Estimators without moments: The case of the reciprocal of a normal mean

The appropriateness of using an estimator which has no moments depends very much on the loss function. This is illustrated by an example. In this paper the properties of various estimates of the reciprocal of a normal mean are analyzed with respect to different kinds of loss functions.     

Overreaction and Insider Trading: Evidence from Growth and Value Portfolios

Insider transactions are not random across growth and value stocks. We find that insider buying climbs as stocks change from growth to value categories. Insider buying also is greater after low stock returns, and lower after high stock returns. These findings are consistent with a version of overreaction which says that prices of value stocks tend to lie below fundamental values, and prices of growth stocks tend to lie above fundamental values.     

Conceptualizing CSR as innovative adoption by MNCs from emerging Asian economies

Two frequently researched fundamental factors in the recent business arena are corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Though the earlier is globalized in various aspects, the latter is still traditionally identified as a Western practice for corporations. This research paper argues that Multi-national Corporations (MNCs) from emerging economies contribute to their parent country's business dynamics including CSR through “reverse knowledge innovation.” To some extent, CSR is prioritized and implemented in these emerging economies, as their MNCs adopt and diffuse CSR practices domestically through reverse knowledge flows. Based on 10 economies from Asia in terms of CSR adoption, we find that CSR is largely considered a Western business innovation among the emerging economies and their home-grown multinationals are the main vehicle of transfer in this case. This study identifies that there are three different levels of CSR adoption depending on a country's phase of economic development: Luxury, diffusion, and institutionalized. The study thus contributes in terms of a multi-level theory by highlighting a source of CSR variation at the national level in the domain of Asian emerging economies.     

The pricing of real estate investment trust initial public offerings

This paper examines the pricing of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Unlike standard corporations, evidence suggests that REIT IPOs are correctly priced in the initial market. Significant negative initial-day return for mortgage REITs is found to be a function of using the bid price to calculate returns for those securities, which trade initially over the counter (OTC). If the bid-ask average or the ask price is used in calculating returns, any apparent overpricing disappears. Additionally, we find that once transactions costs are considered, an investor is better off purchasing a REIT on the offering.     

Evidence of Forward-Looking Loan Loss Provisioning with Credit Market Information

Our paper makes a fundamental contribution by studying loan loss provisioning over the credit cycle as three distinct phases. Looking at the three distinct phases of the financial crisis – the pre-crisis period, crisis period, and post-crisis period – is important as loan loss provisioning is driven by different factors in each, in part due to extensive shifts in (or in the application of) regulatory rule. Controlling for credit market information using data from the Senior Loan Officer Opinion Surveys (SLOOS) we extend the work of previous studies of forward-looking loan loss provisions using the delayed expected loss recognition approach. We contribute to the growing literature on forward-looking loan loss provisioning and early in the cycle loss recognition by incorporating a broader range of available credit information and explicitly controlling for structural breaks in the sample corresponding to the financial crisis.     

The evolving role of agricultural technology indicators and economic growth in rural poverty: has the ideas machine broken down?

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of technical progress in agriculture on changes in rural poverty in Pakistan by using annual data from 1975–2011. Data is analyzed by the set of sophisticated econometric techniques i.e., cointegration theory, Granger causality test and variance decomposition, etc. The results reveal that agricultural technology indicators act as an important driver to alleviate rural poverty in Pakistan. Granger causality test indicate that causality runs from technological indicators to rural poverty but not vice versa. However, agricultural irrigated land and industry value added, both does not Granger cause rural poverty, which holds neutrality hypothesis between the variables. Variance decomposition analysis shows that among all the technological indicators, agricultural machinery in form of tractors have exerts the largest contribution to changes in rural poverty in Pakistan. The study concludes that agricultural technology indicators are closely associated with economic growth and rural poverty in Pakistan. Technology in Pakistan has a low pace but still old technology continuously contributed towards poverty reduction. The question whether idea machine is broken down or not? Still need further exploration.     

Real Estate for the Long Term: The Effect of Return Predictability on Long-Horizon Allocations

We examine how the predictability of real estate returns affects the risk of, and optimal allocations to, real estate for investors of differing investment horizons. Returns to direct real estate are mean reverting, and risk decreases with horizon. This is driven by a tendency for property transaction prices to overshoot inflation. Mean reversion in real estate returns is weaker than that of equities, resulting in real estate having similar risk to equities for long-term investors. However, optimal portfolios have large allocations to direct real estate at all horizons, and the allocation increases with horizon. Finally, we find that real estate investment trusts are a redundant asset class for investors with access to direct real estate as an asset class, but they do have a role in optimal allocations when direct property investment is not feasible.     

Transfer of HRM practices across cultures: An American company in Scotland

This paper reports the findings of a case study into human resource management (HRM) policies and practices of the Scottish subsidiary of an American multinational firm. The study is discussed within the debate on transfer of HRM practices between nations, and on subsidiary - parent company relationships. The paper makes a distinction between HRM policy on the one hand, and HRM practice on the other. It will be argued that whereas companies might find it feasible to have company-wide policies , they might find it unavoidable to be responsive to local conditions when it comes to HRM practices . Further, it will be argued that some practices can be transferred across nations almost without any change from one country to another. Some must be modified to become workable in another setting. And some are more deeply culture-specific and may not always be transferable. The findings of the study support the argument that multinational companies' management practices are more prone to local cultural influences than are their overall policies and strategies. Moreover, some of the practices which the company had imported from abroad had to be modified to make them workable, given its local cultural and non-cultural contexts. These local contexts had at the same time affected the relationship between the Scottish subsidiary and its parent company. The study found four clusters of factors which intervened in this relationship. A dynamic model of subsidiary-parent company is proposed to elaborate such an intervention. On the basis of the study it is argued that HRM in a foreign subsidiary is a complicated matter. The choice between one of three major options, polycentric, ethnocentric, and global, advocated by many scholars, is found to be too simplistic a model for understanding what actually goes on in a subsidiary and between it and its parent organization.     

Dynamic linkages between tourism transportation expenditures,carbon dioxide emission,energy consumption and growth factors: evidence from the transition economies

Tourism transport profoundly affects economic growth, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This study is an attempt to examine the impact of international tourism transportation expenditures, energy demand, foreign direct investment inflows, trade openness and urban population on carbon dioxide emission and per capita income for the panel of 11 transition Economies, over the period of 1995–2013. The results show that per capita income escalates the carbon dioxide emission (CO₂), which deteriorates the natural environment. International tourism receipts and international tourism expenditures for travel items are associated with the intensifying CO₂ emission and per capita income in the region. The study confirmed the energy-led emissions, FDI-led emissions, FDI-led growth, income-led emissions, income-led energy demand, trade-led growth and trade-led energy demand. The causality results further substantiate the the tourism-led growth and FDI hypothesis in the region. Finally, the variance decomposition analysis confirmed the following results, that is, (i) per capita income is the contributor that least influences CO₂ emissions, (ii) urban population influences per capita income and (iii) international tourism transportation expenditures will influence CO₂ emissions and per capita income for the next 10-year period.