Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interest Rate Pass-Through in the EMU: New Evidence from Nonlinear Cointegration Techniques for Fully Harmonized Data

This study puts the monetary transmission process in the eurozone between 2003 and 2011 under closer scrutiny. For this purpose, we investigate the interest rate pass-through from money market to various loan rates for up to twelve countries of the European Monetary Union. Applying different cointegration techniques, we first test for a long-run relationship between loan rates and the Euro OverNight Index Average (EONIA). Based on these findings, we allow for different nonlinear patterns for short-run dynamics of loan rates. Our investigation contributes to the literature in mainly two ways. On the one hand, we use fully harmonized data stemming from the ECB's MFI interest rate statistics. In addition, we consider smooth transition models as an extension of conventional threshold models. Our results point to considerable differences in the size of the pass-through with respect to either different loan rates or countries. In the majority of cases, the pass-through is incomplete and the dynamics of loans adjustment are different for reductions and hikes of money market rates.
Incentive Contracts are Not Rigged by Powerful CEOs

Morse, Nanda and Seru (2011) interpret the data to suggest that more powerful CEOs ex-post change their incentive contracts more. My paper points out a number of issues with their inference. First and most importantly, MNS do not control for the fact that not just the most powerful but almost all firms change their incentive contracts ex-post. This is also consistent with an optimal contracting model. Nevertheless, the MNS specification attributes all explanatory power of the average incentive realignment to the cross-coefficient, i.e., to more powerful CEOs. When the average level of ex-post contract change is also controlled for, the MNS cross-coefficient (i.e., the additional change attributed to more powerful CEOs) declines by 55% and becomes insignificant. Second, newly-hired CEOs often receive large one-time startup packages. These firms should be broken out, because the MNS theory is not about newly-hired CEOs new CEOs could not have rigged a previously-set compensation. Third, the results are sensitive to how industry performance is adjusted for. Fourth, the results are sensitive to the level of winsorization.
Spain's Historical National Accounts: Expenditure and Output, 1850-2015

This essay offers a new set of historical GDP estimates from the demand and supply sides that revises and expands those in Prados de la Escosura (2003) and provides the basis to investigate Spain's long run economic growth. It presents a reconstruction of production and expenditure series for the century prior to the introduction of modern national accounts. Then, it splices available national accounts sets over the period 1958-2015 through interpolation, as an alternative to conventional retropolation. The resulting national accounts series are linked to the "pre-statistical era" estimates providing yearly series for GDP and its components since 1850. On the basis of new population estimates, GDP per head is derived. Trends in GDP per head are, then, drawn and, using new employment estimates, decomposed into labour productivity and the amount of work per person, and placed into international perspective.
Why are Mutual Fund Alphas Systematically Negative?

We study the performance of actively managed US equity mutual funds using traditional models and, as in previous studies, find that they perform negatively. At the same time, we note that the investments in mutual funds increase each year. It thus doesn’t seem realistic to admit that mutual fund clients would continually accept negative performances. We put forth the idea that traditional measures of performance are misleading from a client’s point of view. Expenses are justified by managers as part of their information acquisition activity. If managers are successful, clients believe to be protected (at least partially) against information risk. It follows that, from the client’s point of view, the performance should be calculated as the mutual fund net realized return minus an expected return which only accounts for traditional risk premia factors (like systematic, size, book to market and momentum factors) and not for any information risk factor. We show in this paper that traditional mutual fund performance models are not in line with this idea because the traditional factors used in these models (market, size, book-to-market, momentum) embed an information risk premium. Based on the Merton (1987) model and on the Firm Specific Return Variation variable of Durnev et al. (2004), we compute an information risk factor. We then show that the traditional mutual funds performance models undervalue the funds alpha since they control the fund net realized return for an information risk premium when they shouldn’t from the client’s point of view. Finally, we propose a new methodology for measuring the mutual funds performance from the client’s perspective. We conclude with this new methodology that the performance of the US equity mutual funds is well explained.
Identification of putative velvet bentgrass clones using RAPD markers

Bentgrasses (Agrostis spp.) are extensively used on golf courses in temperate regions for putting greens, tees, and fairways. The three most commonly used bentgrasses, creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.), colonial bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris L.), and velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina L.), are often difficult to identify on the basis of morphological features. As such, naturalized bentgrass clones collected from old turfs can be difficult to classify. The objective of this study was to determine if random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers could identify 319 bentgrass clones according to species, ultimately to identify desirable velvet bentgrass germplasm for breeding projects. Germplasm sources included known velvet, creeping, and colonial bentgrasses, a seed collection of putative velvet bentgrass from the Azores, Portugal, and a clonal collection of putative velvet bentgrass from old Milwaukee golf courses. Five RAPD primers produced 82 polymorphic bands. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) was used to partition variation among groups (14.7%), among populations within groups (16.2%), and among individuals within populations (69.1%). A multidimensional scaling procedure (MDS) differentiated groups according to known species and allocated unknown plants into known clusters. The Milwaukee group was closely associated with creeping bentgrass cultivars while the Azores group associated with velvet bentgrass and colonial bentgrass. Flow cytometry confirmed ploidy levels of known and unknown clones. The clear differentiation between species suggests that RAPD markers are a useful tool for identifying bentgrass species.
Purification and characterisation of the soluble methane monooxygenase from Methylosinus sporium 5 demonstrates the highly conserved nature of this enzyme in methanotrophs

The type II obligate methanotroph Methylosinus sporium 5 was shown to have the ability to produce either a soluble or particulate methane monooxygenase dependent on the copper to biomass ratio during growth. Two proteins of the soluble methane monooxygenase enzyme, proteins A (the hydroxylase) and C (the NADH-acceptor reductase) were purified and characterised, and shown to be very similar to those previously described in other organisms. Evidence is also presented for the existence of the third protein, protein B, in this enzyme complex.
Political Institutions and Bank Risk-Taking Behavior

We examine the influence of political institutions on bank risk-taking behavior using an international sample of banks from 98 countries over the period 1998-2007. We find that bank risk-taking is significantly higher in sound political institutions countries suggesting that increased competition from alternate sources of financing due to financial constraints mitigation effect and moral hazard problems linked with better political institutions lead banks to increase bank risk-taking. Our results are economically significant, and are robust to alternative bank risk-taking measures, alternate proxies of political institutions, cross-sectional and country-level regressions, endogeneity concerns of political institutions, alternate samples, and sample extension from 1998 to 2012. Further analysis shows that positive influence of political institutions on bank risk-taking is independent of income levels of countries. Results also show that positive influence of political institutions on bank risk-taking is robust in countries having explicit deposit insurance and suggest that moral hazard problems linked with sound political institutions complement the moral hazard problems of explicit deposit insurance. We also examine the interdependence between political and legal institutions and find that political and legal institutions complement each other to influence bank risk-taking behavior.
Inter-Firm Trade Finance in Times of Crisis

The paper discusses the main features that distinguish inter-firm international trade finance from alternative sources of financing. On the one hand, inter-firm trade finance could help overcome informational problems associated with other lending relationships; on the other, it may contribute to propagate shocks due to the interconnection among firms along credit chains. The paper evaluates the potential effects of a financial crisis on the use of trade credit for firms operating in developing countries. It argues that while the advantages of trade credit might remain largely unexploited due to poor legal institutions, the disadvantages might be exacerbated because of these firms' greater exposure to a default chain. Based on these arguments, a menu of choices is identified for what policymakers can do to boost firms' access to inter-firm trade finance in times of crisis.
COMPOSITION AND STORAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF WET CORN GLUTEN FEED

Analysis of fourteen 6-tonne loads of wet corn gluten feed showed variable levels of protein and minerals. The product stored without spoilage at 6 °C, but at 17 or 26.5 °C application of propionic acid, formic acid or a 37% solution of formaldehyde at 0.5% wt/wt/was necessary to prevent spoilage for 2–3 wk. Key words: Wet corn gluten feed, composition, keeping qualities, preservatives
MNC Bank Losses in Asia: Lessons for MNC Banking or Opportunity Loss?

Foreign Banks have engendered followers and detractors in each host dispensation and in their home countries. After the recent bank crisis they continue increasing their presence in Asian and Emerging markets (Claessens and Horens, 2014), yet activity in Markets for Corporate Control has been seemingly confounded because of the crisis events. In the Markets for Corporate Control, there is considerable evidence of attenuation in both Emerging and Advanced Economies. Yet, Cross border acquisitions now account for a growing majority of completed transactions. A new class of event studies from Asia and China showing large positive Abnormal returns imply strong shareholder wealth gains and confirm value accretion to Acquirers from transactions increasing Control (Song, Tippett and Vivian, 2017). At the same time, Multinational Banks’ exits show diminution of shareholder wealth and addition of value to domestic/cross border acquirers.
The Analysis of Intellectual Capital Performance of Islamic Bank in Indonesia

Objective – The purpose of this paper was to assess the influence of Value Added Intellectual Capital (VAIC) towards company performances such as: profitability and productivity of Islamic banks of Indonesia measured by ROA, ROE, ROI and ATO. Methodology/Technique – This research conducted purposive sampling method. Correlation analysis was applied to measure the influence of ICE on company Performance. SPSS 18 was applied for correlation test. VAIC was calculated for measuring intellectual capital efficiency. Findings – VAIC had positive relationship to company performance such as financial performance and productivity. The highest value of correlation was the relationship between VAIC and ATO. The lowest value of correlation was the relationship between VAIC to ROE. Novelty – This research assessed the influence of VAIC towards 11 Islamic Banks in Indonesia. Type of Paper: Empirical
Accounting-Based Equity Valuation and Returns on Equity Volatility

The same firm characteristics that help explain cross-sectional variation in expected stock returns, such as size, book-to-market and the earnings yield, also help explain cross-sectional variation in returns to trading in option-implied stock return volatility. This empirical phenomenon is shown to arise within a tractable accountingbased valuation model that allows for risk aversion and stochastic earnings volatility. The model predicts that expected stock (stock return volatility) returns are positively (negatively) related to a combination of the inverse of size, book-to-market, the earnings yield, and the dividend yield. These predictions are strongly supported using a variety of empirical specifications. The model provides a framework for jointly investing in stocks and options, and the findings highlight the ability of accounting-based valuation models to explain price dynamics across stock and volatility markets.
Comparative study of the frequency and flagellar serotype flora of Bacillus thuringiensis in soils and silkworm‐breeding environments

Two environments, soils and silkworm (Bombyx mori)-breeding farms, in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, were explored for the comparative analysis of the frequency and the flagellar (H) serotype flora of Bacillus thuringiensis. This organism was found in 39.3% of the sericulture farms and 18.5% of the silkworm litter samples. The frequency of B. thuringiensis was 4.5% among the populations of the Bacillus cereus/B. thuringiensis group in silkworm-breeding insectaries. The predominant H serotype detected in silkworm litters was 4ac (35.6%), followed by serotypes 3abc (20.0%), 8ab (13.3%), 4ab (13.3%) and 7 (2.2%)
Negative Interest Rate Policy and Banks' Risk-Taking: Empirical Evidence

Using a panel dataset of 9421 banks from 59 countries over the period 2009-2018 and a Difference-in-Differences estimator, this paper aims to assess the effects of negative interest rates on banks' risk-taking. We find that banks' risk-taking has been lower in countries where negative rates have been implemented. This effect depends on the characteristics of a country's banking system, namely the level of capitalization and size.
Should we allow human‐induced migration of the Indo–West Pacific fish, barramundi Lates calcarifer (Bloch) within Australia?

Some biologists have expressed concerns about the possible genetic impacts of translocation between stocks of barramundi Lates calcarifer (Bloch) in Australia. Recent genetic, biogeographical studies have provided an understanding of the evolution of the currently observed population structure in Australian barramundi by assessing the impacts of ice-age, sea-level changes on their distribution. These studies found that genetic differences between most barramundi populations are extremely small, have arisen in the past 17 000 years, and substantial migration and hybridization between eastern and western populations, isolated for at least 110 000 years, has occurred naturally. Some phenotypic support for these minor genetic differences can be inferred from the lack of adaptation to temperature in growth and survival responses of widely separated stocks (tropical and temperate). Based on a low level of genetic differentiation and high levels of gene flow between populations, with little evidence of local adaptation, translocation between populations should not pose a significant risk or problem.
Optimal ESG portfolios: an example for the Dow Jones Index

ABSTRACT Mean variance portfolio theory is expanded to accommodate investors’ preferences for the portfolio ESG value (PESGV). Namely, PESGV is added to the minimizing objective function so that portfolio weights are simultaneously optimized in terms of returns, risk (volatility), and PESGV. PESGV is assumed proportional to the sum of portfolio constituents’ weighted ESG scores and is controlled by the ESG strength parameter γ. A new ESG portfolio performance measure, the ESG tilted Sharpe ratio, is introduced. Its maximum can be used for determining γ. A portfolio formed with 29 constituents of the Dow Jones Index in 2015–2019 is considered as an example. The MSCI ESG ratings are chosen for estimating PESGV. It is found that higher PESGVs yield more concentrated portfolios and lower Sharpe ratios. Partial correlations based portfolios are more diversified and have higher PESGVs than the Pearson’s correlations based portfolios.
Asian Bond Markets: Issues and Prospects

These papers were presented at a BIS/Korea University conference of central bankers, scholars and market participants held in Seoul on 21-23 March 2004. They should be read as reflecting market conditions at that time. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BIS or the central banks represented at the meeting. Individual papers (or excerpts thereof) may be reproduced or translated with the authorisation of the authors concerned.
Resource Partitioning and Niche Shifts of Bream (Abramis brama) and Eel (Anguilla anguilla) Mediated by Predation of Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) on Daphnia hyalina

The resource partitioning of the bream (Abramis brama) and eel (Anguilla anguilla) populations in Lake Tjeukemeer, The Netherlands, was related to the variation in abundance of their most important food organisms, Daphnia hyalina and larval chironomids. Niche shifts of both bream and eel populations were related to the abundance of young planktivorous fish, particularly smelt (Osmerus eperlanus). When these fish were abundant the D. hyalina population was dominated by small individuals and bream switched from a planktivorous to a benthivorous diet, the condition of mature bream deteriorated, and its gonads developed poorly. Under these circumstances the eel population switched from a diet of chironomid pupae and molluscs to one of predominantly fish. The condition of eels smaller than 35 cm decreased and the chironomid population decreased in numbers and biomass. Conversely, when the recruitment of planktivorous fish was poor, the size of D. hyalina was large and diets and conditions of bream and eel popu.
The Effect of Depuration on Transmission of Aeromonas salmonicida between the Freshwater Bivalve Amblema plicata and Arctic Char

Abstract A model system was used to study bacterial fish pathogen transmission between the freshwater bivalve Amblema plicata and two strains (Nauyuk and Labrador) of Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus. Aeromonas salmonicida, the cause of fish furunculosis, was readily transmitted from Arctic char to A. plicata and vice versa via simple cohabitation. Clinical furunculosis was artificially established in Nauyuk Arctic char via horizontal exposure to Labrador Arctic char that received intraperitoneal injections of A. salmonicida. After the Nauyuk Arctic char began to die, A. plicata were placed in the tank with the fish. After 33 d of cohabitation, a group of 10 A. plicata was cultured, and A. salmonicida was isolated from all 10. The remaining A. plicata were transferred to other tanks being supplied with specific-pathogen-free water. At 1, 5, 15, and 30 d after transfer, 60 uninfected Labrador Arctic char were cohabitated with the A. plicata. Transmission of A. salmonicida from A. plicata to the Arctic char w.
A third species of Mancalla from the late Pliocene San Diego Formation of California (Aves : Alcidae)

ABSTRACT Mancalla emlongi, new species, is the fifth species described in this extinct genus of flightless auks and is the third to be described from the late Pliocene San Diego Formation of southern California. The species is based on a right ulna that is markedly larger than in any other member of the genus.
Effects of copper, cadmium, lead, and arsenic in a live diet on juvenile fish growth

The effects of diet-borne copper, cadmium, lead, and arsenic on juvenile fish were evaluated using a live diet consisting of the oligochaete Lumbriculus variegatus. In 30 d exposures, no effects were observed on the growth and survival of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) fed diets contaminated with copper [130–310 µg Cu·(g dm)−1], cadmium [90–540 µg Cd·(g dm)−1], and lead [850–1000 µg Pb·(g dm)−1]. However, rainbow trout growth was reduced in a dose-dependent manner for diets contaminated with arsenic [26–77 µg As·(g dm)−1]. These effects of arsenic on fish growth were accompanied by slower feeding rate, reduced food conversion efficiency, liver cell abnormalities, and fecal matter changes suggestive of digestive effects, and occurred to a similar extent whether the diet was exposed to arsenate or arsenite. Effects from these dietary levels of arsenic, and the absence of effects from these dietary levels of metals, were ge.
Commitment Contracts

We review the theoretical and empirical literature on commitment devices. A commitment device is any arrangement, entered into by an individual, with the aim of making it easier to fulfill his or her own future plans. We argue that there is growing empirical evidence supporting the proposition that people demand commitment devices and that these devices can change behavior. We highlight the importance of further research exploring soft commitments - those involving only psychological costs - and the welfare consequences of hard commitments - those involving actual costs - especially in the presence of bounded rationality.
Maturity Choice and Reference Points

This paper shows how retail borrowers' focus on recent interest rates as reference points may lead to maturity choices which are inconsistent with normative predictions. A laboratory experiment reveals that borrowers prefer longer maturities when interest rates have fallen and shorter maturities when interest rates have risen. Normative drivers of maturity choice related to borrower characteristics, loan attributes, and pricing variables cannot explain these patterns of maturity choice. Market data from a mortgage broker confirms our findings in a context in which sound financial decisions are of prime importance for households' financial well-being.
Prudential Policies and Systemic Risk: The Role of Interconnections

The impact of prudential policies in open economies depends not only on their intrinsic efficacy but also on the feedback of the policy through close financial partners. Using a dataset of advanced countries, we find that prudential policy measures reduce systemic risk in the financial system in the 2000-2014 time period. We show that indirect effect in case of uniform interventions enforces the direct one and accounts for up to 87% of total risk reduction. The policies, though, remain insignificant for GIIPS countries, which stay dependent on actions and responses of their financial counterparties.
New Bythinella species from northern Romania (Gastropoda: Rissooidea)

Recent samples of freshwater molluscs from Romania contained six new Bythinella species: B. blidariensis n. sp. , B. georgievi n. sp. , B. falniowskii n. sp. , B. feheri n. sp. , B. sirbui n. sp. , and B. szarowskae n. sp. Since B. molcsanyi H. Wagner, 1941 sometimes co-occurred with B. grossui Falniowski, Szarowska et Sîrbu, 2009 or with B. feheri n. sp. , differences between these species were studied, to identify diagnostic features. Apart from shell morphology, also the tubular gland proved to be important for identification of Bythinella spp.