Pricing mortgage-backed securities in a multifactor interest rate environment: a multivariate density estimation approach

Multivariate density estimation (MDE) suggests that mortgage-backedsecurity (MBS) prices can be well described as a function ofthe level and slope of the term structure. We analyze how thisfunction varies across MBSs with different coupons. An importantfinding is that the interest rate level proxies for the moneynessof the option, the expected level of prepayments, and the averagelife of the cash flows, while the term structure slope controlsfor the average rate at which these cash flows should be discounted.     

Traumberuf oder Verlegenheitslösung?

So far relatively little is known about the situation of Ph.D. students in media and communication research. The main purpose of this study is, therefore, to shed light on the employment and working conditions for young scholars on their way to their doctoral degrees. We conducted a survey of 281 Ph.D. students in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The results show that, on the one hand, young scholars are intrinsically highly motivated to do their jobs. On the other hand, they perceive an academic career as a very uncertain venture with many obstacles. Furthermore, several types of Ph.D. students can be distinguished: idealists, careerists and waverers. It is shown that only the idealists conform to the concept of a productive and interested scholar. The results are discussed in terms of their importance for the future development of the field.     

Attitudes of Businessmen,Consumers, and Consumerists Toward Consumerism

Despite the apparent concern about consumerism issues by various groups, it appears that much of this concern has been based on speculation and casual observations. There is a paucity of empirical research regarding attitudes toward consumerism. This study is the first to assess the attitudes of businessmen, consumers and consumerists—all from the same geographic and market environmenttoward several important consumerism issues. The results, which show significant differences in various areas, have important policy implications for consumerists, politicians and businessmen.     

Validating the international tourist role scale

This study was designed to validate the international tourist role scale and the three dimensions it revealed. The purpose of this attitudinal scale was to measure the tourist role typology. United States adult outbound tourists flying with 11 major airlines returned useful questionnaires. This study validated the role scale as a reliable one that properly identified three conceptual dimensions of international tourist typology and successfully provided measures of tourists’ novelty-seeking preferences on the three dimensions. The study demonstrated, however, that the scale would measure the novelty-seeking preferences of international tourists more effectively if it were supplemented by other measures.     

Applied geography in a Third World setting: A research challenge

This paper addresses the particular methodological questions that arise when conducting geographic studies of tourism in the third world. The research environment has both favorable and unfavorable aspects. On the one hand, the scope and opportunity for worthwhile research are almost unlimited. On the other hand, deficiences in background information, in the availability of suitable personnel, and in the economic and social infrastructure can be serious drawbacks to research into human endeavors. The paper draws particular attention to the pitfalls awaiting researchers who are themselves unfamiliar with third world conditions and cultures. A case study is presented, which involves the preparation and undertaking of research into domestic tourism in Nigeria. Together with a local collaborator, the author selected an appropriate topic and methodology, discovering in the process of consultation and questionnaire construction that his perceptions based on foreign experience were sometimes irrelevant to the conditions in Nigeria. The conclusion drawn from this experience is that research techniques imported to the third world from developed countries may need modification before they can be usefully applied.     

PROJECTION MODELS FOR U.K. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE*

Successful policy planning depends to a large extent on being able to predict the consequences of alternative measures. In the case of agriculture, it is important to know how the future pattern of supply and demand in this sector will be affected by government action on specific issues such as farm price support, and by expected trends in macro-economic variables such as national incomes and population. This paper illustrates the application of a model of U.K. agriculture to the projection of changes in the production and consumption of food and agriculture products between now and 1975. The demand projections show the effect of important levies, and of joining the E.E.C, on future expenditure on food, while the supply projections show how the output of a number of agricultural commodities will be affected by adjusting farm prices towards E.E.C. levels.     

PUBLIC DECISION GUIDES FOR WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN WESTERN CANADA1

The concern of the paper is public river basin development in Western Canada. It attempts to set forth public decision guides and objectives in development of water resource policy. Operational formulations that are useful in public natural resource development and management are considered. Cet article traîte du développement des bassins fluviaux publiques au Canada Ouest. Les auteurs tâchenl de formuler les indications ?opinion publique el les objectifs qui peuvent servir de guides pour arriver à une politique pour le développement des ressources ?eau. Les formulations opérationnelles qui sont utiles dans le développemenl et le ménagement des ressources nalurelles publiques sont aussi considérées.