Rating Cooperative and Commercial Bank Bonds: a comparative approach

Abstract ** :  The primary objective of this article is to find whether bonds issued by commercial and cooperative banks are rated similarly or not. We then compare the performance of two quantitative methods, namely seemingly unrelated regressions (SURE) and recursive partitioning algorithm (RPA), at explaining bond ratings based on the same set of quantitative indicators. Using the regression model, cooperative banks' credit risk is more sensitive to the quality and size of assets. For commercial banks, elements relative to debt more clearly stand out. In the RPA model, a subtree for the financial cooperatives is created which provides evidence of some differentiation in the rating process. Also, the RPA model outperforms the parametric method whether performance is measured by the percentage of correct classification or the size of the average rating prediction error.     

Qualitative Input–Output Analysis of the Indian Economic Structure

Qualitative input–output (IO) analysis can be considered mostly in terms of a graph-theoretic formulation, which involves the construction and use of an adjacency matrix, derived from a binary transformation of the IO coefficient matrix. Classical attempts at qualitative IO analysis have derived the structure from the direct IO coefficient table. In more recent attempts, greater sophistication has been achieved by incorporating a degree of quantification into the qualitative analysis. Also, the concept of important coefficients (IC) has been used for the construction of the adjacency matrix. The present study is carried out along these lines for the Indian economy.     

A Note on Student Academic Performance

ABSTRACT This study compares the educational performance of both highly rural and highly urban area students to students from areas of moderate population density. The results suggest (1) that students from both highly rural and highly urban areas perform similarly, but less well, in terms of educational achievement than students from moderate areas, and (2) that empirical studies of student educational performance should include measures of both cognitive skills and educational market competition as explanatory variables. The policy implications of this research include our recommendation that policymakers consider students from highly urban areas to be subjects of concern similar to students from highly rural areas in attempts to affect expected student achievement. Implications also include our recommendation that policymakers recognize that competitive educational market systems that allow educational consumers greater choice in the acquisition of educational services are those systems within which student academic achievement is higher.     

Why statutory union recognition is bad labour policy:the North American experience

The proposed British legislation is modelled on that of the United States which has been a clear failure in its stated goal of encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining (Adams, 1993). It has instead perpetuated a culture of labour-management animosity that many other nations have 113been able, to their benefit, to overcome (Adams, 1995c).     

Influence of strategies and heuristics on farmers' response to change under uncertainty

Hierarchical Decision Models of woolproducers' decisions provide unique insights into the impact of major price changes. Producers' lagged response in some contexts appear to be due to the ambiguous decision environment they face, their strategic goals and responses to that environment apart from lags caused by factors such as attitude to risk, expectations adjustment, adjustment costs and learning costs. Much of the response to major price changes comes from strategic decisions to change enterprises rather than marginal changes to existing enterprises. In ambiguous environments, methods may need to be found that incorporate simplifying behavioural rules and strategies.     

Leadership,Creative Problem‐Solving Capacity,and Creative Performance: The Importance of Knowledge Sharing

This article presents two studies that examine whether leader supportive behaviors facilitate knowledge sharing and employee creative problem‐solving capacity, thereby enhancing creative performance. The findings from both studies indicate that leader supportive behaviors are directly and indirectly related, through both internal and external knowledge sharing, to employee creative problem‐solving capacity. In addition, creative problem solving was related to the two dimensions of creative performance—fluency and originality. However, a test of the mediation model indicated that creative problem solving only mediated the relationship between internal knowledge sharing creative performance and originality. These findings highlight the complex process by which leaders facilitate both internal and external knowledge sharing and employee creative problem‐solving capacity, thereby improving employee creative performance.     

Media,Education and Corruption: Investigating the Associations

We study the interactive association of press freedom, access to media and education with a nation's corruption levels. A free press generates unbiased information that greater access to the media helps propagate; and a greater degree of education, in the same context, helps individuals apply that information. This entire process generates a vigilant and corruption‐free economy. It is therefore important to consider these factors in conjunction.     

Seebohm Rowntree and the postwar poverty puzzle

In his third social survey of York carried out in 1950, Seebohm Rowntree reported a steep decline since 1936 of the percentage of households in poverty. He attributed the bulk of this decline to government welfare reforms enacted during and after the war. This article re‐examines the survivingrecords from the 1950 survey, using a revised poverty line and looking more closely at the measurement of income. It also re‐assesses the impact of welfare reforms on working‐class poverty, and finds that poverty in York was significantly higher, and the contribution of welfare reform substantially less, than was originally reported.     

THE INFLUENCE OF FIRM‐ AND CEO‐SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS ON THE USE OF NONLINEAR DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

We examine why firms use nonlinear derivatives (e.g., options). Our results suggest that option characteristics in investment opportunities and debt, the payoff structure of incentive compensation, and free cash‐flow agency problems influence the firm's choice. Investment opportunities, internally generated cash flow, business risk, and option compensation positively influence the use of nonlinear currency derivatives. Option feature in bonds positively influence the use of nonlinear interest rate derivatives, whereas bonus and stock compensation, and CEO tenure have a negative influence. In sum, nonlinear cash flow characteristics in investment opportunity, debt, and executive compensation all relate positively to nonlinear derivative usage.