The determinants of the volatility of returns on cross-border asset holdings

Using both panel and cross-sectional models for 28 industrialized countries observed from 2001–2009, we report a number of findings regarding the determinants of the volatility of returns on cross-border asset holdings (i.e., equity and debt). Greater portfolio concentration and an increase in assets held in emerging markets lead to an elevation in earning volatility, whereas more financial integration and a greater share held in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries and by the household sector cause a reduction in the return volatility. Larger asset holdings by offshore financial corporations and non-bank financial institutions cause higher market volatility, although they affect volatility in the equity and bond markets in the opposite way. Overall, both panel and cross-sectional estimations provide very similar results (albeit of different magnitude) and are robust to the endogeneity problem.     

The exchange rate cycle in Argentina

This article discusses the secular volatility of output, inflation, the exchange rate, and poverty in Argentina. Inflation, currency devaluation and a wide gross domestic product (GDP) cycle have been recurrent problems in Argentina for several decades. The literature has extensively discussed those issues from different viewpoints. This study focuses on a relatively unexplored theme that may contribute to a partial explanation. It deals with the continuous tendency to equalize different profitabilities resulting, in turn, from remarkably different sectoral purchasing power parities. Thus, for any given exchange rate, an incessant tendency toward the equalization of profitabilities generates opposing inflationary and devaluatory pressures. The resulting inflation-devaluation cycle feeds income redistribution, GDP fluctuation, real exchange rate instability, and high levels of uncertainty.     

The asymmetric relationship between returns and implied volatility: Evidence from global stock markets

We investigate the asymmetric relationship between returns and implied volatility for 20 developed and emerging international markets. In particular we examine how the sign and size of return innovations affect the expectations of daily changes in volatility. Our empirical findings indicate that the conditional contemporaneous return-volatility relationship varies not only based on the sign of the expected returns but also upon their magnitude, according to recent results from the behavioral finance literature. We find evidence of an asymmetric and reverse return-volatility relationship in many advanced, Asian, Latin-American, European and South African markets. We show that the US market displays the highest reaction to price falls, Asian markets present the lowest sensitivity to volatility expectations, while the Euro area is characterized by a homogeneous response both in terms of direction and impact. These results may be safely attributed to cultural and societal characteristics. An extensive quantile regression analysis demonstrates that the detected asymmetric pattern varies particularly across the extreme distribution tails i.e., in the highest/lowest quantile ranges. Indeed, the classical feedback and leverage hypotheses appear not plausible, whilst behavioral theories emerge as the new paradigm in real-world applications.     

Measuring Serious Leisure in Chess: Model Confirmation and Method Bias

The serious leisure inventory and measure (SLIM) was tested with 348 chess players to confirm the factors, assess the effects of method bias, and propose a set of the best-performing items for the 18 factor SLIM. The 54-item SLIM demonstrated acceptable fit and reliability values. The effect of method bias was evidenced in the sample and explained one-third of the variance. Inspection of factor loadings, when controlling for method bias, yielded one best-performing item per factor. Findings indicate method bias continues to be problematic for self-report measures such as the SLIM.     

基于个体差异的报童群体决策研究

通过实验研究群体决策和大五人格对报童订购的影响。研究表明大五人格中开放性维度能很好地预测个体和群体决策者的订购行为。在个体实验中，开放性越高的个体更不易产生锚定效应，其他四种人格特性与锚定偏差无显著关系；在群体实验中，群体的开放性得分均值、群体中高开放性成员所占的比例与锚定偏差呈负相关关系。通过比较两种实验结果，发现群体锚定倾向明显小于个体锚定倾向，而群体决策并没有优于个体决策。该研究结果对企业人员招聘、构建决策团队及降低决策偏差有一定参考价值。     

多媒体课件在《英语国家概况》教学中的思考

针对多媒体课件在制作和使用过程中存在的一些问题,本文阐述了多媒体课件在<英语国家概况>教学中的应用,探求如何使用教学课件更好的调动学生学习的积极性,从而真正达到提高教学效果的目的.     

金融业外商直接投资对发展中东道国金融体系效率的作用机理分析

外资金融机构本身的高效率运作及其对内资金融机构的竞争与技术溢出是改善东道国金融体系效率的主要传导路径。外资金融机构具有较高的经营效率,有利于促进当地金融市场的发育,而金融业外商直接投资带来的竞争和技术溢出更有利于促进当地金融体系效率的提升。外商直接投资尽管对东道国金融体系效率存在诸多积极效应,但消极影响也不容忽视。     

关于完善我国城市社区休闲健身服务的几点建议

在现代社会,社区的发展不仅是城市化的一个重要的衡量指标,同时也为满足城市居民精神需求和健康需求发挥着不可或缺的作用。因此,发展社区休闲健身运动可以有力地推动城市健身休闲运动的可持续发展。笔者将借鉴国外开展全民健身运动的相关做法,对我国城市社区休闲健身运动的发展提出一些建议。     

Cross-border leisure mobility styles in the Basque Eurocity

The constitution of Europe has fostered greater human and other mobilities across European borders, however it is not clear whether the border is still actually present in some places or inhibits cross-border mobilities. In this context, a leisure mobilities approach has been used to identify the mobility styles in the Basque Eurocity corridor – a cross-border area between Spain and France. The analysis focuses on leisure mobilities and identifies four different mobility styles based upon leisure orientation variables in terms of values, attitudes and lifestyles; nationality; and socio-demographic characteristics: (1) time-conscious workers, (2) French shoppers, (3) mobile youth and (4) older and less mobile. The results indicate that different leisure orientations and participation levels are highly significant in the constitution of mobility styles, which are usually correlated only with national demographic data. Furthermore, it was identified that a higher identification of mobility constraints was not related to lower levels of participation. Instead, the groups with higher mobility and participation rates raised more awareness of the constraints related to transport and information. Finally, intrapersonal constraints such as age and lack of health showed a greater impact on cross-border mobility, while, unexpectedly, a higher identification of cultural and linguistic constraints was not perceived by participants.     

Investment allocation decisions,home bias and the mandatory IFRS adoption

We examine the familiarity hypothesis of home bias by studying how foreign ownership of Swedish firms is affected by the mandatory adoption of IFRS. We decompose foreign investors into institutional and non-institutional investors. Foreign investors are further decomposed into EU (IFRS adopting countries) and non-EU residents (non-IFRS adopting countries). We analyse the equity investments of these foreign investor groups in Sweden during the period of 2001–2007. We find that after the mandatory adoption of IFRS, foreign ownership/owners from countries that adopted IFRS and particularly those from the EU increased. These effects are particularly strong in small firms. Foreign institutional investors increased their ownership stake after the mandatory IFRS adoption, whereas foreign non-institutional investments were not affected significantly by the IFRS adoption. In contrast to ownership from non-adopting countries, ownership from the EU increased in firms with both more and less tangible assets. Similarly, foreign ownership from the EU increased in firms with both concentrated ownership and dispersed ownership after the adoption. Because Sweden has already had strict legal enforcement and a low level of earnings management prior to the adoption, our results suggest that increased foreign ownership is due to better abilities to compare firms rather than an improved quality.