Importance for DEA of zeros in data,multipliers, and solutions

Some prominent literature in the DEA field has displayed the following three problems involving zeros: (1) The structural role of zeros in data has not necessarily been recognized; in fact, without explanation, arbitrary, small positive numbers have been substituted for such zeros. (2) It is not well recognized that the artificial, non-Archimedean construct is not necessarily needed to exclude zero multipliers and to identify positive slacks. (3) Because of degeneracy, optimal solutions are not necessarily unique; this lack of uniqueness is especially important in interpretation of the multipliers and slacks.The editor for this paper was R. Robert Russell.     

Estimating Telephone Demand with State Decennial Census Data from 1970–1990: Update with 2000 Data

Adding the 2000 decennial census data to our pooled logit model results in much stronger evidence that targeted subsidy programs to add poor households to the network are ineffective and very costly. Untargeted programs are about nine times more expensive than targeted programs. Overall higher penetration rates are fueled by the declining real price of access and rapid income growth in the 1990s. In addition, our estimate of the first integrated access and new services model with 2000 decennial census data suggests that cell phones and Internet are, in part, responsible for the recent surge in penetration, but precise estimates are difficult without price information.     

Identifying Term Structure Volatility from the LIBOR-Swap Curve

This paper proposes a new family of specification tests andapplies them to affine term structure models of the London InterbankOffered Rate (LIBOR)-swap curve. Contrary to Dai and Singleton(2000), the tests show that when standard estimation techniquesare used, affine models do a poor job of forecasting volatilityat the short end of the term structure. Improving the volatilityforecast does not require different models; rather, it requiresa different estimation technique. The paper distinguishes betweentwo econometric procedures for identifying volatility. The "cross-sectional"approach backs out volatility from a cross section of bond yields,and the "time-series" approach imputes volatility from time-seriesvariation in yields. For an affine model, the volatility impliedby the time-series procedure passes the specification tests,while the cross-sectionally identified volatility does not.This is surprising, since under correct specification, the "cross-sectional"approach is maximum likelihood. One explanation is that affinemodels are slightly misspecified; another is that bond yieldsdo not span volatility, as in Collin-Dufresne and Goldstein(2002).     

Viewers' Recognition of Brands Placed Within a Film

Product placement in motion pictures has grown enormously in recent years, but there is very little empirical research regarding its communication effectiveness. The few prior empirical studies have all assessed viewers' recall of and attitudes towards brands placed in a film. This study examines whether or not viewers can even recognize brands placed within a film. Two films containing multiple product placements are used, and results suggest that viewers are able to correctly recognize brands placed in their respective film, while correctly distinguishing among those brands that did not appear in the film they viewed.     

An examination of the impact of equity carve-outs on stockholder and bondholder wealth

This study provides a comprehensive initial evaluation of the wealth transfer hypothesis as applied to the carve-out announcement and partial IPO on stockholders and bondholders from 1983 to 2002. Using daily security prices we show that such combinations have multi-faceted wealth transfers and wealth creation. Consistent with existing theory, we observe a wealth increase for stockholders and bondholders in the carve-out announcement period. In the carve-out period, we report a wealth loss for parent stockholders and bondholders, but a gain for subsidiary stockholders.     

Crisis in the meat industry: a values-based approach to communications strategy

Meat consumption in the UK has been falling for almost 20 years and the long-standing link between affluence and meat eating has been broken. In 10 years the proportion of the population claiming to be vegan or vegetarian doubled, while those identified as meat avoiders almost quadrupled with a further 40% now being classified as 'meat reducers' by Gallup. Means-End analysis was used for studying the underlying motivations of three groups: meat eaters, meat reducers and vegetarians. Health was found to be the central issue in food choice, but each group sought different terminal values. The view that meat reducers (and possibly even meat avoiders) are demi-vegetarians is challenged by the finding that their underlying motivations are similar to meat consumers and quite unlike those of vegetarians. Persuading meat reducers to adopt a vegetarian diet would require the difficult task of changing the enduring terminal values that they seek to attain through food choice behaviour. In contrast, persuading them to eat more meat would 'only' be a question of changing their beliefs about the healthiness of meat consumption. This paper reports on a study conducted in the UK and considers the implications of the findings for communications strategy.     

USAGE AND PERFORMANCE IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT

This study examines the relationship between the extent of electronic procurement (e‐procurement) usage, measured in different dimensions on volume, diversity, breadth, and depth, and the performance gains with respect to operations and financial performance. A survey of companies in Singapore resulted in 141 usable responses for data analyses. Findings reveal that different dimensions of e‐procurement usage have different relationships with performance.     

经常项目逆差与金融危机关系分析

文章从经常项目角度对金融危机进行了理论探讨,分析了经常项目逆差产生的原因及导致金融危机的原理,并在此基础上对美国金融危机进行了实证分析,认为美国经常项目仍然是美国金融危机爆发的关键原因。