Flexible Term Structure Estimation: Which Method is Preferred?

We show that the recently developed non-parametric procedure for fitting the term structure of interest rates developed by Linton, Mammen, Nielsen, and Tanggaard (J Econ 105(1):185–223, 2001) overall performs notably better than the highly flexible McCulloch (J Finon 30:811–830, 1975) cubic spline and Fama and Bliss (Am Econ Rev 77:680–692, 1987) bootstrap methods. However, if interest is limited to the Treasury-bill region alone then the Fama–Bliss method demonstrates superior performance. We further show, via simulation, that using the estimated short rate from the Linton–Mammen–Nielsen–Tanggaard procedure as a proxy for the short rate has higher precision then the commonly used proxies of the one and three month Treasury-bill rates. It is demonstrated that this precision is important when using proxies to estimate the stochastic process governing the evolution of the short rate     

Unveiling the role of entrepreneurial knowledge and cognition as antecedents of entrepreneurial intention: a meta-analytic study

Although entrepreneurial intention has been regarded as one of the most important drivers of creativity, innovation, and performance in firms, a comprehensive framework that integrates the relevant influential factors has yet to be developed. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior and the social cognitive career theory, this study investigates the critical antecedents, mediators, and moderators of entrepreneurial intention. A meta-analytic approach is employed to validate the proposed hypotheses, and 89 primary studies with a total sample size of 51,919 are analyzed. The results indicate the existence of differences in the manner in which entrepreneurial knowledge influences cognitive antecedents in the individuals who participate in new ventures. Furthermore, personal attitude and self-efficacy play a vital role in predicting entrepreneurial intention. Demographic characteristics (such as age, gender, and education background) significantly moderate the relationship between cognitive antecedents and entrepreneurial intention, indicating that men tend to adopt more entrepreneurial behaviors than women, that older individuals with more positive attitudes have a higher propensity to start ventures than younger ones, and that those with higher education attainment tend to have lower self-employment. These findings offer several recommendations. They could provide valuable references for further academic work, which should aim to extend and validate them. The findings are also very beneficial for professional experts tasked with the design of effective programs for enhancing entrepreneurial behavior.

     

Green financing for sustainable development: Insights from multiple cases of Vietnamese commercial banks

Although the public sector is seen as the main party responsible for taking action on climate change and sustainable development, private commercial banks are in a unique position to support or shift the funding focus on green investment. By employing a qualitative research approach based on six commercial banks, this paper aims to investigate the current practices of how commercial banks are contributing to advance green business initiatives. Accordingly, this research examines and identifies the facilitators and challenges in domestic and foreign commercial banks in Vietnam which support green business initiatives. In addition to addressing the recent calls for the investigation of the role of commercial banks in facilitating green finance, our study expands the emerging literature by demonstrating the current efforts of Vietnam's commercial banks in fostering green finance during the Covid-19 pandemic.     

Cost and time savings from a rapid access model of care using transient elastography to screen and triage patients with chronic Hepatitis C infection

Background:

Treatment uptake amongst patients with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Australia is relatively low. New approaches to assessment have the potential to reduce public waiting lists, improve access to treatment, and to reduce healthcare costs.

Aim:

To describe the costs to the public hospital system and waiting time associated with a novel integrated rapid access to assessment and treatment (RAAT) model of care that utilizes Transient Elastography (TE) as a specialist outpatient-based approach for a streamlined assessment of patients with chronic HCV, compared to conventional outpatient management with liver biopsy (LB).

Methods:

Time from first medical review to treatment plan and costs associated with detection of fibrosis were recorded for patients receiving RAAT during a 3-month period, and for a similar historical cohort managed conventionally with LB. Costs related to medical and multidisciplinary team reviews and the TE/LB test itself were included.

Results:

Patients receiving RAAT had lower costs (n?=?27, median AU$2716) and shorter time to treatment (median?=?194 days) than for conventional management (n?=?13, median $5005, 420 days; p?Conclusions:

Based on real world audit data, this evaluation suggests TE, used as part of a new RAAT model of care, is cost saving to the health system in the short-term and reduces waiting times. The analysis reported here was intended to assess the costs related to detection of fibrosis, and is limited by the small sample size and potential selection bias. Future research should undertake a full economic evaluation at a whole of service level, to consider a more comprehensive and longer-term assessment of the costs and benefits associated with HCV management.     

Intermarket sweep order trade size clustering around corporate announcements

Investors have different trade size preferences depending on their information advantage. Using intermarket sweep orders (ISOs), we find that investors appear to prefer using small, round lot trades around corporate events with higher announcement frequency and more predictable timing, such as earnings announcements. Around these corporate events, information is revealed, and analyst estimates are confirmed or rejected. Conversely, share repurchase announcements happen less frequently and the timing of these announcements are unpredictable. Relative to earnings announcements, share repurchase announcements create more uncertainty than they resolve. We find that when investors have less information, they tend to use costlier, larger trade size multiples. We further support the extant finding that trade sizes are smaller with the advent of high-frequency trading.     

Asymmetric responses of house prices to changes in the mortgage interest rate: evidence from the Australian capital cities

We examine the dynamic and asymmetric responses of house prices to changes in mortgage interest rates in Australia from January 1995 to November 2017. We propose a threshold intervention model to distinguish between the effects of positive versus negative changes in the standard variable interest rate. The results indicate that rising interest rates decrease house prices more than falling interest rates increase them. For example, a 1% decrease in interest rates increases Sydney’s house prices by 0.7%, whereas a 1% increase leads to a 1.5% fall. The findings also support the view that when interest rates are on the rise, house prices in larger capital cities such as Sydney and Melbourne fall faster than in their smaller counterparts. Our findings imply that a rise in interest rates may thus lead to sharp, fast and significant falls in house prices, a phenomenon which will not simply be a symmetric unwinding of earlier price increases.     

The effects of the Paris climate agreement on stock markets: evidence from the German stock market

We investigate the effects of the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement on the German stock market by considering the impact of 20 announcements pertaining to the Agreement on 17 industries. The event study methodology is used for this purpose, together with several robustness tests, such as the nonparametric rank test and non-parametric conditional distribution approach. The change in systematic risk following the announcements is captured by using various risk models. In general, we find that the Paris Climate Agreement is achieving its objectives in the short run. Our results show that the announcements affected polluting industries in terms of risk and return. Furthermore, we observe two distinct diamond risk structures when (1) Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 took place, and (2) the Agreement came into force.     

Technology Transfer,Quality Standards,and North–South Trade

This paper examines the economic consequences of technology transfer through licensing in a North–South model of vertical product differentiation, based on a product‐line pricing framework. With its limited technological expertise, the southern firm cannot export to the northern market without purchasing the northern firm's “clean” and low‐cost technology. With North–South cost‐asymmetry, we conclude that the transfer of technology through licensing promotes trade, product variety and improves global welfare. However, without government intervention, the private levels of product quality chosen by firms tend to be lower than the socially optimal levels. This finding helps to explain why developed countries often set quality standards for imported foreign products.     

How middle managers' group‐focus emotions and social identities influence strategy implementation

The literature on top‐down strategy implementation has overlooked social‐emotional factors. The results of a three‐year field study of a large technology firm show how top executives who favor an affect neutral task approach can inadvertently activate middle managers' organization‐related social identities, such as length of time working for the company (newcomers versus veterans) and language spoken by senior executives (English versus French), generating group‐focus emotions. These emotions prompt middle managers—even those elevated to powerful positions by top executives—to support or covertly dismiss a particular strategic initiative even when their immediate personal interests are not directly under threat. This study contributes to the strategy implementation literature by linking senior executives' actions and middle managers' social identities, group‐focus emotions, and resulting behaviors to strategy implementation outcomes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.