The dynamics of Central European equity market comovements

This paper examines short-term and long-term comovements between developed European Union (EU) stock markets and those of three Central European (CE) countries which recently joined the EU. Dynamic cointegration and principal components methods are applied, in addition to static tests. While we find no evidence of cointegration for the period July 1995–February 2005 as a whole, dynamic tests reveal alternating period of cointegration disrupted by episodes dominated by short-term domestic factors. Principal components analysis reveals that a stable factor explains a large proportion of return variances. Ultimately, despite the decade-long process of alignment by CE countries with the EU, evidence of steadily increasing convergence of equity markets is lacking.     

Corporate disclosure, cost of capital and reputation: Evidence from finance directors

The majority view of the executives interviewed is that disclosure reduces the cost of equity up to the point at which a good-practice level of communication has been reached, after which there is little further effect. Greater disclosure to rating agencies and lenders reduces the cost of debt. Attitudes towards more mandatory disclosure are mostly negative. The main perceived cost of disclosure is creating the information. The main benefits are promotion of a reputation for openness and of shareholder confidence, not a lower cost of capital. We suggest that a reputation for openness is valued because it enhances the company's overall reputation, which brings commercial benefits.     

A Note on the Identification of Dynamic Economic Models with Generalized Shock Processes

Dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models with generalized shock processes, such as shock processes which follow a vector autoregression (VAR), have been an active area of research in recent years. Unfortunately, the structural parameters governing DSGE models are not identified when the driving process behind the model follows an unrestricted VAR. This finding implies that parameter estimates derived from recent attempts to estimate DSGE models with generalized driving processes should be treated with caution, and that there always exists a tradeoff between identification and the risk of model misspecification. However, these results also make it easier to address the issue of model misspecification by making it computationally easier to check the validity of cross‐equation restrictions.     

Rousseau's notion of envy: A comparison with modern economic theory

Abstract

The concept of envy is present both in Rousseau's economic philosophy and in modern economic theory. This paper compares these different uses of the concept and studies the relevance of the definition of envy adopted on each side, taking into account what is at stake when a notion of envy is introduced. It will be shown that Rousseau's envy cannot be expressed by modern conceptions of envy. Nevertheless, it enlightens the debate between the two competing notions of envy present in modern economic theory, revealing that the existence of envy questions the notion of self-interest.     

The effect of pro-environmental attitudes and eco-labelling information on green purchasing decisions in Australia

The main purpose of this study is to measure the effects of pro-environmental attitudes, knowledge, and eco-labeling information on green purchasing decisions. Data were collected from 400 undergraduate students studying at an Australian University. The findings suggest that pro-environmental attitude and eco-labeling information significantly affect green purchasing decisions. Eco-labeling, however, plays a more significant role in influencing green purchasing decisions. Finally, implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

On the Market Timing of Hedging: Evidence from U.S. Oil and Gas Producers

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - Using a hand-collected data, we provide evidence of extensive use of commodity derivative in hedging among U.S. oil and gas producers. We find large...     

Crop management,labour organization,and marketing: three key issues for improving sustainability in organic vegetable farming

Most market-garden farms that have converted to organic farming (OF) in the last few decades in France are small and diversified. Larger farms usually specialize in a few vegetable species and frequently face technical and economic problems when they convert to organics. Diversifying production may be a means of increasing sustainability due to larger crop rotations and varied marketing outlets, but it has various implications on farm management, especially labour organization and marketing. In the present study, we examined how an acceptable degree of species diversification can act as a lever to develop organic vegetable production by combining sociologist and agronomist points of view. Multidisciplinary surveys of 30 market-garden farms varying in usable surface area and degrees of crop diversification were carried out. Consequences on crop management, labour organization and skills, and marketing implications were described, and farm sustainability was assessed. Specialized farms of the sample had a rather industrial organization of labour and marketing and benefited from economy of scale to produce vegetables. But in the long term, they may suffer from low agronomical sustainability because of narrow crop rotations and intensive crop management. Diversified farms were more sustainable according the criteria studied, but they suffered from the extremely complex management of cropping systems. These results are discussed on both the farm and territorial levels. Collective marketing initiatives and social networks might help reach an acceptable degree of species diversification at the farm level. Potential innovative organizations are identified, which could facilitate the transition to OF.