The role of credit constraints and government subsidies in farmland valuations in the US: an options pricing model approach

The Modigliani–Miller (M–M) theorem of financial asset theory concludes that asset values are independent of financing. In other words, debt-solvency (credit constraints) does not affect asset values. Therefore, using the M–M theorem one can argue that credit constraints in the farm sector (where land is the most important asset) do not affect the value of farmland. However, this proof relies on several arbitrage assumptions that are violated in the case of agricultural assets. This paper examines the effect of debt-solvency and government payments on changes in annual farmland values by state in the United States. Using panel cointergration method, results indicate that farmland values are significantly affected by both solvency and government payments. In addition, the results imply that government payments may affect agricultural asset values beyond the direct effect hypothesized in the literature.      

Revenue insurance purchase decisions of farmers

The objective of this study is to evaluate farm, household, and financial characteristics of cash grain farmers’ decisions of whether to purchase revenue insurance. Using farm-level data these characteristics were identified by estimating a logit model of revenue insurance purchase decisions by farm operators. Results indicate that farm operators with the ability to self-insure through accumulation of sufficient wealth reserves measured in terms of the ratio of debts-to-assets, operators with off-farm income, and participation in production and marketing contracts, are more likely to pursue these strategies as a substitute for federal revenue insurance programmes. Further, study finds that older and wealthy cash grain farmers are less likely to buy revenue insurance.     

Legal form of the firm and overseas market choice in India’s software and IT industry

Drawing upon the economics, international business, and law literatures, we hypothesize that variations in governance characteristics, associated with firms being public limited companies, private limited companies, or unincorporated enterprises, influence the internationalization patterns of the software and information technology (IT) companies in India. The results provide some support for our hypotheses, as variations in legal form were found to significantly impact regional sales in the US and Canada, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Organizational size and business type were also significantly related to sales in a number of regions. Implications of our findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Risk attitudes and premiums of U.S. corn and soybean producers: an empirical investigation

The 2000 Agricultural Risk Protection Act and 2002 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act reduced price and yield risks faced by many U.S. crop producers to low levels. We use a non-structural methodology extended for application to pseudo panels and national survey data to examine the risk attitudes of U.S. corn and soybean producers to test whether, and examine how, risk attitudes varied during the 1996–2001 and 2002–2008 periods by revenue category. We cannot reject the hypothesis of risk neutrality for the entire population, and for each revenue category, for the former period, but can reject risk neutrality, in favor of risk tolerance, for the entire population and for the larger revenue categories for the latter period. Estimated risk premiums for the latter period suggest that U.S. corn and soybean farmers who earn more require larger payments to remain indifferent between receiving their expected income with certainty and receiving an uncertain income from farming and government programs.     

Do Proprietary Algorithmic Traders Withdraw Liquidity during Market Stress?

We investigate the role of proprietary algorithmic traders in facilitating liquidity in a limit order market. Using order‐level data from the National Stock Exchange of India, we find that proprietary algorithmic traders increase limit order supply following periods of both high short‐term stock‐specific volatility and extreme stock price movement. Even following periods of high marketwide volatility, they do not decrease their supply of liquidity. We define orders from high‐frequency traders as a subclass of orders from proprietary algorithmic traders that are revised in less than three milliseconds. The behavior of high‐frequency trading mimics the behavior of its parent class. This is inconsistent with the theory that fast traders leave the market when stress situations arise, although their limit‐order‐supplying behavior becomes weaker when the increase in short‐term volatility is more informational than transitory. Agency algorithmic traders and nonalgorithmic traders behave opposite to proprietary algorithmic traders by reducing the supply of liquidity during stress situations. The presence of faster traders in the market possibly instills the fear of adverse selection in them. We document that the order imbalance of agency algorithmic traders is positively related to future short‐term returns, whereas the order imbalance of proprietary algorithmic traders is negatively related to future short‐term returns.     

Predictive versus opportunistic earnings management,executive compensation,and firm performance

We examine the association between earnings management and an important component of corporate governance, the incentives provided through compensation. We argue that firms with predictive (opportunistic) earnings management, in which discretionary accruals do (do not) relate to future cash flows, provide a more (less) ideal setting for the use of compensation as incentives. Our empirical tests show that CEO compensation levels (measured by salary, bonus, and other forms of compensation) are positively related to predictive earnings management and negatively related to opportunistic earnings management. We also find that predictive earnings management is positively associated with future returns, whereas opportunistic earnings management is negatively associated with future returns. Overall, our results suggest that firms provide more incentives if their earnings are also more informative because of discretionary accruals.     

Making Trade-Offs in the New Product Development Process: A German/US Comparison

Using a conjoint analysis experiment, Ashok Gupta, Klaus Brockhoff and Ursula Weisenfeld present how R&D, marketing, and manufacturing managers in Germany make trade-offs among three critical variables in the new product (NPD) process: development schedule, development costs, and product performance. The findings are compared with a similar study of US firms. This comparison underscores the basic problem: US managers do not emphasize product development speed to the same extent as do German managers.     

Modelling the exchange rate behaviour of yen and deutsche mark against the dollar

Zusammenfassung Ein Modell des Wechselkursverhaltens des Yen und der Deutschen Mark gegenüber dem Dollar. — Ziel dieser Untersuchung ist es, die kurz- und langfristigen Beziehungen zwischen bilateralen Wechselkursen und wirtschaftlichen Variablen zu bestimmen (Unterschiede im Geldangebot, Zinsdifferenzen, Abweichungen von der Kaufkraftparit?t, Unterschiede in der Inflationsrate, Industrieproduktion und Handelsbilanz). Statistische Tests auf Kointegration werden durchgeführt; und wenn die Hypothese “Keine Kointegration” zurückgewiesen wird, ergibt sich eine langfristige Gleichgewichtsbeziehung. Eine kurzfristige Beziehung wird im Rahmen eines Irrtumskorrektur-Modells gesch?tzt. Für den Yen/Dollar-Kurs ergeben sich lang- und kurzfristige Beziehungen, die ?konometrischen Tests standhalten. Für den DM/Dollar-Kurs ist die langfristige Beziehung zweifelhaft, aber eine kurzfristige Beziehung wird ermittelt. Das ist plausibel, wenn man die Effizienz des Devisenmarktes berücksichtigt.

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Résumé Le modelage du comportement des cours du change du Yen et de la mark allemande envers le dollar. — L’intention de cette étude est de déterminer les rapports à court terme et à long terme entre les cours du change bilatéraux et des variables économiques comme les différences concernant l’offre monétaire, les taux d’intéréts, les taux d’inflation, l’activité industrielle ainsi que les déviations de la PPA et les balances commerciales. On fait des tests statistiques de cointégration. Si l’hypothèse de non-cointégration est rejeté, on obtient un rapport d’équilibre à long terme. On estime aussi un rapport à court terme en utilisant un modèle d’erreur-correction. En ce qui concerne le cours du change entre le Yen et le dollar, on obtient un rapport à long terme et à court terme qui satisfait des tests économétriques. Pour la DM/dollar relation, le rapport à long terme est douteux, mais un rapport à court terme est obtenu. Ce résultat est plausible si l’on considère l’efficience du marché des changes.

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Resumen Modelando el comportamiento de la tasa de cambio del yen y del marco alemán frente al dólar. — El objetivo de este trabajo es determinar las relaciones de corto y largo plazo entre tasas de cambio bilaterales y variables económicas como las diferencias entre la oferta monetaria, entre las tasas de interés, entre las tasas de inflación, entre la actividad industrial, las deviaciones de la paridad del poder de compra y el saldo comercial. Se llevan a cabo tests estadisticos de cointegración y, en caso de rechazarse la hipótesis de no cointegración, se obtiene una relación de equilibrio de largo plazo. Se estima una relación de corto plazo utilizando un marco de correction de errores. Para la tasa yen/dólar se obtienen relaciones de corto y largo plazo que satisfacen tests econométricos. Para la tasa DM/dólar la relación de largo plazo es sospechosa; se obtiene una de corto plazo. Esto es plausible, dada la eficiencia con la cual funciona el mercado de cambios.