shocks accomplished by individual transfers that are sufficiently noisy so that realizations of those transfers do not permit the agents to deduce much about the aggregate realization. Assuming that the distribution of aggregate shocks is almost degenerate, aggregate output increases with the growth rate of the stock of money—our definition of the Phillips curve. This almost degeneracy assumption is far from being necessary; under some mild conditions, the Phillips curve result holds for a large class of distributions.