Empirical study on the determinants of CO2 emissions: evidence from OECD countries

This article empirically investigates the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for CO₂ emissions in the cases of 11 OECD countries by taking into account the role of nuclear energy in electricity production. The autoregressive distributed lag approach to cointegration is employed as the estimation method. Our results indicate that energy consumption has a positive impact on CO₂ emissions in most countries in the study. However, the impact of trade is not statistically significant. The results provide evidence for the role of nuclear power in reducing CO₂ emissions only in some countries. Additionally, although the estimated long-run coefficients of income and its square satisfy the EKC hypothesis in Finland, Japan, Korea and Spain, only Finland's EKC turning point is inside the sample period of the study, providing poor evidence in support of the EKC hypothesis.     

Boundedness of economic variables and Olech's theorem

On the basis of Olech's theorem we derive conditions on which any solution path starting from an arbitrary initial point in a two-dimensional bounded region ultimately converges to a unique equilibrium point without escaping from the region during a transition period. Then, using the result, we render one proposition more exact from the economic point of view.I would like to thank two anonymous referees for valuable comments and advices. Remaining errors are, of course, wholly due to myself.     

Testing for volatility spillover between the British pound and the euro

This paper examines volatility spillover between two nominal U.S. dollar exchange rates: the British pound and the euro. Using the residual cross-correlation approach, we observe that the euro Granger-causes the British pound in variance, whereas the British pound does not Granger-cause the euro in variance. Our findings support unidirectional volatility spillover from the euro to the British pound; thus, the euro volatility has a one-sided impact on the British pound volatility. Moreover, the findings suggest that euro traders succeed in the efficient processing of information derived from the British pound.     

Dissemination of Accruals Information,Role of Semi‐Annual Reporting,and Analysts' Earnings Forecasts: Evidence from Japan

Our study investigates the effects of dissemination of accounting accruals information on stock prices using Japanese annual reports as our sample. We conduct month‐by‐month detailed analyses of price adjustment behavior with a particular focus on revisions of analysts' earnings forecasts and changes in trading volume around the period of upcoming semi‐annual reports. We find that analysts' forecasts are often revised around this time, and analysts use this as auxiliary information. In addition, an accompanying re‐adjustment of abnormal returns and an increase in trading volume are observed. Our findings demonstrate that informational uncertainty initially triggered by the announcement of annual reports decreases as semi‐annual reports are disclosed and analysts change their earnings forecasts, and confirms the importance of semi‐annual reporting.     

Uncertainty and Investment: Some Evidence from the Panel Data of Japanese Manufacturing Firms

We analyse empirically the effect of uncertainty on fixed investment based on a panel data set of Japanese manufacturing firms. The uncertainty measure, represented by the conditional standard deviation of the sales growth rate, is constructed by employing three different statistical models. We also decompose the demand uncertainty into aggregate, industry-wide, and firm-specific forms of uncertainty. We find that uncertainty, in particular aggregate and industry-wide uncertainty, exerts a significantly negative effect on investment irrespective of the statistical methods chosen. We also find that this negative relationship between investment and uncertainty is closely related to the degree of irreversibility of capital.
JEL Classification Number: D92.     

Resale Externality and the Used Housing Market

The selling prices of used houses may not fully reflect the maintenance spending of current owners when prospective buyers are unable to conduct a thorough inspection before purchase. This article investigates how this resale externality problem affects the maintenance expenditures of homeowners. After considering both observable and unobservable repair expenses, the analysis shows that the resale externality reduces not only maintenance expenditures, but also household mobility. A treatment effects model is used to estimate the simultaneous relationship between mobility and maintenance in the Japanese resale housing market. The results indicate that the resale externality has a significant negative impact on maintenance expenditures.