The anatomy of returns from moving average trading rules in the Russian stock market

This paper examines the profitability of index trading strategies that are based on dual moving average crossover (DMAC) rules in the Russian stock market over the 2003–2012 period. It contributes to the existing technical analysis (TA) literature by comparing for the first time in emerging markets the relative performance of individual stocks’ trading portfolios with that of trading strategies for the index that consists of the same stocks (i.e., the most liquid stocks of the Moscow Exchange). The results show that the best trading strategies of the in-sample period can outperform buy-and-hold strategy during the subsequent out-of-sample period, although with low statistical significance. In addition, we document the benefits of using DMAC combinations that are much longer than those employed in previous TA literature. Moreover, the decomposition of the full-sample-period performance into separate bull- and bear-period performances shows that the outperformance of the best past index trading strategies over is mostly attributable to the fact that they managed to stay mostly out of the stock market during a dramatic crash caused by the global financial crisis.     

The Myth of Market Neutrality: A Comparative Study of the European Central Bank’s and the Swiss National Bank’s Corporate Security Purchases

ABSTRACT

Monetary policy operations in corporate security markets confront central banks with choices that are traditionally perceived to be the prerogative of governments. This article investigates how central bankers legitimise corporate security purchases through a comparative study of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB). As we show, central bankers downplay the novelty of corporate security purchases by relying on familiar pre-crisis justifications of Central Bank Independence. Citing an ideal of ‘market neutrality’, central banks present corporate security purchases as pursuing a narrow objective of price stability and obfuscate their distributive consequences. In this way, central bankers depoliticise corporate security purchases: they reduce the potential for choice, collective agency, and deliberation concerning both the pursuit of corporate security purchases and the choices made in implementing these policies. We also describe the undesirable democratic, social and environmental dimensions of these practices, which we propose to address through enhanced democratic accountability.     

Growth effects of structural reforms in Southern Europe: the case of Greece,Italy, Spain and Portugal

This paper develops a semi-endogenous growth model for analysing the intertemporal effects of structural reforms in Southern European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece). The model follows the product-variety paradigm in a semi-endogenous setting, and includes a disaggregation of labour into different skill groups. We use a comprehensive set of structural indicators in order to calibrate the model to important macroeconomic ratios and levels of productivity and employment. Our results show that structural reforms yield significant economic gains in the medium and long run. The results point to the importance of product market reforms and labour market related education and tax reforms as the most promising areas of structural policy interventions. This paper also argues for placing more emphasis on education policy which is key in upgrading the labour force, especially in these countries where the share of low skilled labour is among the highest in the euro area.     

Attending to the General Interest: New Mechanisms for Mediating between the Individual, Collective and General Interest in Québec

We develop an approach to studying new business governance models and we illustrate how these models take the general interest into account. We outline the main prevailing trends, in the context of the Québec model of development, and discuss the new conceptions of the state and of its role in governance. As a result of this, organizations and institutions are playing a new role in the pursuit of the general interest, which we examine using the ‘Solidarity Fund’ of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ). We suggest that a partnership‐based governance model may help support the emergence of a new mixed economy that weds the general interest with individual and collective interests in an original way.     

Öffentliche Sportförderung: eine ordnungspolitische Betrachtung

An unmittelbaren Transferleistungen flie?en j?hrlich rund 3,9 Mrd. Euro in die staatliche Sportf?rderung. Wie ist die ?ffentliche Sportf?rderung ordnungspolitisch zu bewerten? Welche Wirkungen hat sie auf die Sportanbieter und den Wettbewerb?     

Auswirkungen von Hartz IV auf die Mobilität und Wohnungsversorgung der Mieter

Im Hartz IV-Gesetz, das zum 1. Januar 2005 in Kraft trat, wurde unter anderem geregelt, welche Wohnraumstandards für Hartz IV-Empf?nger angemessen seien. Schon vor Inkrafttreten des Gesetzes kam es zu einer kontroversen Diskussion darüber, ob und in welchem Umfang Zahlungsempf?nger auf Druck der Beh?rden umziehen müssen. Wie hat sich die Haltung der Beh?rden im ersten Geltungsjahr entwickelt? Ist es in einem erheblichen Umfang zu erzwungenen Umzügen gekommen?     

Standortfaktor Arbeitsrecht: Die Bewertung durch ausländische Investoren

Die strikten Regulierungen im deutschen Arbeitsrecht gelten als Nachteil für Deutschland im internationalen Wettbewerb um Produktionsstandorte. Welche Bedeutung haben arbeitsrechtliche Faktoren bei der Standortentscheidung von Unternehmen? Wie bewerten US-Investoren das deutsche Arbeitsrecht im Vergleich?     

The Effect of Family Business Professionalization as a Multidimensional Construct on Firm Performance

In family business literature, business professionalization is often simplified into a binary characteristic, that is, the presence of a nonfamily manager. We contend that other professionalization features, which may act simultaneously, can influence firm performance. This study addresses professionalization as a multidimensional construct, as intended by general management literature, and assesses the impact on business performance based on these underlying dimensions. Using a representative sample of 523 private Belgian family businesses, we identify five different dimensions of the professionalization construct by means of an exploratory factor analysis. Further regression results revealed significant positive effects of increasing nonfamily involvement, implementing human resource control systems, and/or decentralizing authority on firm performance. However, nonfamily involvement only seems to improve firm performance if there is sufficient decentralization of authority and an average or even low amount of formal financial control systems.     

Reform der Abstimmungsregeln und Inflationspräferenz im EZB-Rat

Die Reform der Abstimmungsregeln im EZB-Rat kann bei Aufnahme von neuen Mitgliedstaaten in die W?hrungsunion Auswirkungen auf die Geldpolitik haben. Welche Konsequenzen sind für die in einem solchen erweiterten Rat pr?ferierte Inflationsrate im Vergleich zum Status quo zu erwarten? Wie sind alternative Abstimmungsregeln zu beurteilen? Wie h?tten sich die Vorschl?ge für die elf bzw. derzeit zw?lf Euro-L?nder ausgewirkt, wenn sie bereits 1999 implementiert worden w?ren? * Der Autor dankt Prof. Dr. Roland Vaubel für die Anregung und Korrektur des Artikels.     

A Global Assessment of the Economic Effects of Export Taxes

This paper uses a new detailed global data set on export taxes at the HS6 level and the MIRAGE global Computable General Equilibrium model to assess the impact of export taxes on the world economy. We find that removing export taxes would have worldwide effects: the average export tax on global merchandise trade was 0.48 per cent in 2007, with the bulk of these taxes imposed on energy products. The removal of these taxes would increase global welfare by 0.23 per cent, a larger figure than expected gains from the Doha Round. Both developed and emerging economies, such as China and India, would gain from such policies even if they currently impose export taxes. Medium and small food‐importing countries without market power (such as the least‐developed countries) would also benefit from the elimination of export restrictions – especially during food crisis situations. Both the energy sector and the export taxes implemented by the Commonwealth of Independent States countries appear to play a critical role in the overall economic impact of such a policy change. However, the fact that some countries, such as Argentina, would experience income losses due to such a policy change is a major challenge to overall positive reform in this area.