The performance of black-owned commercial banks: A comparative analysis

The objective of this study was to examine performance differences among black banks of different asset sizes, as compared with average nonminority banks of similar asset size from 1985 to 1991. The study found that large black banks with assets over $50 million outperformed smaller black banks with assets less than $50 million in terms of return on assets (ROA) and return on owners’ equity. Also, when compared with average nonminority banks with assets less than $300 million, the large black banks exhibited a statistically significant higher ROA than average nonminority banks in 1985 through 1987. However, the differences were found to be statistically insignificant in terms of return on owners’ equity (ROE) during the study period. Regression results show that provision for loan loss, high liquidity, and investment in treasury and government securities continue to impact negatively on small black banks’ performance but these factors have no statistically significant impact on large black banks’ performance.     

Cost savings of using a marketable permit system for regulating light-duty vehicle emissions

In the USA, each individual vehicle is required to meet uniform per-mile emission standards. The uniform standard system does not allow vehicle manufacturers flexibility in achieving overall emission reduction goals for motor vehicles. The system provides manufacturers with little or no incentive to control vehicle emissions beyond what is required. In this paper, an incentive-based marketable permit system is proposed to replace the uniform standard system. Under the marketable permit system, vehicle manufacturers are required to meet corporate average emission standards; they are allowed to buy or sell vehicle emission reduction credits among themselves to meet corporate average standards; and they are allowed to bank vehicle emission reduction credits that are accumulated in earlier years and to use the credits for meeting average standards in later years. It is estimated in this study that relative to the current uniform standard system, the marketable permit system can reduce vehicle emission control costs by $150 to $400 million per year in California, or 13–30% of the costs currently spent on vehicle emission control.     

STOCK LIQUIDATION VIA STOCHASTIC APPROXIMATION USING NASDAQ DAILY AND INTRA-DAY DATA

By focusing on computational aspects, this work is concerned with numerical methods for stock selling decision using stochastic approximation methods. Concentrating on the class of decisions depending on threshold values, an optimal stopping problem is converted to a parametric stochastic optimization problem. The algorithms are model free and are easily implementable on-line. Convergence of the algorithms is established, second moment bound of estimation error is obtained, and escape probability from a neighborhood of the true parameter is also derived. Numerical examples using both daily closing prices and intra-day data are provided to demonstrate the performance of the algorithms.     

NATIONAL INCOME, WELFARE, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

This article explores the assumptions underlying present definitions of national income in its principal uses, and considers the alterations that would be needed to allow for the inclusion of environmental quality. A numerical example illustrates the impact of alternative measures. The discussion concludes that if we want national income to conform more closely to theoretical concepts of welfare indices, then we need to include a proxy for those environmental services that would not be completely free goods if it were possible to overcome their inherent non-marketability. The least unsatisfactory proxy would be the spending on environmental protection.