Recent developments in finance

This paper selects examples from a number of major areas of finance, e.g. monetary policy, capital asset pricing, financial institutions and markets and corporate finance, to illustrate the absence of or questionable nature of much of the ‘knowledge’ in these areas, the problems involved in present methodology, and the need for a changed emphasis in methodology. It pays particular attention to the present status of the Sharpe-Lintner capital asset pricing model, including the past and more recent attempts to reconcile that theory with the empirical facts.     

Pragmatism, effectiveness and institutional judgement in the british control of major accident hazards

This paper focuses on the regulation of environmental hazards—with a particular emphasos on the British style of policy-making. Following a literature review, the case of major hazard policy and the Advisory Committee on Major Hazards in explored in some detail. The relationship of this case to the BRitish policy style is noted. The stress of the committe on pragmatism is discussed as is the linkate between this regulatory philosophy and the use of technical expertise as a source of legitimation. This claim to legitimation is made despite technical limitations in the selected criteria for hazard control. The paper concludeds with a discussion of pragmatism, effectiveness and the emergence of new demands for a change in the British environmental policy process. In particular, it is argued that whilst the proponents of the current system may place great stress on its pragmatism, critics are likely to be more sceptical of the regulatory process and its consensual assumptions.     

Re-thinging the relationship between enviromental regulation and industrial innovation: The social negotiation of technical change

This paper draws attention to the current political and acdemic dislocation between regulation and innovation as activities and aims to emphasize the significance of the interrelationship both in terms of academic analysis and of policy approaches. The notion that innovation and regulation are both facets of the same overall process of technical change is explored, and accordingly, it becomes important to analyse them together as well as seperately. A conceptual approach is advocated which draws upon the notion of 'social and institution negotiations' in coming to terms with the nature of innovatory and regulatory processes.     

Style and Performance of Agricultural Market Advisory Services

This article develops measures of marketing style for advisory programs in corn and soybeans and estimates the relationship between style characteristics and pricing performance. Style is measured by the intensity of futures and options use, degree of activeness in marketing, and seasonality of sales. The data set consists of advisory programs tracked by the AgMAS project at the University of Illinois between 1995 and 2004. Results indicate that active programs making large bets on price movements obtain a higher average price than more conservative programs. This is consistent with active advisors possessing superior information and/or analytical skills rather than being overconfident. However, estimates of the relationship between pricing performance and activeness are sensitive to the inclusion of a single high-performing program.