Nonparametric Tests for Positive Quadrant Dependence

We consider distributional free inference to test for positivequadrant dependence, that is, for the probability that two variablesare simultaneously small (or large) being at least as greatas it would be were they dependent. Tests for its generalizationto higher dimensions, namely positive orthant dependence, arealso analyzed. We propose two types of testing procedures. Thefirst procedure is based on the specification of the dependenceconcepts in terms of distribution functions, while the secondprocedure exploits the copula representation. For each specification,a distance test and an intersection-union test for inequalityconstraints are developed for time-dependent data. An empiricalillustration is given for U.S. insurance claim data, where wediscuss practical implications for the design of reinsurancetreaties. Another application concerns detection of positivequadrant dependence between the HFR and CSFB/Tremont marketneutral hedge fund indices and the S&P 500 index.     

The Impact of Collaborative Agreement on Firms' Performances: The Case of the IT Industry in the 1990s

In the information technology (IT) industry, which confronted a major transition phase during the 1990s, partnerships became a strategic component of the new 'divided technical leadership' that emerged from the industry's vertical disintegration. This paper attempts to evaluate the impact of 1676 partnerships on the financial performance (revenue and profit) of 14 large firms and 725 of their partners. On average, there is a positive impact of collaborative agreements on large incumbents and their partners' financial performance. These results vary according to the type, form and content of the agreement and according to the partner's field of activity. Incumbents get the most benefit from broad informal alliances while smaller and more hierarchical forms of partnerships (consortia, joint-ventures) do profit to their partners. For large incumbents, partnerships are more effective with partners from the services industry than with partners from the IT industry.     

Retailers and consumers in sequential auctions of collectibles

Abstract.  We analyse an independent private-value model, where heterogeneous bidders compete for objects sold in sequential second-price auctions. In this heterogeneous game, bidders may have differently distributed valuations, and some have multi-unit demand with decreasing marginal values (retailers); others have a specific single-unit demand (consumers). By examining equilibrium bidding strategies and price sequences, we show that the presence of consumers leads to more aggressive bidding from the retailers on average and heterogeneous bidders is a plausible explanation of the price decline effect. The study of the expected revenue of the seller confirms the interest of auctioneers in inviting different types of bidders.     

The Zero-root Property: Permanent vs Temporary Terms-of-trade Shocks

In this contribution, we show that the persistence and the time of occurrence of a terms‐of‐trade shock matter in determining steady‐state changes: (i) a strong persistent (temporary) terms‐of‐trade worsening induces a long‐run decline in the real expenditure greater than after a permanent disturbance; (ii) an adverse permanent shift in the terms of trade raises the real expenditure in the long run if the shock is expected to occur in the distant future. Finally, according to whether a temporary terms‐of‐trade worsening is anticipated or not, the current account displays a monotonic or a nonmonotonic adjustment.     

The impact of operator involvement in pollution reduction: case studies in Canadian chemical companies

In contrast to most environmental engineering processes, the effectiveness of employee involvement in pollution reduction seems uncertain, ambiguous and far from being clearly established. For companies whose environmental policies have long rested on technical investments, this uncertainty raises several essential questions, namely ‘what is the true effectiveness of this approach?’, ‘to what degree does employee involvement, most specifically operator involvement, make it possible to significantly and measurably reduce environmental impacts?’ and ‘what type of change could this induce in company operations?’. This article proposes answers to these questions based on an empirical study of the preventive and behavioural aspects of environmental management in the Canadian chemical industry. Conducted in three chemical factories from the Montreal region, the case studies show that significant results, often exceeding managers' expectations, could be obtained through the operators' involvement. However, these results and the precise organizational changes that caused them were difficult to identify, measure and foresee. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

LINEAR-QUADRATIC JUMP-DIFFUSION MODELING

We aim at accommodating the existing affine jump-diffusion and quadratic models under the same roof, namely the linear-quadratic jump-diffusion (LQJD) class. We give a complete characterization of the dynamics of this class by stating explicitly the structural constraints, as well as the admissibility conditions. This allows us to carry out a specification analysis for the three-factor LQJD models. We compute the standard transform of the state vector relevant to asset pricing up to a system of ordinary differential equations. We show that the LQJD class can be embedded into the affine class using an augmented state vector. This establishes a one-to-one equivalence relationship between both classes in terms of transform analysis.     

The pitfall of nutrition facts label fluency: easier-to-process nutrition information enhances purchase intentions for unhealthy food products

This research examines the metacognitive effects of nutrition facts label clarity on food preferences. Two experiments show that, holding information content and comprehensibility constant, providing consumers with easier-to-process nutrition information increases purchase intentions for food products. The effect occurs not only for healthy (study 1) but also, and more ironically so, for unhealthy (study 1 and 2) food products. In addition, the latter fluency effect is found to be stronger among people scoring low in nutrition knowledge (study 2). These findings emphasize the consequences of delivering easily readable nutrition information to consumers. They also point to a potential pitfall of health prevention policies based on the simplification of nutrition labeling.     

Beyond the Opposition Between Altruism and Self-interest: Reciprocal Giving in Reward-Based Crowdfunding

The present article is a continuation of the debate two sets of authors (Bagus and Howden vs. Barnett and Block) have been engaging in regarding one type of maturity mismatching: borrowing short and lending long (BSLL). All four authors had agreed that this practice can set up the Austrian Business Cycle; the present author denies that BSLL would be a legitimate commercial interaction in the free society; Bagus and Howden continue to maintain that it would be licit. Our main criticism of Bagus and Howden is a reductio ad absurdum: that this opens them up to the charge of embracing the doctrine of market failure; this is something highly problematic for the two of them, since all four contributors to this debate are well-known supporters of laissez faire capitalism.     

The protectionist bias of duty drawbacks: evidence from Mercosur

In a political-economy setting where tariffs and duty drawbacks are endogenously chosen through industry lobbying, it is shown that full duty-drawbacks are granted to exporters who use imported intermediates in their production. This in turn decreases their incentives to counter-lobby against high tariffs on their inputs. In equilibrium, higher tariffs will be observed on these goods. The creation of a regional block will change the political equilibrium. Duty-drawbacks will be eliminated on intra-regional exports, which in turn will lead to lower tariffs for goods used as inputs by intra-regional exporters. Evidence from Mercosur suggests that the elimination of duty-drawbacks for intra-regional exports led to increased counter-lobbying by users of intermediate products. In its absence the common external tariff would have been on average 3.5 percentage points (25 percent) higher.