The timing of residential land development: A general equilibrium approach

A formal model of the development process is constructed in order to arrive at a better understanding of the land development process, the change in land prices over time, and the effects of public policy on these variables. The relationship between the rate of interest and the rate of price appreciation on land is shown to depend upon development costs, agricultural opportunity costs, market structure, and the level of Ricardian rents on land. The effects of a land tax and a capital gains tax on the rate of development are also analyzed.     

Shareholder wealth,information signaling and the specially designated dividend: An empirical study

This paper examines common stock returns and dividend and earnings patterns surrounding specially designated dividends labeled by management as ‘extra’, ‘special’ or ‘year-end’ and compares them to those surrounding regular (unlabeled) dividend increases. The results support the notion that management uses the labeling of dividend increases to convey information to the market about the future potential of the firm. Unlabeled increases appear to contain the most positive information. Contrary to the sometimes suggested view, specially designated dividends appear to convey positive information about future dividends and earnings beyond that relating to the current period.     

Telecommunications planning and the power of expertise

The article points out the often neglected political importance of telecommunications planning experts. It does so by first locating policy planning in the larger socletal phenomenon of technocracy. Next discussed is the relationship of policy planners to political power. Finally the article examines some instances of national telecommunications planning, in particular the USA.     

PRICING FAST-PAY MORTGAGES: SOME SIMULATION RESULTS

The mortgage market has undergone rapid change in recent years, particularly in the introduction of alternative mortgage instruments. This paper explores one such instrument, the fast-pay (early equity) mortgage. Specifically, in this paper the focus is on how this type of mortgage would be priced relative to the standard conventional mortgage using historical yield data.     

Political foundations of the resource curse

In this paper we argue that the political incentives that resource endowments generate are the key to understanding whether or not they are a curse. We show: (1) politicians tend to over-extract natural resources relative to the efficient extraction path because they discount the future too much, and (2) resource booms improve the efficiency of the extraction path. However, (3) resource booms, by raising the value of being in power and by providing politicians with more resources which they can use to influence the outcome of elections, increase resource misallocation in the rest of the economy. (4) The overall impact of resource booms on the economy depends critically on institutions since these determine the extent to which political incentives map into policy outcomes. Countries with institutions that promote accountability and state competence will tend to benefit from resource booms since these institutions ameliorate the perverse political incentives that such booms create. Countries without such institutions however may suffer from a resource curse.     

The Strategic Management of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Developing a Resource-based Perspective

There is a growing recognition within resource-based theory that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can play an important role as a means of transferring otherwise non-marketable resources and capabilities. However, this resource-based view has yet to consider in detail the management process issues involved. This paper looks at three cases from the pharmaceutical industry and seeks to begin the development of a resource-based perspective on the management of M&A.