Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Home bias and Dutch pension funds’ investment behavior

Using a panel data set of more than 600 Dutch pension funds (PFs) between 1992 and 2006, we investigate asset allocation behavior of Dutch PFs across multiple asset classes. We find that domestic investments, also known as home bias, in portfolio choices of Dutch institutional investors have fallen. We also find that the introduction of the euro, the dot-com crisis (1999–2001) and individual PF's characteristics are significant determinants of home bias. Overall, mature PFs’ portfolios are diversified internationally, whereas large PFs seem to prefer to only scale up their foreign, less-risky positions at the expense of domestic fixed-income positions. The effect of the dot-com crisis is more pronounced for domestic bonds, whereas the introduction of the euro was more important for domestic equities.
Finite-Horizon Optimal Multiple Switching with Signed Switching Costs

This paper is concerned with optimal switching over multiple modes in continuous time and on a finite horizon. The performance index includes a running reward, terminal reward and switching costs that can belong to a large class of stochastic processes. Particularly, the switching costs are modelled by right-continuous with left-limits processes that are quasi-left-continuous and can take both positive and negative values. We provide sufficient conditions leading to a well known probabilistic representation of the value function for the switching problem in terms of interconnected Snell envelopes. We also prove the existence of an optimal strategy within a suitable class of admissible controls, defined iteratively in terms of the Snell envelope processes.
Comparison of Canadian and Mexican Students' Online Shopping Behavior

ABSTRACT A survey of 100 Canadian and 100 Mexican business students reveals that the two groups' achievement motivation, Rokeach terminal and instrumental values, and their online behavior is quite different from each other. Canadians buy more books from online shops and believe that mobile phones will be used in the future to make online purchases. Mexicans are more positive about online shopping from existing stores, with greater appreciation for making purchases without face-to-face contact. They are also more mistrustful of new online shops. Mexicans favor massive advertising and promotions and Canadians favor competitive prices and discounts.
Social Assistance and Minimum Income Benefits: Benefit Levels, Replacement Rates and Policies Across 33 Countries, 1990-2009

Until recently, social assistance has received relatively little attention in the comparative welfare state literature, which is remarkable given its central function in combating poverty and pursuing social inclusion. This paper explores the developments of social assistance and minimum income benefits across 14 Western European countries, 12 Central and Eastern European countries and 7 non-European countries over the period 1990-2009. First, an institutional analysis shows that eligibility conditions, work requirements and benefit sanctions vary considerably across countries. Second, relying on new indicators, our analysis shows that real benefit levels increased in most countries, whilst the net income replacement rates declined on average. This development seems to fit with a ‘making work pay’ agenda. A subsequent qualitative analysis of the policies underlying the quantitative measures indicates that the declining replacement rates do not result from benefit cuts but from relatively larger wage increases. In addition, our policy analysis indicates that work requirements and benefit sanctions have become more activating in many countries. Third, the data indicate that social assistance benefits diverged across EU and other OECD countries between 1990 and 2009. Finally, this paper seeks to make a methodological contribution to the ongoing debate on the ‘dependent variable problem’ in the welfare state literature by analysing to what extent changes in quantitative indicators reflect actual policy changes.
Oil and Power After the Gulf War

w h a t are the implications of the Gulf War for the world oil market and for global energy security? On initial examination, there would seem to be little cause for concern, and no fewer than three separate factors contribute to such a conclusion. First, the devastating defeat suffered by Iraq suggests that both past and future military threats can be minimized. Second, the success with which producing and consuming countries managed to cope with the purely oilrelated components of the Gulf crisis suggests that both the supply and the price of petroleum are manageable. Third, regardless of policy choices made by these countries, elasticities of both supply and demand appear to insure that world energy markets can and will cope with potential disruptions. However, an assessment of oil and power in the aftermath of the Gulf War provides evidence for concluding that the risks were in fact very substantial and that avoidance of serious upheaval was by no means inevitable. This interpretation rests not only on analysis of the Gulf crisis itself, but also on the lessons of the two oil shocks of the 1970s, as well as on experience from the following decade. In this light, each of the three arguments above proves less reassuring. In the military realm, the extraordinary victory of the American-led coalition in an air war lasting just over five weeks and a ground war of 100 hours has given rise to a virtual consensus on both the invincibility of the coalition and the inevitability of its triumph. However, cases both old (the debacle of Australian and other British Empire forces at Gallipoli against the Ottoman Turks in 1915l) and more contemporary (the failure of Desert One, the
AN OVERVIEW OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN TURKISH SECONDARY SCHOOLS: A STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE ON HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

The increasing importance of biotechnology in many sectors, including industry, medicine and food production, is also being reflected in education. Thus, a comprehensive study was conducted on this field looking at the development of teaching programs, including biotechnology, from the early 1990s. This study aimed to investigate student attitudes towards the use of biotechnological methods, especially from health and environmental perspectives, and seek significant differences between student attitudes towards biotechnological applications and the type of schools where the students were enrolled. In conclusion, this study revealed that most of the students surveyed had doubts about the use of biotechnology in the health sector but they were quite positive on the use of biotechnology in eliminating environmental waste and water pollution. Additionally, science high school students had more positive attitudes towards the use of biotechnology in medical advances and their application than Anatolian, vocational and general high school students.
Use of Gamma Ray Spectroscopy Measurements for Assessment of the Average Effective Dose from the Analysis of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in Soil Samples

The activity concentrations of the natural radionuclides: 238Ra , 232Th, and 40K were measured in soil samples collected from two districts of the Punjab. A HPGe detector, based on high-resolution gamma spectrometry system was used for their measurement. The range of activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in the soil from the studied areas varied from 25 Bq·kg-1 to 42 Bq·kg-1, 72 Bq·kg -1 to 130 Bq·kg-1, and 229 Bq·kg-1 to 385 Bq·kg -1 with overall mean values of 32 Bq·kg-1, 91 Bq·kg -1,and 289 Bq·kg-1, respectively. Radium equivalent activities were calculated for the samples to assess the radiation hazards arising due to the use of these soils in the construction of dwellings. The absorbed dose rate calculated from activity concentration of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K ranges between 12 and 19, 45, and 81, and 9 and 16 nGy·h-1, respectively. The total absorbed dose in the study area ranged from 70 nGy·h-1 to 111 nGy·h-1 with an average value of 84 nGy·h-1. The calculated values of external hazard index (Hex) for the soil samples ranged from 0.41 to 0.67. Since these values are lower than unity the soil from these regions is safe and can be used as a construction material without posing any significant radiological threat to population according to the Radiation Protection 112 (European Commission, 1999) report. The corresponding average annual effective dose for indoors and outdoors was 0.41 and 0.11 mSv, respectively.
Boater Safety: Communicating Weather Forecast Information to High-Stakes End Users

AbstractRecreational boaters in the Pacific Northwest understand that there is uncertainty inherent in deterministic forecasts as well as some of the factors that increase uncertainty. This was determined in an online survey of 166 boaters in the Puget Sound area. Understanding was probed using questions that asked respondents what they expected to observe when given a deterministic forecast with a specified lead time, for a particular weather parameter, during a particular time of year. It was also probed by asking respondents to estimate the number of observations, out of 100 or out of 10, that they expected to fall within specified ranges around the deterministic forecast. Almost all respondents anticipated some uncertainty in the deterministic forecast as well as specific biases, most of which were born out by an analysis of local National Weather Service verification data. Interestingly, uncertainty and biases were anticipated for categorical forecasts indicating a range of values as well, suggesting.
Innovation Activities by Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises in Tanzania

The primary aim of this research is to explore innovation activities and ascertain the relationships between these activities and growth performance of SMEs in the Tanzanian manufacturing sector. The applied model has been derived from international studies of innovation. A survey of SMEs combined with in-depth case studies was made to study innovation practices of SMEs in the Tanzanian manufacturing sector. The results of this survey are used to compare the situation with findings of previous research. An increased level of applied change is associated with innovating SMEs, and a positive relationship between innovativeness in the SMEs with growth performance could be established. Based on the comparison of the results, recommendations are made for stimulating innovation.
A VAR Analysis of Kenya's Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism: How Does the Central Bank's Repo Rate Affect the Economy?

This paper examines the impact of a monetary policy shock on output, prices, and the nominal effective exchange rate for Kenya using data during 1997-2005. Based on techniques commonly used in the vector autoregression literature, the main results suggest that an exogenous increase in the short-term interest rate tends to be followed by a decline in prices and appreciation in the nominal exchange rate, but has insignificant impact on output. Moreover, the paper finds that variations in the short-term interest rate account for significant fluctuations in the nominal exchange rate and prices, while accounting little for output fluctuations.
Sectoral specialisation in an evolutionary growth model with a Kaldorian flavour

This paper analyses the emergence of sectoral specialisation and its effects on growth rate differences. First, we investigate the conditions allowing sectoral specialisation. Second, we investigate the relationship between specialisation patterns and growth patterns. The paper develops an agent-based growth that draws on both the Kaldorian growth literature and the Evolutionary literature on technical change. Following the Kaldorian tradition, economic growth is driven by the aggregate demand dynamics, constrained by the balance of payment. The micro-foundations of technical change are standard in the Evolutionary literature: firms develop their production capacities using R%D and are subject to selection mechanisms. Two regimes of specialisation emerge from the simulations, one driven by technological change dynamics, the second driven by the evolution of the demand structure. For each regime, the sectoral specialisation leads to growth rate differences. In the technology-driven regime these differences remain transitory, while in the demand-driven regime, they are permanent.
Financial Repression Redux

Periods of high indebtedness have historically been associated with a rising incidence of default or restructuring of public and private debts. Sometimes the debt restructuring is subtle and takes the form of, “financial repression. ” In the heavily regulated financial markets of the Bretton Woods system, a variety of restrictions facilitated a sharp and rapid reduction in public debt/GDP ratios from the late 1940s to the 1970s. In this paper, we summarize our findings for the post-World War II period for a selected group of countries and document the resurgence of financial repression in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crises and the accompanying surge in public debts in advanced economies.
Achievement goal profiles and developments in effort and achievement in upper elementary school

Background The multiple goal perspective posits that certain combinations of achievement goals are more favourable than others in terms of educational outcomes. Aims This study aimed to examine longitudinally whether students’ achievement goal profiles and transitions between profiles are associated with developments in self‐reported and teacher‐rated effort and academic achievement in upper elementary school. Sample Participants were 722 fifth‐grade students and their teachers in fifth and sixth grade (N = 68). Methods Students reported on their achievement goals and effort in language and mathematics three times in grade 5 to grade 6. Teachers rated students’ general school effort. Achievement scores were obtained from school records. Goal profiles were derived with latent profile and transition analyses. Longitudinal multilevel analyses were conducted. Results Theoretically favourable goal profiles (high mastery and performance‐approach goals, low on performance‐avoidance goals), as well as transitions from less to more theoretically favourable goal profiles, were associated with higher levels and more growth in effort for language and mathematics and with stronger language achievement gains. Conclusions Overall, these results provide support for the multiple goal perspective and show the sustained benefits of favourable goal profiles beyond effects of cognitive ability and background characteristics.
The Interaction between Physical Illness and Neurotic Morbidity in the Community

Summary As part of an epidemiological survey of a rural community in the North of Spain we analysed the interaction between physical illness and neurotic morbidity using a two-phase cross-sectional analysis of a representative sample of the population over 15 years old. There was a very high prevalence of neurosis in the somatically ill (males—15.6 per cent, females—33.1 per cent) and much physical pathology in the group of neurotics (males—42.4 per cent, females—39 per cent). The personal characteristics of the sample, as well as some sociological factors like rural-urban way of life, educational level and social class, appear to influence the relationship between both types of illness. The neurotic morbidity of the somatic group comprised depressive, anxiety and hypochondriac types.
Relations Between Hidden Regular Variation and the Tail Order of Copulas

We study the relations between the tail order of copulas and hidden regular variation (HRV) on subcones generated by order statistics. Multivariate regular variation (MRV) and HRV deal with extremal dependence of random vectors with Pareto-like univariate margins. Alternatively, if one uses a copula to model the dependence structure of a random vector then the upper exponent and tail order functions can be used to capture the extremal dependence structure. After defining upper exponent functions on a series of subcones, we establish the relation between the tail order of a copula and the tail indexes for MRV and HRV. We show that upper exponent functions of a copula and intensity measures of MRV/HRV can be represented by each other, and the upper exponent function on subcones can be expressed by a Pickands-type integral representation. Finally, a mixture model is given with the mixing random vector leading to the finite-directional measure in a product-measure representation of HRV intensity measures.
VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE OF SEGMENT INFORMATION: FURTHER AUSTRALIAN EVIDENCE

This study provides further empirical evidence on incentives for Australian firms to voluntarily report segment information. Various economic reasons why firms may elect to present segment information have been hypothesised in previous research. Bradbury [1992] and McKinnon and Dalimunthe [1993] found firm size, minority interest and industry membership as significant identifiable characteristics motivating voluntary segmental disclosure. Variables found to be insignificant in Bradbury [1992] which were not examined by McKinnon and Dalimunthe [1993] are tested in this paper. Hypotheses relating to size, financial leverage, assets-in-place, earnings volatility, ownership diffusion, outside equity (minority) interest, overseas association as well as diverse and mining and oil classification hypotheses are empirically examined. Univariate tests and multivariate logit analysis suggest that for a extensive sample of diversified firms, voluntary segment disclosure is significantly related to size, leverage and involvement in mining or oil activities.
Minimum Wage Violation in South Africa

Minimum wage legislation is central in South African policy discourse, with both strong support and strong opposition. The validity of either position depends, however, on the effectiveness of minimum wage enforcement. Using detailed matching of occupational, sectoral and locational codes in the 2007 Labour Force Survey to the gazetted minimum wages, this paper presents, we believe for the first time, estimates of minimum wage violation in South Africa. Our results give considerable cause for concern. Minimum wage violation is South Africa is disturbingly high. We find that 44% of covered workers get paid wages below the legislated minimum, whilst the average depth of shortfall is 35% of the minimum wage. Around this average, violation is most prevalent in the Security, Forestry and Farming Sectors. We hope that the quantifications in this paper will provide a more solid basis for discussion of minimum wage levels and their enforcement in South Africa.
College Students’ Drinking and Posting About Alcohol: Forwarding a Model of Motivations, Behaviors, and Consequences

College drinking continues to remain a public health problem that has been exacerbated by alcohol-related posts on social networking sites (SNSs). Although existing research has linked alcohol consumption, alcohol posts, and adverse consequences to one another, comprehensive explanations for these associations have been largely unexplored. Thus, we reasoned that students’ personal motivations (i.e., espousing an alcohol identity, needing entertainment, and adhering to social norms) influence their behaviors (i.e., alcohol consumption and alcohol-related posting on SNSs), which can lead to alcohol problems. Using structural equation modeling, we analyzed data from 364 undergraduate students and found general support for our model. In particular, espousing an alcohol identity predicted alcohol consumption and alcohol-related SNS posting, needing entertainment predicted alcohol consumption but not alcohol-related SNS posting, and adhering to social norms predicted alcohol-related SNS posting but not alcohol consumption. In turn, alcohol consumption and alcohol-related SNS posting predicted alcohol problems. It is surprising that alcohol-related SNS posting was a stronger predictor of alcohol problems than alcohol consumption. We discuss the findings within their applied applications for college student health.
Can Entrepreneurship Be Institutionalised? The Case of Worker Co-Operatives

CHRIS CORNFORTH is with the Co-operatives Research Unit of the Open University in the United Kingdom. Although the last ten years has seen a revival in the worker co-operatives sector in the UK it remains relatively small and economically weak. The primary aim of this paper is to consider how the sector might be strengthened and the implications this has for policy aimed at supporting co-operatives, and more generally small businesses. It is argued that the lack of appeal of co-operatives to potential entrepreneurs, the position of co-operatives in the economy and various constraints on growth are important barriers to the development of the sector. The paper examines the successful Mondragon co-operatives in Spain to see what lessons can be learned about how these barriers might be overcome. It is argued that the Mondragon experience challenges the dominant model of co-operatives and small business promotion in the UK. It argues that more resources need to be concentrated on assisting small businesses and co-operatives with the potential for growth and encouraging collaborative links between them. It is suggested that in order to achieve these ends the entrepreneurial process will need to be further institutionalised in the organisations that support co-operatives and small businesses.
Selecting Investment Managers

This article explores the relationship between manager quality and future performance and concludes there is only a weak relationship between the two. High quality managers tend to attract capital which acts as a drag on their returns and hence restricts their ability to outperform. Therefore, the most important factor to be considered when assessing managers is unrecognized quality rather than quality alone; there is greatest scope for fund analysts to add value by undertaking research within the universe of smaller managers.
What do we really mean when we talk about ‘exit’? A critical review of research on entrepreneurial exit

Much of the research on entrepreneurial exit has focused on exit as a dichotomous outcome whereby exit is viewed negatively and survival positively. This perspective is quite different from that of practising entrepreneurs, who are more likely to be concerned with various types of exit, viewing some options as the ultimate fulfilment of the new venture process. Further, research on exit frequently fails to account for performance (for example, earnings from self-employment or firm-level profitability) in empirical models, even though performance is arguably the critical component of determining whether an exit is successful or unsuccessful. This review article delves into these issues – founder exit intentions, strategies for executing the exit, the process of exit and the importance of controlling for, or including, performance measures in academic research – thereby outlining an agenda for future research regarding entrepreneurial exit.