Consumer evaluation of recycled products

Despite the tremendous growth of recycled and recyclable products in recent years, there exists very little research on how consumers evaluate such products. An experiment was conducted to examine whether consumers' reactions to recycled products is product specific and cognitive or affective and not product specific. Results indicated that consumers are favorably influenced by the presence of recycled material regardless of the type of product, thus supporting an affective evaluation process. Results also indicated that the positive effects of recycling held only for established brands and not for new brands. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A minimum chi-squared method for indirect parameter estimation from Poisson data

In this paper, we introduce a new algorithm for estimating non-negative parameters from Poisson observations of a linear transformation of the parameters. The proposed objective function fits both a weighted least squares (WLS) and a minimum χ² estimation framework, and results in a convex optimization problem. Unlike conventional WLS methods, the weights do not need to be estimated from the datas, but are incorporated in the objective function. The iterative algorithm is derived from an alternating projection procedure in which "distance" is determined by the chi-squared test statistic, which is interpreted as a measure of the discrepancy between two distributions. This may be viewed as an alternative to the Kullback-Leibler divergence which corresponds to the maximum likelihood (ML) estimation. The algorithm is similar in form to, and shares many properties with, the expectation maximization algorithm for ML estimation. In particular, we show that every limit point of the algorithm is an estimator, and the sequence of projected (by the linear transformation into the data space) means converge. Despite the similarities, we show that the new estimators are quite distinct from ML estimators, and obtain conditions under which they are identical.     

Inter-factor Substitution,economies of scale and technical change: Evidence from Canadian industries

This paper explores the causes of inter-temporal variations in factor intensities and total factor productivity (TFP) in Canadian industries. For this purpose, we estimated translog cost function at the sector level allowing for non-homotheticity and non-neutral technical progress. Our empirical results suggest that about 15 to 20 per cent of the post-1973 slowdown in TFP is due to the inter-industry shifts in factor inputs. The remaining productivity slowdown could be attributed to the world wide slowdown in aggregate demand (lower capacity utilization rates) and the substantial increase in the relative price of energy and raw materials.     

Industrial buyers' expectations of supplier-attributes across developing countries: Implications for marketing strategies

This paper presents a cross-country comparative study of industrial buyers' expectations of supplier attributes which manifest in the process of supplier selection. The results indicate a variance in these expectations across the countries, implying a multinational rather than a global approach in marketing industrial goods beyond domestic borders. The possible role of cultural factors in the formation of these divergent expectations is suggested. The implications of the findings for developing appropriate marketing strategies, and for future research, are discussed.     

Estimation Risk and Adaptive Behavior in the Pricing of Options

We consider the effects of uncertainty in the statistical parameters of the Gaussian process in the context of the Black-Scholes option pricing model. With continuous time observation of returns, uncertainty about the variance disappears over any finite time interval, but uncertainty about the mean diminishes at the rate of 1/τ, where T is the length of the time interval of observation. In a market in which participants base their portfolio decisions on the predictive distribution of returns, option prices will be higher than in a market in which uncertainty in the mean is ignored. Even though the mean parameter, μ, is itself irrelevant in the Black-Scholes model, uncertainty about μ affects option values under our behavioral assumptions.     

ADVERSE SELECTION,SPREAD BEHAVIOR,AND OVER-THE-COUNTER SEASONED EQUITY OFFERINGS

In this paper the effects of over-the-counter seasoned equity issuances on the percentage bid-ask spreads around announcement and offer dates are examined. A declining spread in the pre-announcement period suggests that resolution of information asymmetry begins well before the announcement date. Further, using issue size as a proxy for the extent of information asymmetry, we observe that spreads for larger issues reach “normal” levels before the first public disclosure of the offering. For smaller issues this occurs only on the offer date. Results are consistent with the dealer experiencing reduced adverse information risk as a result of information-gathering efforts during the underwriting process.     

我国银行加强内部审计遏制舞弊的对策探讨

近年来我国银行舞弊案件频频发生,涉案金额之大、案件隐藏时间之久触目惊心,银行遭受了较大的经济损失。这些舞弊案件及其对银行机构的重大影响警示我们,对处于经济社会转型和改革开放加速前进、外资银行在华业务竞争全面展开时期的中国银行业而言,遏制舞弊是一项十分重要而紧迫的任务。本文认为银行舞弊的遏制和查处归根到底还是要落到实务操作尤其是内部审计的实务工作层面,本文立足于内部审计实务,从八个方面分析探讨了银行舞弊的遏制和查处工作重点和技术方法。     

中国货币供给的内生性:理论分析与实证评述

本文回顾了国际上货币供给内生的有关理论,指出其在解释我国面临相关问题时的适用性。根据货币供给关系式:M=Bk所提供的框架,分两个方面即基础货币B和货币乘数k来讨论货币供给,综述几种主要的建模、计量实证方法的优劣,并得出结论:我国的货币供给内生性所折射出的是我国现有的整个金融体系的构造性问题,参杂着许多向市场转轨期的制度因素以及市场因素,在涉及货币政策时必须对这些因素进行细致的考虑。最后,在上述分析的基础上提出针对性的政策建议。     

Price/Book Value Ratios and Equity Returns on the Tokyo Stock Exchange: Empirical Evidence of an Anomalous Regularity

This study examines the relationship between accounting data and financial market data for securities listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. We document, for the first time for a non-U.S. market, a significant price to book value ratio effect; i.e., Japanese equities with low price to book value ratios earn higher returns than those with high price to book value ratios, and this price to book value effect is stronger in January and June and for smaller firms. One implication of the international pervasiveness of these empirical regularities is that explanations for these effects that are based on unique institutional or accounting procedures are unlikely to be sufficient.