Does buffet choice architecture affect intake? The effect of relocating butter at a breakfast buffet on food intake

The aim of this study was to investigate if a changed default reduces the intake of butter among students at a breakfast buffet. Students were divided into two groups and served themselves from a breakfast buffet. The control group was offered a buffet where the butter was easily accessible, whereas the intervention group was offered a buffet where a request had to be made for butter. Single packed portions of butter taken from each part of the buffet, the number of students, and the number of habitual users in each group were recorded. At the regular buffet, 67 of 115 students were habitual butter users and 81 packs of butter were taken. At the buffet with the changed default, 16 of the 56 students were habitual butter users. Seventeen packs of butter were taken from the buffet. Slightly displacing butter at a breakfast buffet and forcing students to ask for that option significantly reduced uptake.     

An application of nonparametric volatility estimators to option pricing

We discuss the impact of volatility estimates from high frequency data on derivative pricing. The principal purpose is to estimate the diffusion coefficient of an Itô process using a nonparametric Nadaraya–Watson kernel approach based on selective estimators of spot volatility proposed in the econometric literature, which are based on high frequency data. The accuracy of different spot volatility estimates is measured in terms of how accurately they can reproduce market option prices. To this aim, we fit a diffusion model to S&P 500 data, and successively, we use the calibrated model to price European call options written on the S&P 500 index. The estimation results are compared to well-known parametric alternatives available in the literature. Empirical results not only show that using intra-day data rather than daily provides better volatility estimates and hence smaller pricing errors, but also highlight that the choice of the spot volatility estimator has effective impact on pricing.     

Does sport make you happy? An analysis of the well‐being derived from sports participation

This paper examines the impact of sports participation upon the subjective well‐being of individuals. Encouraging participation in sports activity is now an important public policy issue, as it is argued that there are benefits in terms of health and well‐being to individuals as well as to society through externalities. Controlling for personal and socio‐demographic characteristics affecting well‐being, this paper examines if participation in, and the frequency and duration of, 67 sports activities affects well‐being. The form in which sports participation takes place is also investigated by examining if social‐interaction sports produce more well‐being. This paper demonstrates that sports participation has a positive affect upon the subjective well‐being of the population and, moreover, estimates its monetary value. The effects are larger if one allows for social interactions.     

Tales of Motives in Bank M&As in Emerging Markets

For the past 12 years volatile waves of M&As and divestments in the banking sector were generated by numerous, but often similar motives. This article analyses the motives behind bank M&As regarding the acquirer's and the target's reasons and their perceived criteria of success or failure. The study has identified soft “irrational” factors such as bargain deals or excess cash, behind several economic motives such as synergies, survival, market penetration, or following the customer. Overall, the motives proved to be interconnected, allowing traceable further bank consolidation, especially during financial crisis, at the intercountry level. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Non-market valuation of forest goods and services: Good practice guidelines

The European COST Action E45 on European Forest Externalities (EUROFOREX) participants developed a set of good practice guidelines for the non-market valuation of forests, elaborating on stated and revealed preference methodologies, as well as benefit transfer and meta-analytical procedures. This article presents a summary of the guidelines.     

Biden’s Security Policy: Democratic Security or Democratic Exceptionalism?

Intereconomics - By emphasising the internal-external security nexus inherent in democratic security, the US could aspire again to lead through the example of its democracy’s resilience and...     

CONCEPTUALIZING THE GOAL AND SYSTEM MODELS OF ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS —IMPLICATIONS FOR COMPARATIVE EVALUATION RESEARCH

The lack of comparative evaluation research on organizational-effectiveness models is the primary focus of this discussion. Problems in conceptually and operationally defining evaluation models, such as those in the goal and system model classes, are the proposed reason for this lack of comparative research. In this paper, goal and system models are formally defined in terms of their historical origins, underlying criteria and differing methods of application. A goal and system model classification continuum is also presented. Five comparative evaluation research questions are proposed and their implications for research are discussed. From a theoretical perspective this paper attempts to go beyond the sound foundation laid by Campbell (1977) in his discussion of these two schools of thought on organizational effectiveness.     

The pro-cyclicality of risk weights for credit exposures: Driven by the retail segment

This paper examines the pro-cyclicality of implicit risk weights of credit exposures and the potential contribution of accommodative monetary policy using data for the Czech Republic. The empirical results indicate that risk weights behave pro-cyclically under the IRB approach and acyclically under the STA approach. The pro-cyclical behaviour of IRB risk weights is caused primarily by the retail exposures, the strongest effects being in the highest and lowest quantiles of risk weights. The risk weights for retail exposures behave pro-cyclically not only with regard to the business cycle, but also with respect to the financial cycle and house price growth. In addition, monetary policy easing contributes to the pro-cyclicality in higher quantiles of risk weights.