A dynamic hazard-based system of equations of vehicle ownership with endogenous long-term decision factors incorporating group decision making

The transportation system affects all aspects of our daily lives including relatively long-term decisions on work and home location choice and automobile ownership decisions. The interdependency existing among these three decisions jointly influences household mobility and overall travel patterns. Therefore, a dynamic modeling framework that can account for the effects of interdependencies between vehicle transaction behavior and residential and job location choices is highly desirable. These decisions are made in the household level while individuals’ decisions influence the overall outcome; therefore, it is also important to incorporate a group decision making process within such modeling frameworks.This study introduces a dynamic model for vehicle ownership, residential mobility, and employment relocation timing decisions. These decisions are modeled at the individual level and then sequentially aggregated to the household level if it is required. A hazard-based system of equations is formulated and applied in which work location and residential location changes are included as endogenous variables in the vehicle transaction model while other important factors such as land-use and built environment variables, household dynamics, and individuals’ socio-demographics are also considered.     

Forecasting the price of gold

This article seeks to evaluate the appropriateness of a variety of existing forecasting techniques (17 methods) at providing accurate and statistically significant forecasts for gold price. We report the results from the nine most competitive techniques. Special consideration is given to the ability of these techniques to provide forecasts which outperforms the random walk (RW) as we noticed that certain multivariate models (which included prices of silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium, besides gold) were also unable to outperform the RW in this case. Interestingly, the results show that none of the forecasting techniques are able to outperform the RW at horizons of 1 and 9 steps ahead, and on average, the exponential smoothing model is seen providing the best forecasts in terms of the lowest root mean squared error over the 24-month forecasting horizons. Moreover, we find that the univariate models used in this article are able to outperform the Bayesian autoregression and Bayesian vector autoregressive models, with exponential smoothing reporting statistically significant results in comparison with the former models, and classical autoregressive and the vector autoregressive models in most cases.     

An intemporal model of asset prices in a Markov economy with a limiting stationary distribution

A testable single-beta model of asset prices is presented. Ifstate variables have a long-run stationary joint dysfunction,then the rate return on a very long-term default-free discountbond will be perfectly correlated with the representative investor'smarginal utility of consumption. Thus, the covariance of anasset's return with the return on such a bond will be an appropriatemeasure of the asset's riskiness. The model can be, therefore,applied or tested even though the market portfolio or aggregateconsumption may not be observable. It also is shown that theexpected rate of return on a very long-term bond is equal toits variance. This proposition can be tested to determine whetherstate variables follow stationary processes.     

A spatial analysis of international stock market linkages

We employ spatial econometrics techniques to investigate to what extent countries’ economic and geographical relations affect their stock market co-movements. Among the relations that we analyze, bilateral trade proves to be best suited to capture co-variations in returns. We find a strong effect of a unit shock to three regionally dominant countries, namely the US, the UK, and Japan, on other countries through the trade linkage. The degree of stock market dependence increases and the importance of proximity decreases over time and during recessions. We also analyze several regional crises and find a large impact of Thailand on its trade neighbors during the Asian crisis.     

Demand estimation for the Iranian automobile industry

The main contribution of this paper is a simple theoretical framework and empirical estimations explaining the behavior of the manufacturers. The paper focuses on the frequently used methods of demand estimation for discrete choice models to analyze the Iranian automobile market. It shows how both major companies in Iran choose to produce lower quality products and why they still collusively charge high markups. Empirical estimations are based on Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes (1995) to predict marginal costs and markups. Estimation results also support the hypothesis that manufacturers are charging high markups. In addition, the counterfactual analysis carried out supports the view that both duopolist firms prefer to operate at lower quality rather than at higher quality production levels. They also collusively price their products. Furthermore, analyses are performed using the Multinomial Logit methodology to better understand the Iranian automobile market. Tastes of people with different genders and ages for some specific cars are explained, and the effects of population changes on auto demand are predicted.     

Financial and Economic Integration's Impact on Asian Equity Markets’ Sensitivity to External Shocks

This paper investigates the spillover effects from U.S. and regional stock markets on local stock markets in the Pacific Basin region and China. We also analyze if the spillover depends on countries’ financial and economic integration. We apply a stochastic volatility model with jumps in order to separate the spillover of extreme shocks from those of normal shocks. We find that the spillovers of both normal and extreme shocks are significant for almost all Asian countries except China. We also find that the time‐variation in stock market interdependence can largely be associated with economic integration.     

Economic and sociopolitical determinants of exchange controls

The objective of this study is to explore the feasibility of identifying factors that could presage the imposition of exchange controls. Two sets of variables are argued to contain pertinent information regarding the imposition of controls. One set is composed of 14 economic ratios related to the balance of payments and exchange rate; the other set is made up of 17 proxy measures of sociopolitical instability. The empirical analysis of exchange controls imposed by 13 governments during 1973–1983 shows that these variables have potential for predicting the imposition of exchange controls.     

International Evidence on the Determinants of Private Saving

A broad set of possible determinants of private saving behavioris examined using data for a large sample of industrial anddeveloping countries. Both time-series and crosssectional estimatesare obtained. Results suggest that there is a partial offseton private saving of changes in public saving and (for developingcountries) in foreign saving, that demographics and growth areimportant determinants of private saving rates, and that interestrates and terms of trade have positive, but less robust, effects.Increases in per capita gross domestic product seem to increasesaving at low income levels (relative to the United States)but decrease it at higher ones.     

The informative and persuasive functions of advertising: A moral appraisal — A comment

This paper argues that the informative and persuasive dichotomy of advertising is an empty concept. All advertising messages perform only one function and that function is to persuade. It is pointed out that in a moral appraisal of an advertising message, a distinction between rational and irrational persuasion can be made. Rational persuasion is consistent with the autonomy of the consumer and hence moral. Some forms of irrational persuasion may have an adverse effect on consumer autonomy and, therefore, should be viewed as immoral. Hossein Emamalizadeh is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Ball State University. His latest publications are Bait-and-Switch Advertising: A Conceptual Approach, and The Spatial Location of Banking Facilities in Central Business Districts of Nine Major Cities of the United States, both published by the Academy of Marketing Science in 1983.