On exchange-rate movements and gold-price fluctuations: evidence for gold-producing countries from a nonparametric causality-in-quantiles test

The links between exchange-rate movements and gold-price fluctuations have been extensively studied in earlier research using various econometric techniques. Our contribution to this research is that we apply a novel nonparametric causality-in-quantiles test to study the causal links between exchange-rate movements and gold-price fluctuations. We use daily data for the sample period 1994–2015 for major gold-producing countries to illustrate the novel test. We find that, for the majority of countries, gold-price fluctuations help to predict in sample the returns and the volatility of exchange rates. While exchange-rate movements predict in sample gold volatility, they do not predict gold returns.     

Food safety attitudes and practices of chefs in Cappadocia region,Turkey

ABSTRACT

Chefs working at hotels, restaurants, and public institutions play a major role in food safety. The aim of this study is to explore attitudes and practices regarding food safety issues among chefs in the Cappadocia region, Turkey. The data was collected using a convenience sampling method of the non-probability sampling technique. The survey was conducted between the period of September 2018 and November 2018, and 108 chefs working at hotels, restaurants, and public institutions participated. The data were analyzed using frequencies, exploratory factor analysis, independent sample t-test, ANOVA, correlation, and simple linear regression analyses. Most of the chefs (79.6%) had taken a basic food safety training course. The findings reveal that there are statistically significant (p < .05) differences between groups: (a) demographics and attitudes, and (b) demographics and practices. The findings also show that there is a significant (p < .05) and positive correlation (r = 0.48) between the attitudes and practices of chefs. This study posits that food safety trained chefs have higher scores in terms of both attitudes and practices than those who have not received. It is recommended that all chefs should be encouraged to attend food safety training programs. Practical and academic implications are discussed in detail.     

A comparison of five reflective–formative estimation approaches: reconsideration and recommendations for tourism research

Quality & Quantity - In partial least squares structural path modelling, the reflective–formative type of hierarchical component models (HCMs) (also known as Higher-Order Model) have...     

Monday Effect in the RMW and the Short‐Term Reversal Factors

We document that the positive (opposite) Monday or early‐in‐the‐week effect in Fama–French's robust‐minus‐weak (RMW) factor, first reported by Ülkü (2017), is pervasive across international markets, ruling out data‐snooping. As in the United States, the pattern has strengthened over time. Monday effect in RMW is linked to a combination of institutional investor trading pattern and the weekend sound‐mind effect. We devise a test of the external validity of the weekend sound‐mind effect hypothesis: the short‐term reversal factor, which is profitable within its holding period but leads to larger losses subsequently, exhibits a significant negative Monday effect, as predicted by this hypothesis. Mondays buck fads.     

Cardinality-constrained portfolio optimization with short selling and risk-neutral interest rate

Decisions in Economics and Finance - Short selling strategy leads to a portfolio with significantly better risk-return structure compared to the standard approach. Moreover, investors can use...     

Bitcoin—A hype or digital gold? Global evidence

This study explores whether Bitcoin constitutes as a hedging instrument whilst seeking portfolio diversification opportunities among sustainable, conventional and Islamic asset classes since Bitcoin emerges as a distinct alternative investment and asset class across the world. We apply multivariate generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedastic-dynamic conditional correlation and continuous wavelet transforms based on the recent data set ranging from August 18, 2011, to September 10, 2018. First, our findings show that Bitcoin returns are mean-reverting which implies that its value tends to come down to mean value in the long run and not completely crushed to zero irrespective of price changes suggesting Bitcoin as a sustainable asset class. Second, the time-invariant model shows that Bitcoin offers portfolio diversification opportunities with almost all equity indices, in particular, Dow Jones Islamic followed by FTSE 4 Good index. Finally, the time-variant analysis reconfirms that Bitcoin offers portfolio diversification benefits both in the short and long run. These findings carry meaningful policy considerations for fund managers and cross-country investors.     

Long memory,economic policy uncertainty and forecasting US inflation: a Bayesian VARFIMA approach

We compare inflation forecasts of a vector autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average (VARFIMA) model against standard forecasting models. U.S. inflation forecasts improve when controlling for persistence and economic policy uncertainty (EPU). Importantly, the VARFIMA model, comprising of inflation and EPU, outperforms commonly used inflation forecast models.     

Do consumers consider Word of Mouth for crucial life decisions?

This study reexamines the Theory of Reasoned Action in a culture with higher uncertainty avoidance and power distance and analyzes how homophily and the ability (expertise) of word of mouth (WOM) sources impacts on the consumer attitudes and purchase decisions with respect to such high‐risk credence products as college selection. By using an interpretivist approach to model building, the study comprises 41 interviews, finding that WOM made a significant impact on attitudes but not on purchase behaviors. Homophily with friends was regarded as an important factor at the search stage, but strong ties were more important in the purchasing of the product. Expertise and the credibility of the WOM played a significant role in generating trust in WOM, resulting in attitude change, although with a minimal impact on purchase behavior. The article concludes with implications for practice.     

The impact of trade openness on labour force participation rate

In this article, we investigate the impact of trade openness on labour force participation rate. We use tariff rate as the main indicator of trade openness and we employ the number of regional trade agreements and the average tariff rate in the neighbours’ countries as instrumental variables to diminish the endogeneity problem of the tariff rate. We find that trade openness increases the participation rate which is economically and statistically significant. The results show that this correlation is robust under controlling for different variables and using various specifications. We find that 10 percentage point increase in tariff rate lowers the participation rate by 4–6 percentage point and this relationship is more severe in the long run. Finally, we show that changes in labour force population accounts for about 27% of changes in the unemployment rate following a trade liberalization.