The impacts of multiperil crop insurance on Indonesian rice farmers and production

This article analyzes the effect of multiperil crop insurance policy for risk‐averse Indonesian rice farmers located in Tuban and Gresik Regencies of the East Java Province. Based on the model, comparative static analysis of a change in policy variables (coverage levels and premium subsidies) on input use through the coupling, wealth, and insurance effects are presented. The comparative static results are largely ambiguous and left as empirical questions. Consequently, the model is numerically simulated to quantify the effects of different coverage levels and subsidy rates on input use, expected net insurance payments, and certainty equivalents. The empirical analysis shows that MPCI crop insurance results in a decline in expected yield for coverage levels above about 82.5% for both regencies. Furthermore, higher subsidy rates amplify the reduction in input use and yield. Therefore, incomplete coverage with relatively low premium subsidies is the best policy to minimize the impact on input use and yield. However, from the farmers’ perspective, the optimal policy combination results from the highest coverage level and subsidy, which offer the largest expected net insurance payments and certainty equivalent.     

The value of genetic information to livestock buyers: a combined revealed,stated preference approach

DNA profile information has begun appearing in purebred bull auction catalogs; however, the value of this information is as of yet unknown. This study uses data from actual bull sales at a test station and combines it with stated‐preference survey data to determine the value of the DNA profile information. Consistent with previous research, we find that expected progeny differences (EPDs), test performance, and ultrasound information significantly influence bull‐buyers’ willingness‐to‐pay. The newer DNA profile information, however, was unrelated to buyers’ preferences. Methodologically, we find statistically significant differences (but highly correlated willingness‐to‐pay values) across the stated and revealed preference data sources.     

The Euro Crisis in the Mirror of the EMS: How Tying Odysseus to the Mast Avoided the Sirens but Led Him to Charybdis

Open Economies Review - Why was recovery from the euro area crisis delayed for a decade? The explanation lies in the absence of credible and timely policies to backstop financial intermediaries and...     

Skewness and index futures return

In this paper, we show that the individual skewness, defined as the average of monthly skewness across firms, performs very well at predicting the return of S&P 500 index futures. This result holds after controlling for the liquidity risk or for the current business cycle conditions. We also find that individual skewness performs very well at predicting index futures returns out-of-sample.     

Financial market development in host and source countries and their effects on bilateral foreign direct investment

We study an underexplored research question, namely whether financial market development in both host and source countries has an effect on bilateral stocks of foreign direct investment (FDI) and, particularly, whether the effect of financial market development in one member of the country pair conditions the effect of financial market development in the other member. We estimate gravity-type models in a global sample of 43 source and 137 host countries over the period 2001–12. We address reverse causality concerns by restricting the sample to observations where reverse causality, if existent, should be less relevant. Our major and robust findings are that bilateral FDI increases with better developed financial markets in both the host and the source country and that for developing host countries, financial market development in source and host countries functions as substitutes for each other.     

Space Grabs: Colonizing the Vertical City

Much attention has been paid recently to land grabs in rural and urban areas of the global South, but relatively little attention has been paid to such activities in the third dimension—vertical space. Yet vertical space has also been increasingly colonized, as manifest in the transformation of mega-city skylines through the proliferating number and height of high-rises in both central cities and peri-urban developments. We investigate how floor area ratio policies, originally designed to control densification, have been reworked to facilitate densification through floor area uplift. Thus a tool originally developed to advance public welfare has been used to facilitate the profitability of real estate projects for developers and to benefit local governments. Taking DKI Jakarta as our case study, we sketch out the coevolution of this policy with urban regimes, focusing on the mid-2010s when compensation measures were formalized and made transparent. By using a particular project in Jakarta's central business district we show how the benefits of floor area uplift favor private sector developers over the local government. In a context of rapidly increasing land values, increasing demand for housing from an emergent middle class, and particularly the privatization of planning, this unevenness systematically favors the private sector.     

The effects of U.S. quantitative easing on South Africa

This paper investigates the impact of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy on the economy of South Africa, particularly during the period of quantitative easing and thereafter from 2009 to 2018. A VAR model, including South Africa’s inflation, output, a stock market index, exchange rate, and South Africa’s policy rate is examined to determine the impact of the Federal Reserve’s actions. Our results show that the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing programs had only slight overall effects on South Africa’s economy. However, the way monetary policy is measured appears to have important effects for studies of international monetary spillovers as the results differ depending on the type of monetary policy measure used.     

Business strategy and the management of digital marketing

The internet brought disruptive change to the business landscape through the creation of a whole host of digital marketing tactics. But with these new tactical options has come the need for marketing managers to (1) prioritize what they wish to accomplish and (2) determine which digital marketing tactics to invest in. We consider these issues from the perspective of four business strategies: prospectors, analyzers, low-cost defenders, and differentiated defenders. In this article, we provide marketing managers with insights into how businesses pursuing various strategies approach these digital marketing issues, with the ultimate goal being to assist managers in the efficient and effective implementation of their firm’s adopted strategy.     

UNPACKING THE INFLUENCE OF PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ON DISASTER RESILIENCE: A COMPARISON OF EXPERT PERSPECTIVES

Public managers are under increasing pressure to develop and operate physical infrastructure systems that prove resilient in the face of natural disasters. At the same time, fiscal pressures and mounting infrastructure needs are drawing more and more attention to public–private partnerships (PPP) as a mechanism for delivering infrastructure. The research question guiding this study is how can the institutional designs of PPPs influence the potential for improving infrastructure resilience? We examined the perceived relationship between infrastructure resilience and PPPs by conducting and analyzing research interviews with twenty‐four senior infrastructure experts in Washington, DC. The results reflect findings of related privatization research, indicating that market‐based incentives can advance public values such as resilience, but the responsibility for ensuring they do so rests primarily with government. We note key differences in how the infrastructure investment experts and disaster resilience experts view issues in infrastructure management, and provide suggestions for improving public‐private collaboration to improve resilience.