Management of large-scale interdisciplinary environmental programmes

Four aspects of uniformity (discipline, institution, type of research and sponsorship) are identified as decisive in the organization and management of large-scale research programmes: difficulties increase with increasing non-unifornmty in any of the aspects. Environmental research is an example of a research area in which one has to overcome all of these problems, and this paper describes the authors' experiences in managing just such a programme. Aspects covered include: the organizational framework chosen and its operation in practice, the selection of research goals, methods of data collection, and manpower and social problems in interdisciplinary research. The degree of generalizability of the observations in the paper is left open for discussion.     

Physics competition to inspire learning and improve soft skills: a case of the Chain Experiment

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - The Chain Experiment competition has been held successfully for 6 years in Poland and is attracting growing interest. The...     

Environmental Financing in European Economies in Transition

The paper offers a perspective on environmental predicament of economies in transition. Emphasis is put on how these economies finance their environmental needs. It is observed that the demand for environmental financing can be affected both by environmental policy measures (such as internalization of externalities) and by other factors (such as the softness of budget constraints faced by firms). The role of subsidies – in many countries of the Central and Eastern European region provided through special purpose ‘environmental funds’ – is then scrutinized. In particular the question is asked whether such funds crowd out commercial capital from the market. Conditions are discussed that would allow the funds to play their constructive environmental roles without crowding out private financing.     

Granger Causality and Regime Inference in Markov Switching VAR Models with Bayesian Methods

In this paper, we derive restrictions for Granger noncausality in MS‐VAR models and show under what conditions a variable does not affect the forecast of the hidden Markov process. To assess the noncausality hypotheses, we apply Bayesian inference. The computational tools include a novel block Metropolis–Hastings sampling algorithm for the estimation of the underlying models. We analyze a system of monthly US data on money and income. The results of testing in MS‐VARs contradict those obtained with linear VARs: the money aggregate M1 helps in forecasting industrial production and in predicting the next period's state. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geoeconomic Relations Between the EU and China: The Lessons From the EU Weapon Embargo and From Galileo

The merging of geopolitical and economic goals, known as geoeconomics, is becoming more and more frequently an important factor of state policies in the age of globalisation and the changing international order. The article offers an analysis of the EU-China relations seen within the increasingly valid geoeconomics perspective. It is focused on two case studies: armament embargo after 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and the Galileo system (a European system of satellite communication). The aforementioned cooperation has laid bare the weakness of European geopolitical thought. It has also demonstrated the supremacy of short-term economic goals of the European actors over strategic goals (both within the economic and the political spheres). In contrast with China, the EU does not possess a coherent geoeconomics strategy.     

Firm‐specific human capital,organizational incentives,and agency costs: Evidence from retail banking

This paper explores conflicting implications of firm‐specific human capital (FSHC) for firm performance. Existing theory predicts a productivity effect that can be enhanced with strong incentives. We propose an offsetting agency effect: FSHC may facilitate more‐sophisticated ‘gaming’ of incentives, to the detriment of firm performance. Using a unique dataset from a multiunit retail bank, we document both effects and estimate their net impact. Managers with superior FSHC are more productive in selling loans but are also more likely to manipulate loan terms to increase incentive payouts. We find that resulting profits are two percentage points lower for high‐FSHC managers. Finally, profit losses increase more rapidly for high‐FSHC managers, indicating adverse learning. Our results suggest that FSHC can create agency costs that outweigh its productive benefits. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hedging of a credit default swaption in the CIR default intensity model

An important issue arising in the context of credit default swap (CDS) rates is the construction of an appropriate model in which a family of options written on credit default swaps, referred to hereafter as credit default swaptions, can be valued and hedged. The goal of this work is to exemplify the usefulness of some abstract hedging results, which were obtained previously by the authors, for the valuation and hedging of the credit default swaption in a particular hazard process setup, namely, the CIR default intensity model.     

Speculating on presidential success: exploring the link between the price–earnings ratio and approval ratings

Stock markets and politics are enduring staples of dinner party conversations but surprisingly little is known about the interaction between the two. Here we present evidence for a robust relationship between a key financial measure—the aggregate Price–Earnings ratio—and surveyed approval of the incumbent president. We argue, following the finance literature, that the price–earnings ratio is a composite measure of investors’ hopes and fears. The partially prospective nature of this ratio enables us to shed new light upon the controversy surrounding how the electorate attends to economic circumstances in judging its presidents.