Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
What Makes Better Boards?: A Closer Look at Diversity and Ownership

This study investigates the joint effect of corporate ownership and board of directors’ diversity configurations on the success of strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) decisions. Board diversity is defined as the extent to which its demographic diversity as measured by the culture, nationality, gender and experience of its directors complements its statutory diversity. A theoretical framework linking ownership, board diversity and M&A strategic decision making is proposed and tested. Based on a sample of 289 M&A decisions undertaken by Canadian firms over the period 2000-2007, demographic diversity is found to have a clear and non linear effect on M&A performance while statutory diversity is of limited influence. Ownership is found to influence the effect of diversity, making the relation finer and more precise. This has practical implications. First, statutory diversity is not sufficient for well-performing boards. Also, ownership is an important factor. The mostly advocated board diversity aimed at insuring the board’s independence is not valid across all ownership configurations. From a public policy perspective, results provide support for the principles-based approach in governance. Governance regimes should encourage the search for a balance between board diversity and the need for cohesion that best serves the firm’s purpose and obligations.
The Toehold Puzzle

The substantial control premium in corporate takeovers makes a compelling case for acquiring target shares (a toehold) prior to launching a bid. Nevertheless, with a sample exceeding ten thousand initial control bids for public targets, we show that toehold bidding has declined steadily since the early 1980s and is now surprisingly rare. At the same time, the average toehold is large (twenty percent), and toeholds are the norm in hostile bids. To explain this puzzle, we develop and test a two-stage takeover model in which optimal toeholds centre on either zero or a positive threshold. Toehold bidding gives rise to target-borne toehold costs, causing some targets to reject negotiations. In our sample, an average toehold threshold of nine percent is required to compensate the bidder for the expected cost of rejection. With liquidity costs, thresholds of this size may well induce a broad range of bidders to select zero toehold. As predicted, the probability of toehold bidding decreases and the toehold size increases with the threshold estimate. The model also predicts toehold bidding in hostile bids, as we observe.
Scandinavian Ropy Milk — Identification and Characterization of Endogenous Ropy Lactic Streptococci and Their Extracellular Excretion

Abstract Four bacterial strains isolated from Swedish ropy edible milk were subjected to tests for differentiating group N streptococci. One of the cultures was a variant of Streptococcus lactis , previously named Streptococcus lactis longi , and the other three were variants of Streptococcus cremoris with the suggested name Streptococcus cremoris longi . Viscosity of dairy products produced with Streptococcus cremoris longi was unstable. At optimum growth temperatures stability depended upon the number of serial transfers and on the length of culture incubation. The viscous material produced by Streptococcus cremoris longi was most likely a glycoprotein. It consisted of 47% total protein, 20% methyl pentoses, 9.3% protein-bound hexose-like material, and a 2.8% sialic acid. A substantial portion of the molecule remains to be identified.
Keeping the Joneses From Getting Ahead in the First Place: Envy’s Influence on Gift Giving Behavior

Past research in gift giving has largely treated asymmetries between the types of gifts givers give and the ones recipients prefer to receive as unintentional errors on the part of givers. In contrast, we show that givers sometimes intentionally bypass gifts that they know will bring the most joy and happiness to their recipients. Specifically, we demonstrate that givers dislike giving gifts that compare favorably to their own possessions, because they feel that doing so would lead them to experience envy and thus become less satisfied with their own possessions. Consequently, they instead opt for other gifts that are not superior to their own possessions and thus do not negatively impact their liking of their own possessions. Critically, givers sometimes opt for these alternative gifts even in cases where they know they are less preferred by recipients. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.
What Motivates Academic Scientists to Engage in Research Commercialisation: 'Gold,' 'Ribbon' or 'Puzzle'?

This paper employs the three concepts of ‘gold’ (financial rewards), ‘ribbon’ (reputational/career rewards) and ‘puzzle’ (intrinsic satisfaction) to examine the extrinsic and intrinsic aspects of scientists’ motivation for pursuing commercial activities. The study is based on 36 individual interviews and an on-line questionnaire survey of 735 scientists from five major UK research universities. It finds that there is a diversity of motivations for commercial engagement, and that many do so for reputational and intrinsic reasons and that financial rewards play a relatively small part. The paper draws on self-determination theory in social psychology to analyse the relationship between scientists’ value orientations with regard to commercial engagement and their personal motivations. It finds that those with traditional beliefs about the separation of science from commerce are more likely to be extrinsically motivated, using commercialization as a means to obtain resources to support their quest for the ‘ribbon’. In contrast, those identify closely with entrepreneurial norms are intrinsically motivated by the autonomy and ‘puzzle-solving’ involved in applied commercial research while also motivated by the ‘gold. ’ The study highlights the primacy of scientists’ self motivation, and suggests that a fuller explanation of their commercial behaviour will need to consider a broader mix of motives to include the social and affective aspects of intrinsic motivation. In conclusion, the paper argues that policy to encourage commercial engagement should build on reputational and intrinsic rather than purely financial motivations.
Conditional Equity Premium and Aggregate Investment: Is the Stock Market a Sideshow?

We document a strong relation between aggregate corporate investment and direct stock market risk measures. Consistent with the investment-based asset pricing model, the comovement with the proxies for conditional equity premium fully accounts for aggregate investment’s predictive power for future stock market returns. Similarly, conditional equity premium is also a significant determinant of classic Tobin’s q measure, although the latter has a much weaker relation with aggregate investment possibly because of its measurement errors. Moreover, the positive relation between aggregate investment and investor sentiment documented in previous studies reflects the fact that both variables correlate closely with conditional equity premium.
The effect of milking throughout pregnancy on milk secretion in the succeeding lactation

Summary In each of 5 cows, 2 quarters which had been regularly milked throughout the whole of pregnancy produced less milk in the next lactation than the other 2 quarters which had a normal dry period. The concentrations of the individual constituents in the milk of all 4 quarters of each cow were similar. The effect appears to be due to factors located within the individual quarter of the mammary gland rather than to factors such as the hormonal background or plane of nutrition which affect the whole animal.
The Influence of a Firm’s Business Strategy on its Tax Aggressiveness

We examine the relation between a firm’s business and tax planning strategies. To identify firms’ business strategies we use a comprehensive measure of business strategy based on the theoretical framework of Miles and Snow (1978, 2003). Specifically, we first investigate whether a firm’s business strategy is associated with its level of tax avoidance. Next, we investigate the association between the firm’s business strategy and the extent to which it avoids tax in an aggressive manner. We find that firms following Miles and Snows’ Prospector (innovation and risk seeking) strategy avoid more taxes than both Defender firms (cost leadership and risk aversion) and firms following a more general (Analyzer) strategy. We find that Prospectors also appear to undertake more aggressive and less sustainable tax positions than Defenders. Thus, our business strategy measure appears not only to capture Prospectors’ taking advantage of tax planning opportunities that result from their innovation strategy, but also reflects their greater willingness to undertake risk and deal with uncertainty.
Inefficient Mergers

Although complementarity between products and/or technologies of bidders and targets is considered a key driver of M\&amp;A deals, many observed mergers are inefficient: Complementarity gains in actual mergers are lower than the gains that could have been obtained were the targets acquired by different bidders. In this paper we propose a possible reason for the existence of inefficient mergers, which is based on search and information frictions. Our model examines three such frictions: target's obsolescence risk, difficulties in evaluating complementarity gains, and competitive interaction among potential bidders in output markets. We test the model's predictions using two established measures of complementarity gains in mergers: product similarity and technological overlap. Both sets of tests indicate that the degree of inefficiency in observed M\&amp;As is related to targets' and bidders' characteristics in ways consistent with the model's predictions. More generally, our results suggest that search and value discovery are important determinants of merger outcomes. <br>
Retribution or Reconciliation? Post-Conflict Attitudes Toward Enemy Collaborators

Rebel groups require the cooperation of many civilians who are commonly perceived as “collaborators” after conflict ends. The limited empirical work in this area focuses on fighters, ignoring the need for more nuanced understandings of proportional justice for civilian collaborators. Through a survey experiment in an Iraqi city that experienced governance by the Islamic State, we find that social identity—expected to trigger in- group favoritism—is a weak determinant of preferences for punishment and forgiveness compared to the type of collaboration itself. Our results also fail to provide support for the hypothesis that exposure to violence drives a desire for revenge. Instead, the perceived volition behind an act is important, although its effect varies depending on the type of collaboration. Our research offers uniquely fine-grained data and insights into the factors that shape perceptions of individual rebel culpability, with important policy implications for balancing accountability with the need for reconciliation.
Monotone Comparative Statics in Stochastic Games With Increasing Preferences

We consider a class of stochastic discounted games with increasing preferences. We first prove existence of extremal Stationary Markov Perfect Equilibria (SMPE) in pure strategies, and we characterize those equilibria as unique fixed points of well-chosen operators. We use this characterization to establish a class of monotone comparative results on those extremal equilibria, using an arbitrary parameter space.
Industry Dynamics and Competition from Low-Wage Countries: Evidence on Italy

This paper analyses the effect of competition from low-wage countries on domestic activity, using data on 230 Italian manufacturing sectors between 1995 and 2007. We find that low-wage import penetration is negatively related to employment and other measures of activity. The effect is significantly lower in more skill, capital and R&D-intensive sectors and in more vertically differentiated sectors. There is also evidence of significant effects of low-wage competition through inter-industry linkages: employment is negatively related to low-wage import penetration in downstream sectors but positively related to low-wage import penetration in upstream sectors.
Hansen-Scheinkman Factorization and Ross Recovery from Option Panels

Determining the transition matrix of a discrete Markov process from sequential forecasts of smoothed density functions is an important element of many problems in decision theory and economics. Recent theoretical results have demonstrated that the Perron-Frobenius eigenfunction of a Markov risk neutral state price transition matrix has an interesting economic interpretation and could permit the extraction of physical forward pricing densities from options markets. Yet, the application to actual market prices is challenging. For instance, even at the intraday frequency, option market panels contain substantial gaps and can contain unpredictable levels of noise across strike prices and tenors. This paper derives an exact nonlinear programming framework utilizing the properties of the Drazin inverse of an irreducible matrix. Simulation and fit to actual data demonstrates the consistency and usefulness of the technique.
When Do Venture Capitalists Collaborate? – Evidence on the Driving Forces of Venture Capital Syndication

Using a sample of 2,373 unique capital contributions from 437 VCs over subsequent rounds into 961 start-ups during the period 1995-2005 in Germany we disentangle the circumstances under which lead VCs engage in syndicate relationships with partner VCs. The results indicate that syndication is more pronounced when VCs face higher risks that need to be diversified and capital burdens are larger. Moreover, we document that industry investment experience lends legitimacy to lead VCs allowing them to enter syndicate relationships to enhance their network positions. In general, a higher industry experience is associated with more syndication. Lastly, the results show that lead VCs involve new/additional partners in subsequent financing rounds to lever upon their idiosyncratic skills and knowledge to either improve deal selection and/or provide a better quality of managerial advice.
Is Idiosyncratic Volatility Priced in Commodity Futures Markets?

This article investigates the relationship between expected returns and past idiosyncratic volatility in commodity futures markets. Measuring the idiosyncratic volatility of 27 commodity futures contracts with traditional pricing models that fail to account for backwardation and contango leads to the puzzling finding that idiosyncratic volatility is significantly negatively priced cross-sectionally. However, idiosyncratic volatility is not priced when the phases of backwardation and contango are suitably factored in the pricing model. A time-series portfolio analysis similarly suggests that failing to recognize the fundamental risk associated with the inexorable phases of backwardation and contango leads to overstated profitability of the idiosyncratic volatility mimicking portfolios.
Distribuição do elemento transponível impala em isolados de fusarium oxysporum patogênicos e não-patogênicos ao feijoeiro

The genetic variability of 20 isolates of Fusarium oxysporum, nine nonpathogenic and 11 causing common bean (Phaseouls vulgaris) wilt, was analyzed on the basis of the distribution of the transposable element impala. The presence of transposable elements belonging to subfamilies D and E of impala was determined through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers for each subfamily. The presence of members of the two subfamilies was observed in most of the isolates, suggesting that it is an old component in the F. oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli genoma. Hybridization of total DNA of each isolate, digested with EcoRI, with impala fragments of subfamily E produced a highly variable band pattern in the nonpathogenic isolates, indicating the possible activity of these elements. On the other hand, in pathogenic isolates, the band patterns were more homogeneous and some isolates showed very similar patterns, indicating that these impala copies have lost their capacity to transpose. These inactive copies are suitable as genetic markers. Among the pathogenic isolates, endogenous copies of impala were not detected in Fus4; therefore, this isolate could be used in experiments of insertional mutagenesis with the pNI160 plasmid, which harbors the active W impala element disrupting the niaD (nitrate reductase) gene.
Rating Standards around the World: A Puzzle?

Abstract Using panel data on S&P's credit ratings for firms from 63 countries over the 2000–2016 period, we uncover divergent patterns in the rating standards over time. Standards strengthen by 1.5 notches for U.S. firms and by 2.2 notches for other developed country firms, but weaken by 1.2 notches for emerging country firms. Default and credit spread tests show that standards tightening for U.S. and other developed country firms is likely unwarranted, whereas standards loosening for firms in emerging economies appears to be justified. This novel and puzzling evidence suggests that S&P does not adopt consistent global standards over time.
Nitrogen fixation is synchronized with carbon metabolism in Lotus japonicus and Medicago truncatula nodules under salt stress

Abstract In the present work, the response to NaCl applied at the vegetative stage to Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus has been evaluated in order to ascertain whether the effect of salt stress on nitrogen fixation is due to a limitation on nodular carbon metabolism. Results show maximum sucrose synthase (SS) and alkaline invertase (AI) activities were obtained at the vegetative stage, when maximum nitrogenase activity was detected in both species. SS activity decreased with the salt treatment, providing evidence of the regulatory role of this enzyme for the carbon supply to the bacteroids. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activities could account for higher nitrogen fixation efficiency detected in L. japonicus nodules and isocitrate dehydrogenase (ICDH) activity compensated for the carbon limitations that occur under salt stress. These results support that nitrogenase inhibition in nodules experiencing salt stress is doubt to a carbon flux shortage, as result of carbon metabolism enzymes activities down-regulation.
Operating Profitableness of Investment Projects. In Search of a Fictional Rate (Операционная доходность инвестиционных проектов. В поисках вымышленной ставки)

The Russian version of this paper can be found at <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3271803">https://ssrn.com/abstract=3271803</a>. <b>English Abstract:</b> The investment project is considered as a project of borrowing with two participants by the investor and the recipient, each of which has its profitableness in the project. The concept of the operating profitableness of the investor and the recipient is described, according to which the IRR is determined by the ratio of the discounted amounts of interest payments and loan indebtedness previously allocated from the project payment flow. This establishes the economic meaning of the IRR as a ratio of income to the resources used to receive it. It is shown that in projects with a single (simple or multiple) IRR value, the operating profitableness of the participants is precisely this value and is determined, but in different ranges of the discount rate change. The possibility of constructing, on the basis of the concept of operating profitableness, performance indicators of projects with multiple IRR values is discussed. <b>Russian Abstract:</b> Инвестиционный проект рассматривается как проект заимствования с двумя участниками - инвестором и реципиентом, каждый из которых имеет свою доходность в проекте. Излагается концепция операционной доходности инвестора и реципиента, согласно которой IRR определяется отношением дисконтированных сумм процентных платежей и ссудных задолженностей, предварительно выделенных из потока платежей проекта. Тем самым установлен экономический смысл IRR как отношения дохода к использованным для его получения ресурсам. Показано, что в проектах с единственным (простым или кратным) значением IRR операционная доходность участников именно этим значением и определяется, но в разных диапазонах изменения ставки дисконтирования. Обсуждается возможность построения на основе понятия операционной доходности показателей эффективности проектов с множественными значениями IRR.
Condensed tannins and saponin content in different plant parts of Stylosanthes scabra (Fitzroy) plants harvested from agro-ecologically different sites in Zimbabwe

The objective of this study was to determine the proanthocyanidin (PA; condensed tannin) and saponin contents of different parts of Stylosanthes scabra (Fitzroy) plants harvested from five agro-ecologically different sites in Zimbabwe. Condensed tannins and saponin content of S. scabra leaves and twigs were determined by the n-butanol HCl method and haemolysis test, respectively. Mimosa tannins were used as the stable reference standard for the condensed tannin analysis, although it is accepted that this has some failings. There were significant differences (p < 0.05) between species in the contents of extractable (soluble) and unextractable, both protein and neutral detergent fibre (NDF)-bound tannins. In all the samples, the concentration of bound tannins (protein and NDF bound) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of the extractable tannins. Most of the bound tannins were bound to proteins. Total proanthocyanidin (sum of extractable and total residue tannins) concentration in the leaf and twig samples harvested at pre-anthesis, anthesis and post-anthesis stages of growth of Fitzroy was higher (p < 0.01) in the leaves than in the twigs. Condensed tannin contents were higher (p < 0.01) in S. scabra samples harvested at Chivhu than in those from Henderson Research Station and Mhondoro, which receive higher rainfall than at Chivhu. This study showed that the agro-ecological site and plant part affects proanthocyanidin concentrations in S. scabra.
Variación estacional y potencial enzimático de microhongos asociados con la descomposición de hojarasca de Nothofagus pumilio

Se estudio la variacion estacional y el potencial enzimatico de microhongos aislados desde el follaje y hojarasca de Nothofagus pumilio sometida a degradacion natural durante 1 ano. La investigacion se realizo en un bosque de N. pumilio ubicado en una microcuenca del Valle de Antillanca, Parque Nacional Puyehue (40° 47' S, 72° 12' O, 1.120 m de altitud). Hojas senescentes colectadas desde arboles de N. pumilio se depositaron en bolsas de malla de nylon ("litter bags") y se sometieron a degradacion natural en el piso del bosque durante 1 ano (marzo 1997-marzo 1998), realizando muestreos trimestrales. Para el aislamiento de microhongos desde las hojas se utilizo el metodo de las diluciones, con agar extracto de malta al 2 % como medio de cultivo. Para determinar los potenciales degradativos de los aislamientos, se analizaron in vitro las actividades de amilasa, celulasa, pectinasa, proteasa, lacasa, oxidasa extracelular, peroxidasa, citocromo oxidasa, fosfatasa, esterasa y tirosinasa. Las principales especies aisladas en las hojas senescentes fueron Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum, Phialophora grupo hoffmannii y Rhodotorula aurantiaca. Las especies dominantes en la hojarasca fueron Hormonema prunorum, Mortierella ramanniana var. angulispora, Penicillium para-herquei y Trichoderma polysporum. El mayor potencial enzimatico lo exhibieron Moniliales y micelios esteriles, mientras el menor Sphaeropsidales y levaduras. Las especies mas activas fueron Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Hormonema prunorum y Phialophora malorum. Las actividades de celulasa y amilasa fueron las mas importantes. De las enzimas ligninoliticas, oxidasa extracelular y peroxidasa presentaron los mas elevados potenciales enzimaticos