Local block bootstrap inference for trending time series

Resampling for stationary sequences has been well studied in the last couple of decades. In the paper at hand, we focus on nonstationary time series data where the nonstationarity is due to a slowly-changing deterministic trend. We show that the local block bootstrap methodology is appropriate for inference under this locally stationary setting without the need of detrending the data. We prove the asymptotic consistency of the local block bootstrap in the smooth trend model, and complement the theoretical results by a finite-sample simulation.     

ELECTORAL MOTIVES, PARTISAN MOTIVES AND DYNAMIC OPTIMALITY WITH MANY TAXES: AN INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION

In this paper, we argue that tax-smoothing results based on total tax revenues may be of limited importance if in fact governments are concerned with the inter-temporal distortionary effects of many kinds of taxes, when electoral and partisan motives also have to be taken into account. We develop an inter-temporal model that predicts that tax revenue mix should follow random walks. The model is tested with international data using both time series and panel-based unit root tests. We find that during the examined period, 1973–2003, governments are not optimizing tax components in the sense of Barro.     

Modeling CO2 emission allowance prices and derivatives: Evidence from the European trading scheme

This paper studies the three main markets for emission allowances within the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS): Powernext, Nord Pool and European Climate Exchange (ECX). The analysis suggests that the prohibition of banking of emission allowances between distinct phases of the EU ETS has significant implications in terms of futures pricing. Motivated by these findings, we develop an empirically and theoretically valid framework for the pricing and hedging of intra-phase and inter-phase futures and options on futures, respectively.     

Strategic human resource management and its effects on firm performance: an implementation of the competing values framework

Based on the literature of the competing values framework, this paper develops a new HRM model and attempts to clarify what type of HRM (in terms of the orientation of the function) is linked with various aspects of firm performance. In order to acquire a better view of this much researched issue, three more factors that influence this relationship have been added to the equation: competitive strategy, external environment and organizational size. The empirical research was carried out in Greece among a sample of 104 organizations. The research findings show that when HRM is consistent with the competitive strategy it has significant effects on financial performance. Another important finding is that market performance is positively influenced by HRM flexibility and negatively influenced by HRM control, unless the external environment is complex, when the most successful combination is control-internal orientation.     

Railway transport liberalization in the European Union: Freight,labor and health toward the year 2020 in Spain

The year 2010 is a key year for European railway transport as it marks the liberalization of the railway sector in a context of economic crisis. The railway sector is a driving force behind the economy of any country. In the case of Spain, in particular, the sector is undergoing a process of liberalization following large public investments that have provided the country with one of the most extensive high-speed railway networks in Europe. Using a methodological approach that seeks a balance between future studies and constructivist studies on the interaction between technology and society, we examine the present and future consequences of railway transport liberalization, in the case-study of Spain, focusing on a key aspect of the process: changes in occupational health and safety conditions in a sector that must ensure full passenger, worker and freight safety. Through a comparison of actual risks, perceived risks and foreseeable risks, we analyze the main shortcomings of the liberalization model that is currently being implemented and strategies for dealing with foreseeable risks in a scenario of change.     

Fiscal policy reforms in general equilibrium: The case of Greece

This paper quantifies the macroeconomic and welfare implications of (i) changes in the tax-spending mix and (ii) debt consolidation policies. The setup is a neoclassical growth model augmented with a relatively rich public sector. The model is calibrated to the Greek economy. The results suggest that, if the goal of fiscal policy is to stimulate the economy and increase welfare by changing the tax mix, then it should decrease the tax rate on labour income and increase the consumption tax rate. While higher public investment spending is good for the economy, it is lower public consumption spending that is found to be expansionary. The results also suggest that both tax- and expenditure-based debt consolidation policies lead to worse economic activity in the short run, but they have strong beneficial effects in the medium and long run when the consolidation period finishes.     

Distribution theory for the studentized mean for long,short, and negative memory time series

We consider the problem of estimating the variance of the partial sums of a stationary time series that has either long memory, short memory, negative/intermediate memory, or is the first-difference of such a process. The rate of growth of this variance depends crucially on the type of memory, and we present results on the behavior of tapered sums of sample autocovariances in this context when the bandwidth vanishes asymptotically. We also present asymptotic results for the case that the bandwidth is a fixed proportion of sample size, extending known results to the case of flat-top tapers. We adopt the fixed proportion bandwidth perspective in our empirical section, presenting two methods for estimating the limiting critical values—both the subsampling method and a plug-in approach. Simulation studies compare the size and power of both approaches as applied to hypothesis testing for the mean. Both methods perform well–although the subsampling method appears to be better sized–and provide a viable framework for conducting inference for the mean. In summary, we supply a unified asymptotic theory that covers all different types of memory under a single umbrella.     

The Validity of the Economic Value Added Approach: an Empirical Application

This study investigates the relative explanatory power of the Economic Value Added (EVA) model with respect to stock returns and firms' market value, compared to established accounting variables (e.g. net income, operating income), in the context of a small European developing market, namely the Athens Stock Exchange, in its first market‐wide application of the EVA measure. Relative information content tests reveal that net and operating income appear to be more value relevant than EVA. Additionally, incremental information tests suggest that EVA unique components add only marginally to the information content of accounting profit. Moreover, EVA does not appear to have a stronger correlation with firms' Market Value Added than the other variables, suggesting that – for our Greek dataset – EVA, even though useful as a performance evaluation tool, need not necessarily be more correlated with shareholder's value than established accounting variables.     

Euro-visions Technologies of vision in Until the End of the World

Until the End of the World can be seen as a ‘global' film in terms of its production process, theme, narrative structure and universal appeal. The article challenges this universality by demonstrating that the film mobilises distinctive and definitive European perspectives in its attempt to speculate about our global future. The article initially examines the film's imagining of technological development in the near future. The film is particularly preoccupied with the future of ‘technologies of vision', the techno-scientific and artistic ways through which we represent ourselves and the world around us. In Until the End of the World, these ‘technologies of vision' are contrasted to more traditional processes of story-telling. The position that narrative occupies in the film is analysed with particular emphasis on the position and the function ascribed to the narrator. The article locates both the discursive origins of ‘technologies of vision' and the film's critique of them, not in opposing universes, but within the same historical process, sharing a common ‘destiny' and coming from the same (European) view of the world.     

Exact relations between Luenberger productivity indicators and Malmquist productivity indexes

In this note we derive an exact relation between Luenberger productivity indicators and Malmquist productivity indexes. The authors are grateful for referee comments which substantially improved the paper.