Lower Bound Restrictions on Intensities in Data Envelopment Analysis

We propose an extension to the basic DEA models that guarantees that if an intensity is positive then it must be at least as large as a pre-defined lower bound. This requirement adds an integer programming constraint known within Operations Research as a Fixed-Charge (FC) type of constraint. Accordingly, we term the new model DEA_FC. The proposed model lies between the DEA models that allow units to be scaled arbitrarily low, and the Free Disposal Hull model that allows no scaling. We analyze 18 datasets from the literature to demonstrate that sufficiently low intensities—those for which the scaled Decision-Making Unit (DMU) has inputs and outputs that lie below the minimum values observed—are pervasive, and that the new model ensures fairer comparisons without sacrificing the required discriminating power. We explain why the low-intensity phenomenon exists. In sharp contrast to standard DEA models we demonstrate via examples that an inefficient DMU may play a pivotal role in determining the technology. We also propose a goal programming model that determines how deviations from the lower bounds affect efficiency, which we term the trade-off between the deviation gap and the efficiency gap.     

Good practices on cost – effective road infrastructure safety investments

The paper presents the findings of a research project aiming to quantify and subsequently classify several infrastructure-related road safety measures, based on the international experience attained through extensive and selected literature review and additionally on a full consultation process including questionnaire surveys addressed to experts and relevant workshops. Initially, a review of selected research reports was carried out and an exhaustive list of road safety infrastructure investments covering all types of infrastructure was compiled. Individual investments were classified according to the infrastructure investment area and the type of investment and were thereafter analysed on the basis of key safety components. These investments were subsequently ranked in relation to their safety effects and implementation costs and on the basis of this ranking, a set of five most promising investments was selected for an in-depth analysis. The results suggest that the overall cost effectiveness of a road safety infrastructure investment is not always in direct correlation with the safety effect and is recommended that cost–benefit ratios and safety effects are always examined in conjunction with each other in order to identify the optimum solution for a specific road safety problem in specific conditions and with specific objectives.     

US inflation dynamics on long-range data

In this article, we evaluate inflation persistence in the United States using long-range monthly and annual data. The importance of inflation persistence is crucial to policy authorities and market participants, since the level of inflation persistence provides an indication on the susceptibility of the economy to exogenous shocks. Departing from classic econometric approaches found in the relevant literature, we evaluate inflation persistence through the nonparametric Hurst exponent within both a global and a rolling window framework. Moreover, we expand our analysis to detect the potential existence of chaos in the data generating process, in order to enhance the robustness of our conclusions. Overall, we find that inflation persistence is high from 1775 to 2013 for the annual data-set and from February 1876 to May 2014 in monthly frequency, respectively. Especially from the monthly data-set, the rolling window approach allows us to derive that inflation persistence has reached to historically high levels in the post–Bretton Woods period and remained there ever since.     

The determinants of the location of foreign direct investment in UK regions†

This article employs a database of over 2000 observations of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects in UK regions. We analyse this data by means of various multinomial and conditional logit models in order to identify the major determinants of the location choices of these inward investments. Having controlled for the various characteristics of inward investing firms, the projects and the regions, our results suggest that existing regional specialization is the single most important determining feature of where inward FDI locates. In addition, London is seen to benefit primarily by the immigration of new investments, the majority of which are related to service sector activities.     

Container storage and transshipment marine terminals

This study addresses the storage arrangement of transshipment containers on a container yard, in order to carry out efficiently the ship handling operations at a terminal where mega-containerships call. An optimization model is specified to investigate the flow of containers from the mega-containership to feeder ships using intermediate storage at the yard. A heuristic based on the lagrangian relaxation is formulated. The quality of the heuristic approach is tested in a number of experiments. In the experiments, various situations are analyzed with respect to mega-containership arrival rates, some strategies for stack arrangements and terminal layouts.     

The influence of sport sponsorship on brand equity and purchase behavior

Abstract

Drawing on Aaker’s brand equity model and Keller’s brand engagement concept and building on the sponsorship between a professional basketball club and a software company, this study examined how sport sponsorship affects brand equity and purchase behavior of the sponsor’s product. Data from 222 survey respondents were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The results provided evidence that perceived quality and brand engagement impact brand loyalty and purchase behavior of fans toward the sponsor’s product. Perceived fit between sponsor and sponsee and team identification were found to influence significantly sponsor’s brand equity constructs. The study extends Aaker’s model in the sport sponsorship context and highlights the influential role of perceived quality and brand engagement on driving sport team fans to form brand loyalty and purchase sponsor’s product.     

Macroeconomic uncertainty,growth and inflation in the Eurozone: a causal approach

In this article, we evaluate the causal relationship between macroeconomic uncertainty indices, inflation and growth rate for 17 Eurozone countries on a county-level examination. In performing a series of linear and nonlinear causality tests, we find little evidence of a causal relationship between uncertainty and macroeconomic variables. Thus, macroeconomic analysis based on uncertainty indices should be treated with caution.     

The Economic Contributions of Hyman Minsky: varieties of capitalism and institutional reform

The work of Hyman Minsky represents an important link between Post Keynesians and Institutionalists. This essay begins with a brief summary of Minsky's early work, including his well-known financial instability hypothesis and his policy proposals designed to reform the financial system. It then moves on to discuss other proposals that are less well known, and developed after the publication of his Stabilizing an Unstable Economy (1986) book. One of them in all the work of Minsky is his demand that theory be institution-specific. Because there are a variety of possible types of economies, theory must be appropriate to the specific economy under analysis. His analysis concerned an evolving, developed, big-government capitalist economy with complex and long-lived financial arrangements. His policy recommendations were designed to promote a successful, democratic form of capitalism given these financial arrangements. These policies would have to ‘constrain’ instability through creation of institutional ‘ceilings and floors’ while at the same time addressing the behavioral changes induced by reduction of instability. The policies would also have to promote rising living standards, expansion of democratic principles, and enhancement of security for the average household.     

Modelling landscape complexity for land use management in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil

Prioritizing land units for environmental management and planning is central in any process aiming at the improvement of urban and environmental conditions. In this study, an algebraic method (lattice theory) was applied to data describing the characteristics of ten land units of a landscape of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Consequently, landscape complexity was modeled and land units were prioritized for land management.While most usual mathematical methods for evaluation involve statistical approaches, the lattice-theoretical approach is a completely different, non-numerical algebraic and qualitative method, offering the advantages of: (a) providing three-dimensional representations of a landscape's complexity; (b) discovering essential structures of data (termed “concepts”) from within landscape data, (c) determining the relative significance (or value) of each criterion and of each land unit for the overall landscape complexity, (d) identifying the land units which are ecologically and geomorphologically more significant for a landscape, (e) mapping landscape complexity and, indeed, mapping total landscape complexity (structural, functional and qualitative) at the land unit level and (f) prioritizing land units in a tropical landscape for strict land management and/or conservation.     

The teacher as leader: The relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness,commitment, and satisfaction

Emotional intelligence has emerged in the past decade as one of the crucial components of leadership effectiveness in many different contexts. The present study aimed at examining the relationships among emotional intelligence, leadership effectiveness, commitment, and satisfaction in education. Three hundred thirty‐two primary education teachers participated in the study conducted in Greece. Results, using structural equation modeling, showed that emotional intelligence, especially the intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions, has a positive effect on leadership roles, explaining 51% of variance. A strong positive effect was also apparent on teachers' commitment and effectiveness, as measured by teachers' perception. Leadership roles such as performance evaluation, motivation support, and development improvement had a strong influence on effectiveness. The findings could have implications for the selection and training of future educators.