A methodological note on diversity measurement

This research addresses the question, do categorical and continuous measures capture the same construct of diversity? Using analysis of variance, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis, we investigated whether continuous measures (entropy and product count) differentiate between diversification categories, whether continuous measures converted to categories and subjectively assigned categories classified companies similarly, and whether continuous and categorical measures predicted similar diversity–performance relationships. We concluded that the techniques were associated but did not yield the same performance predictions. For researchers investigating diversity–performance relationships, choice of measurement technique will influence research results. Our research results suggest that attempts to combine categorical and continuous techniques as a way to overcome the limitations of both methods is not appropriate.     

Determinants of indian export performance in the 1970s

Zusammenfassung Bestimmungsgründe für die indische Exportt?tigkeit in den 70er Jahren. — In diesem Aufsatz werden verschiedene Hypothesen, welche die indischen Exportleistungen in den 70er Jahren erkl?ren sollen, quantitativ getestet. Es wird ein umfassender Satz von Daten über Exporte, Industrieproduktion und indische und amerikanische Gro\handelspreise — jeweils aggregiert gem?\ der indischen Input-Output-Klassifikationbenutzt, um den Einflu\ finanzieller Anreize, der inl?ndischen Angebots-Nachfrage-Verh?ltnisse sowie infrastrukturbedingter und anderer Angebotsengp?sse auf das indische Exportverhalten zu untersuchen. Jede Hypothese l?\t sich bis zu einem gewissen Grad stützen. Finanziel-le Variable erweisen sich als ziemlich bedeutsam in den exportorientierten arbeitsintensiven Sektoren. In den mehr geschützten kapitalintensiven Sektoren dominieren die heimischen Angebots-Nachfrage-Bedingungen. Au\erdem zeigt sich quer durch alle Industriezweige eine negative Korrelation zwischen dem Exportwachstum und dem Ausma\ rückw?rtiger Verflechtungen mit anderen Wirtschaftsbereichen im allgemeinen und der Abh?ngigkeit von ?ffentlichen Versorgungs- und Transportleistungen im besonderen. Der Artikel schlie\t mit wirtschaftspolitischen Schlu\folgerungen.

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Résumé Déterminants de la performance d’exportation indienne dans les années soixante-dix. — Cet article évalue d’une manière quantitative quelques hypothèses expliquant la performance d’exportation indienne pendant les années soixante-dix. Les auteurs utilisent des données sur les exportations, la production industrielle ainsi que sur les prix de gros indiens et des E.U., qui sont agrégés conformément au système indien de classification ‘input-output’, pour analyser l’influence des stimulants financiers, des balances de l’offre-demande locale, des impasses infrastructurelles et d’autres goulots d’offre sur la conduite indienne d’exportation. Ils trouvent une certaine évidence pour chaque hypothèse. Ce sont les variables financières qui sont importantes pour les secteurs intensifs à main d’∄uvre et orientés vers les exportations. Les conditions de l’offre et de la demande locale dominent dans les secteurs industriels plus protégés et intensifs au capital. De plus, une correlation négative est trouvée au travers des branches manufacturières entre la croissance d’exportation et, en général, la mesure des ?backward linkages? et, plus spécifique, la dépendance des services publiques et de transport. Enfin, les auteurs discutent quelques implications de leurs résultats pour la politique économique.

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Resumen Determinantes del comportamiento de exportación de la India en los a?os 1970. — En este artículo se evalúan cuantitativamente diferentes hip?tesis para explicar el comportamiento de exportación de la India en los a?os 1970. Se utiliza un conjunto de datos ilustrativos sobre exportaciones, producción industrial y precios al por mayor de la India y los EEUU, cada cual agregado en concordancia con el sistema de clasificación de insumoproducto de la India, para analizar la influencia de incentivos financieros, balanzas de oferta-demanda demésticos, y cuellos de botella de infraestructura y otros de oferta sobre el comportamiento de exportación de la India. Se encuentra cierto apoyo para cada hipótesis. Las variables financieras resultan ser de relativa importancia para sectores intensivos en mano de obra y orientados hacia la exportación. Condiciones de oferta-demanda domésticas dominan en los sectores mas protegidos e intensivos en capital. Adicionalmente, se encontró una correlation negativa a través de ramas industrials entre crecimiento de exportación y la magnitud de los entrelazamientos hacia atrás generalmente, y la dependencia de servicios y transporte específicamente. Se discuten algunas implicaciones de los resultados para la adopción de políticas.

     

A Comparison of Relations Between Security Market Prices, Returns and Accounting Measures in Japan and the United States

We examine associations between accounting measures of earnings and stock returns in Japan over varying window lengths and compare them to those for the United States. Our results are consistent with the view that Japanese investors utilize less accounting information in their pricing of equities than do their U.S. counterparts. This was particularly evident in the 'boom' period of the mid to late 1980s when the fundamental values conveyed by accounting measures appear to have been largely ignored. The association increases with the inclusion of 1991, suggesting a return to more emphasis on fundamentals with the recent decline in stock prices.     

Order aggressiveness and order book dynamics

In this paper, we study the determinants of order aggressiveness and traders’ order submission strategy in an open limit order book market. Applying an order classification scheme, we model the most aggressive market orders, limit orders as well as cancellations on both sides of the market employing a six-dimensional autoregressive conditional intensity model. Using order book data from the Australian Stock Exchange, we find that market depth, the queued volume, the bid-ask spread, recent volatility, as well as recent changes in both the order flow and the price play an important role in explaining the determinants of order aggressiveness. Overall, our empirical results broadly confirm theoretical predictions on limit order book trading. However, we also find evidence for behavior that can be attributed to particular liquidity and volatility effects.

Using Bayesian variable selection methods to choose style factors in global stock return models

This paper investigates the presence of global style factors in global equity investment. To this end, we apply Bayesian variable selection methods from the statistics literature to give guidance in the decision to include/omit factors in a global (linear factor) stock return model. Once we have accounted for country and sector, it is possible to see which style or styles best explains current asset returns. This study does not find compelling evidence for global styles as useful explanatory factors in a fixed parameter regression model, once country and sector have been accounted for.     

The Case Against a U.S.-Arms Monopoly

The U.S. government is the dominant player in the global arms market. Existing literature emphasizes the many benefits of an international U.S. government arms monopoly including: regional and global balance, stability and security, the advancement of U.S. national interests, and domestic economic benefits from international sales. The purpose of this paper is to balance this largely one-sided treatment of the U.S. government’s dominant position in the international arms market. We discuss several negative consequences and costs associated with U.S. arms sales which call into question the net benefit of the U.S. government’s control over global arms.     

Greening the Street-Level Procurer: Challenges in the Strongly Decentralized Swedish System

This article investigates the every-day street-level practice of green public procurement (GPP) in Sweden, a country with one of the most decentralized systems of public administration within the European Union (EU). The street-level procurement officers in Swedish local and regional government are in charge of purchases estimated to represent between 10% and 15% of Sweden’s GDP. This article examines the constraining and enabling factors behind the individual procurement officer’s choice of green procurement in textiles and clothing through a combination of qualitative interviews and a review of documentary sources. The analysis shows that while indirect support through European and national soft regulation and policy advice is imperative for “greening” procurement, the direct factors which influence the local outcome of GPP comprises factors on the local level: political commitment and environmental knowledge, the organizational structure of local government and the local interpretation of the regulatory framework. This study shows that a decentralized structure has possibilities of furthering ambitions of buying green if there are committed politicians and public officials, an optimal level of internal centralisation and an external support structure of knowledge and enabling rules.