Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolving International Inflation Dynamics: Evidence from a Time-Varying Dynamic Factor Model

Several industrialised countries have had a similar inflation experience in the past 30 years, with inflation high and volatile in the 1970s and the 1980s but low and stable in the most recent period. We explore the dynamics of inflation in these countries via a time-varying factor model. This statistical model is used to describe movements in inflation that are idiosyncratic or country specific and those that are common across countries. In addition, we investigate how comovement has varied across the sample period. Our results indicate that there has been a decline in the level, persistence and volatility of inflation across our sample of industrialised countries. In addition, there has been a change in the degree of comovement, with the level and persistence of national inflation rates moving more closely together since the mid-1980s.
Bootstrap testing for cointegration of international commodity prices

This paper investigates cointegration with respect to nine commodity groups traded on international markets. Nonparametric bootstrapping is utilized in the testing procedure. Of the 21 pairs of price series, investigated here, for 13 the no-cointegration null hypothesis is rejected in favour for the cointegration of the series. In addition to five out of the remaining eight cases that were not cointegrated, a plausible explanation is the prevailing trade policy. Thus a great majority of the institutionally nonregulated cases turn out to get empirical support for being cointegrated. An important statistical finding is that the augmented Dickey-Fuller test for cointegration (CRADF) generally yields p-values that are close to the p-values obtained by the bootstrap testing. But once they differ substantially, it is usually an indication of irregular periods (e.g. structural changes) in the series. The paper conducts also a Monte Carlo simulation experiment to investigate the power and size properties of the tests. Generally the results indicate that the test procedures have pretty low power in small samples. Bootstrapping improves the testing somewhat by leading consistently to a bit more powerful inference.
An Overview of Working Capital Management and Corporate Financing

Over the past 40 years major theoretical developments have occurred in the areas of longer‐term investment and financial decision making. Many of these new concepts and the related techniques are now being employed successfully in industrial practice. By contrast, far less attention has been paid to the area of short‐term finance, in particular that of working capital management. Such neglect might be acceptable were working capital considerations of relatively little importance to the firm, but effective working capital management has a crucial role to play in enhancing the profitability and growth of the firm. Indeed, experience shows that inadequate planning and control of working capital is one of the more common causes of business failure.
Accurate Classification of Chronic Migraine via Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The International Classification of Headache Disorders provides criteria for the diagnosis and subclassification of migraine. Since there is no objective gold standard by which to test these diagnostic criteria, the criteria are based on the consensus opinion of content experts. Accurate migraine classifiers consisting of brain structural measures could serve as an objective gold standard by which to test and revise diagnostic criteria. The objectives of this study were to utilize magnetic resonance imaging measures of brain structure for constructing classifiers: (1) that accurately identify individuals as having chronic vs episodic migraine vs being a healthy control; and (2) that test the currently used threshold of 15 headache days/month for differentiating chronic migraine from episodic migraine.
Comparisons of alcohol consumption by timeline follow back vs.smartphone-based daily interviews

Abstract This study compared alcohol consumption data collected through daily interviews on a smartphone with data collected via the timeline follow back (TLFB) during a 6-week pilot study of a smartphone-based alcohol intervention system. The focus of the study was to assess for discrepancies between the two measurement methodologies on commonly utilized alcohol outcome variables. Twenty-five participants, aged between 22 and 45 years and were drinking heavily at study incipience, completed a 6-week alcohol intervention delivered by a smartphone application that monitored drinking through a daily interview. Participants also completed a TLFB of their alcohol consumption during the intervention period. Difference scores were calculated by subtracting the average weekly outcome variables derived from the smartphone daily interview from the average weekly outcome variables derived from the TLFB which yielded six discrepancy scores for each of the 25 participants and resulted in 150 observations. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that the TLFB and smartphone daily interview methods did not produce significant discrepancies over the 6-week interval when examining percent of heavy drinking days and percent of days abstinent. However, discrepancies on drinks per drinking day increased substantially over time, suggesting that it is susceptible to recall bias when assessed by the TLFB. Results also indicated that participants under-reported their drinking on the TLFB compared to the daily smartphone-based assessment. Results indicate that outside of assessing for extreme drinking (binge or no drinking), the TLFB should be used cautiously and that smartphone apps represent a promising method for accurately assessing alcohol consumption over time.
Lower Federal Court Judicial Confirmation Fights: A Critical Review of the Empirical Literature and Future Research Directions

Abstract Unlike the massive literature about US Supreme Court confirmation battles, little has been written about lower federal court confirmation fights. However, in the past 20 years much has been written about the lower federal court confirmation process. Here, we take stock of the political science literature in this area and highlight where scholarly interest appears to be going. Believing a contemporary assessment of the state of the field should be of interest and use to scholars of American politics, we dissect the recent empirical literature and offer suggestions for future research. Most importantly, we offer a one-stop shop for recent literature for scholars interested in this topic.
The Lost Decade in the Japanese Labor Market: Labor's share and Okun's Law

The purpose of this study is to reexamine two empirical regularities in the Japanese labor market: the constant labor share and Okun's law. The former law relates to the price of labor in the labor market while the latter is a quantity law; they represent suitable benchmarks for judging the condition of the labor market. Although there are more elaborate statistical techniques, these laws are frequently used because they can clarify the macroeconomic situation at a glance. First, a constant labor share is implied in theory by the Cobb-Douglas production function. Thus, labor's share should be based on the production function. Labor's share based on income has only been rising because of massive depreciation. Secondly, there have been several structural breaks in Okun's law since the bubble collapsed, and the potential growth rate has fallen.
Planning and Uncertainty in New Product Development

The domain of New Product Development (NPD) is subject to considerable uncertainties. Aside from market-related sources of uncertainty, the degree of innovativeness of the underlying product concept is a significant source of uncertainty, as unclear goals and specifications like, e.g. product specifications may lead to substantial delays in the project. However, companies are required to manage the innovation process as efficiently as possible. The resulting conflicting demands often leave companies struggling to achieve both efficiency as well as flexibility due to their often opposing implications for organizing and managing NPD projects. In this context, planning plays a central role; however, its usefulness for NPD project success is perceived quite differently. While there are reports about a positive influence of initial planning on various success measures, others have questioned the effectiveness of elaborated initial planning and contend that the ability to rapidly react to changes later in the process and to improvise may lead to success in NPD. This study aims at achieving a better understanding of planning in NPD by investigating a sample of 475 Research & Development projects in Japanese electrical and mechanical engineering companies. Regression analysis is used to shed more light on the interplay of planning intensity, changes, and the degree of technological newness of the NPD project and their influence on project success. Our results indicate planning to be of value for different types of innovation projects. Furthermore, the influences of the variables in question vary with the success measures that are taken into account, indicating that a more detailed and contingent understanding of planning in NPD needs to be developed.
Lessons from the Great American Real Estate Boom and Bust of the 1920s

Although long obscured by the Great Depression, the nationwide "bubble" that appeared in the early 1920s and burst in 1926 was similar in magnitude to the recent real estate boom and bust. Fundamentals, including a post-war construction catch-up, low interest rates and a "Greenspan put," helped to ignite the boom in the twenties, but alternative monetary policies would have only dampened not eliminated it. Both booms were accompanied by securitization, a reduction in lending standards, and weaker supervision. Yet, the bust in the twenties, which drove up foreclosures, did not induce a collapse of the banking system. The elements absent in the 1920s were federal deposit insurance, the "Too Big To Fail" doctrine, and federal policies to increase mortgages to higher risk homeowners. This comparison suggests that these factors combined to induce increased risk-taking that was crucial to the eruption of the recent and worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Has social care performance in England improved? An analysis of performance ratings across social services organisations

Performance measurement in the English public sector has been implemented in a top-down manner. This regime, comprising centralised targets, public reporting of data and the use of rewards and penalties, has been driven by central government and is intended to hold agencies to account for their performance and regulate their behaviour. This article examines whether the operation of this regime has resulted in improved performance for social care organisations. In England, social care organisations have broadly improved their performance over time in composite (‘star’) ratings and with generally higher ratings across individual indicators, with noteworthy improvement across key threshold indicators (measures which councils must perform well on to obtain a good summary rating). This improvement contrasts with a fairly static picture in Northern Ireland. These improvements may reflect a host of factors other than the incentives created by centralised targets and measures. Data show, for example, that external characteristics of English councils influence their being reported as ‘poor performers’. The rate of improvement may reflect the incentives inherent in the English performance system. Incentives promoting the achievement of specific targets may have influenced the behaviour of local managers responsible for performance in this sector. However, further information from local organisations is required to more fully explicate the relevant factors that may influence reported performance. The evidence reported does, however, point to the beneficial effects (at least for the regulator) of centrally set measures. It is uncertain whether more recent moves away from this target regime in England, towards the development of local indicators and ‘individual incentive’ regulation will likewise offer the appropriate inducements for performance improvement.
An Examination of the Equity Market Response to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Across Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, and Insurance Firms

This paper examines the wealth effects of the events surrounding the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 and changes in systematic risk from the pre-Act period to the post-Act period for commercial banks, investment banks, and insurance firms. The results suggest that investment banks and insurance firms are better positioned to exploit the benefits of product-line diversification opportunities allowed by the legislation compared to commercial banks that experience no significant market reaction. Further evidence indicates a significant risk shift and overall reduction in riskiness for the financial sectors under consideration around the event period.
Dimensions of Corporate Social Performance: An Analytical Framework

Corporate social responsibility is an elusive concept, but it can be measured and compared within a structural framework and within the cultural context of each organization. Thus, corporate behavior can be analyzed in three specific stages: social obligation, or response to market or legal constraints; social responsibility, or congruence with current social norms and values; and social responsiveness, or anticipation of social change and problems, with development of appropriate policies to meet these needs
Are Psychographics Predictors of Destination Life Cycles?

Abstract This research note raises some questions about the validity of Plog's life cycle model. The core thesis of the model is that destination life cycle corresponds to the evolution of markets from allocentric/venturer to psychocentric/dependable. The allocentric discovers a destination, and it experiences growth as, first, near allocentrics and then allocentric-leaning midcentrics visit. However, once a mythical threshold between allocentric-leaning and psychocentric-leaning midcentrics is passed, the destination will enter decline, as it can draw visitors from an increasingly smaller pool of tourists. This research note argues each market drawn to a destination has its own unique relationship, and as such, a destination could be seen to exist at multiple stages along the Plog continuum simultaneously. Further, the model ignores the significant moderating effects of physical and cultural distance. Finally, many psychocentric destinations appear to be thriving.
How Much Do Perceptions of Corruption Really Tell Us?

Abstract Regressions and tests performed on data from Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) 2004 survey show that personal or household experience of bribery is not a good predictor of perceptions held about corruption among the general population. In contrast, perceptions about the effects of corruption correlate consistently among themselves. However, no consistent relationship between opinions about general effects and the assessments of the extent with which corruption affects the institutions where presumably corruption is materialized is found. Countries are sharply divided between those above and below the US$ 10,000 GDP per capita line in the relationships between variables concerning corruption. Among richer countries, opinions about institutions explain very well opinions concerning certain effects of corruption, while among poorer countries the explanatory power of institutions for the effects of corruption falls. Furthermore, tests for dependence applied between the variables in the sets of respondents for each of 60 countries also show that, for most of them, it is likely that experience does not explain perceptions. On the other hand, opinions tend to closely follow the trend of other opinions. Additionally, it is found that in the GCB opinions about general effects of corruption are strongly correlated with opinions about other issues. The correlation is so strong as to justify the hypothesis that it would suffice to measure the average opinion of the general public about human rights, violence etc. to accurately infer what would be the average opinion about least petty and grand corruption. The findings reported here challenge the value of perceptions of corruption as indications of the actual incidence of the phenomenon.
Do Family Firms Use More or Less Debt?

This paper investigates whether the identity of controlling shareholders influences the financing decision of the firm. In particular, we explore the impact of family control on firm debt levels. We also study the effect of family involvement in management on firm leverage. Using a sample of firms listed on the French stock market, our results show that family firms use less debt than non-family firms. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that family-controlled-shareholders prefer less debt as a mean to reduce firm risk. Furthermore, our results show that family firms that have a family member as CEO use more debt than family firms with outside CEOs.
Formal salesforce controls and revenue production: a meta-analysis

Using data from 39 empirical studies with a cumulative sample of 6678 respondents from multiple countries, this meta-analysis examines the influence of the two main types of formal salesforce controls – behaviour and output – on salespeople's revenue performance. The authors employ Hierarchical Linear Modeling as well as Path Modeling to analyse the data. The findings show that both behaviour and output controls have a positive impact on revenue outcomes, although the average effect sizes are small. Interestingly, the effect of the former is greater than the latter. Also, the two types of controls are positively related to each other, suggesting the merits of treating them as two separate control mechanisms rather than two ends of a continuum, and also highlighting the need to control for one when estimating the effects of the other. Although the relationship between behaviour control and revenue is higher when the analysis is conducted at the organization level as opposed to individual level, the effect size estimates relating behaviour and output controls to revenue outcomes did not vary based on the control scale employed nor sample characteristics such as geographic location, gender, age, experience or type of product.
The Role of Education and Income in Poverty Alleviation: A Cross-Country Analysis

The existing literature on education and poverty considers mostly primary data from an income point of view. However, the benefits of education vary from a direct income effect to positive externalities, which can help reduce poverty. This paper uses panel data for 40 developing countries for the period 1999 to 2007, and estimates coefficients by applying the random effect generalized least squares (GLS) technique. The study concludes, first, that income growth plays a moderately positive role in alleviating poverty, but that income distribution does not play a key role in poverty alleviation in the sample overall. Second, it concludes that education is the most significant contributor to poverty alleviation.
‘You can't be a person and a doctor’: the work–life balance of doctors in training—a qualitative study

Objectives Investigate the work–life balance of doctors in training in the UK from the perspectives of trainers and trainees. Design Qualitative semistructured focus groups and interviews with trainees and trainers. Setting Postgraduate medical training in London, Yorkshire and Humber, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and Wales during the junior doctor contract dispute at the end of 2015. Part of a larger General Medical Council study about the fairness of postgraduate medical training. Participants 96 trainees and 41 trainers. Trainees comprised UK graduates and International Medical Graduates, across all stages of training in 6 specialties (General Practice, Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Radiology, Surgery) and Foundation. Results Postgraduate training was characterised by work–life imbalance. Long hours at work were typically supplemented with revision and completion of the e-portfolio. Trainees regularly moved workplaces which could disrupt their personal lives and sometimes led to separation from friends and family. This made it challenging to cope with personal pressures, the stresses of which could then impinge on learning and training, while also leaving trainees with a lack of social support outside work to buffer against the considerable stresses of training. Low morale and harm to well-being resulted in some trainees feeling dehumanised. Work–life imbalance was particularly severe for those with children and especially women who faced a lack of less-than-full-time positions and discriminatory attitudes. Female trainees frequently talked about having to choose a specialty they felt was more conducive to a work–life balance such as General Practice. The proposed junior doctor contract was felt to exacerbate existing problems. Conclusions A lack of work–life balance in postgraduate medical training negatively impacted on trainees' learning and well-being. Women with children were particularly affected, suggesting this group would benefit the greatest from changes to improve the work–life balance of trainees.
Gender differences in clinical trials of binge eating disorder: An analysis of aggregated data.

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to examine gender differences in baseline and outcome variables in clinical trials for binge eating disorder (BED). METHOD Data from 11 randomized controlled psychosocial treatment studies were aggregated (N = 1,325: 208 male, 1,117 female). Baseline and outcome symptoms were assessed via the interview and questionnaire versions of the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE). Multilevel analyses were conducted investigating gender differences at baseline and posttreatment, defined as EDE scores, objective binge episode (OBE) reduction, and OBE remission at termination. RESULTS Few males from low socioeconomic status or minority groups participated in the outcome studies. Males reported significantly lower EDE global, shape, weight, and eating concerns at baseline. No main effects of gender were found in treatment outcome scores when controlling for baseline differences; however, baseline EDE global score (which showed gender differences at baseline) and OBEs directly predicted outcome for both males and females. A significant interaction between gender, treatment length, and shape/weight concerns indicated that males with lower shape/weight concerns achieved OBE remission in shorter treatments, whereas men with high shape/weight concerns and women with either high or low shape/weight concerns were more likely to achieve OBE remission in treatments of longer duration. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest BED treatment studies must improve their recruitment of men and appeal to men with lower shape/weight concerns. Additionally, longer term treatments, although more efficacious for women and men with more severe shape/weight concerns, may not be necessary for men with low shape/weight concerns. (PsycINFO Database Record