Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning About Financial Health in Canada

This paper applies cluster analysis to eleven (continuous) years' worth of responses to the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) survey of employed Canadians. The clustering algorithm clearly identifies three distinct groups of respondents. Between-group comparison of response patterns reveals that two of the groups lie on opposite sides of the financial health spectrum, and leads us to label their members "financially stressed" and "financially capable", respectively. The third group shares characteristics with both the stressed and capable groups, and we label its members as "financially coping". We find that financial stress is both widespread (one third of all respondents are identified as stressed) and complex (stress is only weakly related to simple demographics such as age or income). From a methodological perspective, an important point is that our use of cluster analysis allows us to generate rigorous insights into financial well-being, without having to measure it directly.
Vernacularization and Linguistic Democratization

The use of a language in written and formal contexts that is distinct from the varieties used in everyday communication - such as Latin in early modern Europe and Standard Arabic in the Arabic-speaking world - comes with benefits, but also with costs. Drawing on city-level data on all books and pamphlets published in Europe between 1451 and 1600, we document that the Protestant Reformation led to a sharp rise in vernacular printing, such that by the end of the 16th century, the majority of works were printed in spoken tongues rather than in Latin. This transformation allowed broader segments of society to access knowledge. It was also associated, as we show, with a significant diversification in the composition of authors and book content. Finally, we provide evidence that an increase in vernacular printing at the city level is strongly correlated with higher population growth - a proxy for economic development - and in the birth of notable innovators and creative individuals. In this way, we argue that the vernacularization of printing was an important driver of European dynamism in the early modern period.
Machine Learning Based Trading Strategies

Dynamic contributions to trading are evaluated using covariations between position and price changes a horizon. Other performance measures like Sharpe ratios, Gain loss ratios, Acceptability indices and Drawdowns are also employed. Machine learning strategies based on Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) are compared with Least Squares (LSQ). Further both are generalized by invoking conservative valuation schemes that lead to the study of conservative conditional expectations modeled by distorted expectations. The latter lead to the development of distorted least squares (DLSQ) and distorted Gaussian Process Regression (DGPR) as the associated estimation or prediction schemes. Trading strategies are executed for nine sectors of the US economy using fourteen different predictive factor sets. Results support improvements made by GPR, DGPR over LSQ, DLSQ with the distorted versions also impacting favorably the drawdowns.
Managerial Ability and Intangible Assets: Evidence From Purchase Price Allocations in Mergers and Acquisitions

We examine the relationship between managerial ability and recognized intangible assets, including goodwill and other assets acquired in mergers and acquisitions (M&amp;As). We find that managerial ability is positively associated with the amount of intangible assets acquired in M&amp;As. Furthermore, managerial ability affects the purchase price allocation of these assets and is more positively related to goodwill than to other intangible assets. Finally, cross-sectional analyses reveal that the relationship between managerial ability and intangible assets acquired in M&amp;As is mainly driven by acquirers with domestic, public, or related targets, whose information is more easily accessible.
Engineering Growth

This paper offers the first systematic historical evidence on the role of a central actor in modern growth theory: the engineer. We construct a database on the share of engineers in the labor force during the Second Industrial Revolution (1870–1914) at the county level for the US, and the state and national levels for the Americas. These measures are robustly correlated with income today after controlling for literacy, other types of higher order human capital (college graduates, lawyers, physicians, patenting) and demand side factors, as well as after instrumenting engineering using the 1862 US Land Grant Colleges program. Differences in engineering density in 1880 account for 10% higher US county incomes today, while national disparities in engineering density can explain approximately a quarter of the income divergence in the Americas. To document the mechanisms through which engineering density works, we show how it is correlated with higher rates of technology adoption and structural transformation across intermediate time periods, and with numerous measures of the knowledge economy today.
Natural Disaster Impedes the Corporate Earnings Management in the U.S.

Natural disasters can cause heavy economic losses to firms that may propel them to overuse earnings management to change public perceptions about the damage brought by these events. This may lead to potential profit manipulation and accounting fraud, eventually damaging the interests of shareholders and business sustainability. Although studies have examined both natural disasters and earnings management, little attention has been focused on understanding the association between them, and the possible mechanism through which natural disasters affect corporate earnings management behaviors. To fill this gap, we apply propensity score matching technique and differences-in-differences regression using a sample of 12,808 publicly listed firms over the 1980-2017 period in the U.S. We find that natural disasters restrain the extent of corporate earnings management by 8.2% (9.6%) annually in two (three) years following the event. The breakdown into five specific types of natural disasters shows that such effect is most pronounced for snow-related disasters, followed by hurricanes, fires, storms and floods in descending magnitude. Our study also demonstrates the maximal effect of natural disasters on corporate earnings management in low competitive product markets. We conclude with recommendation for differentiated regulation conditional on disaster types and market competitions.
Analyzing and Forecasting Electricity Price using Regime-Switching Models: The Case of New Zealand Market

This paper aims to study the forecasting capabilities of several models under the Markov regime-switching (MRS) and the extreme value theory (EVT) frameworks applied to daily electricity prices in the New Zealand electricity market. The MRS models in this study include up to five regimes, with time-varying transition probabilities and incorporation of external market variables. We apply Hamilton's filter with maximum likelihood estimation for parameter estimation. The EVT peaks-over-threshold (EVT-PoT) framework is also considered, and its relationship to the MRS class of models is discussed. We generate out-of-sample forecasts under various market scenarios. The MRS models are able to replicate real price densities under stable market conditions, however we are unable to identify a single best model. The EVT-PoT model performs well despite its lack of complexity compared to the MRS framework. We attribute this to the usage of the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) to model price extremities.
It’s in the Bag? The Effect of Plastic Carryout Bag Bans on Where and What People Purchase to Eat

This paper examines how banning the use of plastic carryout bags at grocery stores affects where and what people purchase to eat. Using quasi-random variation in local bag ban adoption across California and two data sources (retail scanner data and consumer survey data), I show that banning plastic carryout bags shifted some food sales away from regulated grocery stores towards unregulated grocery stores and restaurants. Specifically, I find that bag bans cause a 1.8% decline in food-at-home sales and a 1.9 percentage point increase in consumers' food-away-from-home expenditure share. The decline in food-at-home sales is larger in jurisdictions more likely to experience cross-border shopping whereas the increase in food-away-from-home expenditures is larger farther from jurisdiction borders. Together these results suggest that a small share of consumers find a way to bypass the bag bans, either by cross-border shopping if near a border or by shifting to restaurants if not near a border. Heterogeneity analyses reveal the policy effects are strongest for those with higher incomes, those under 65 years, and those with young children, suggesting both income effects and time constraints as mechanisms behind the behavioral change. By quantifying consumer avoidance behaviors, these results enable policymakers to more accurately measure the impacts of their regulations and to understand the potential trade-offs between their environmental and public health objectives.
NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROVISION OF INFORMATION IN MARKET-BASED PUBLIC PROGRAMS: EVIDENCE FROM ADVERTISING IN HEALTH INSURANCE MARKETPLACES

This paper studies the effect of provision of information by the government and private firms through marketing activities in the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace. Using detailed TV advertising data, we present evidence that government advertising and private advertising target different geographical areas and provide different messaging content. We estimate the impacts of both types of advertising on consumer demand. We find that government advertising increases overall enrollment and enhances welfare; however, it does not induce consumers to select a particular insurer. Private advertising, in contrast, increases demand for specific insurers, and insurers spending more on advertising tend to offer plans associated with higher consumer utility. However, private advertising alone does not induce consumers to select insurers with better plans very efficiently because it tends to be excessive due to rent-seeking competition. Naoki Aizawa Department of Economics University of Wisconsin-Madison 1180 Observatory Drive Madison, WI 53706 and NBER naizawa@wisc.edu You Suk Kim Division of Research and Statistics Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 20th & C Streets, NW, Washington, D.C. 20551 you.kim@frb.gov
Hydrolysis for Optimal Sugar Release from Macroalgal Feedstock for Bioethanol Production

Bioethanol from macroalgal feedstock entails pretreatment and hydrolysis for synthesis of sugar followed by the fermentation. Macroalgal biomass is pretreated for size reduction, alter or removal of structural and compositional impediments prior to the enzyme hydrolysis. Most commonly used pretreatment method is mineral acid hydrolysis with H2SO4 and HCl at milder concentrations to releases simple sugars (such as xylose, arabinose, galactose, glucose). Acid hydrolysis of U.lactuca and E. intestinalis yielded 214.67mg/g and 239.94 mg/g of reducing sugar respectively. Enzyme was extracted from marine bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus and purified by the two-step purification that produced 61.82% yield with 2.97 fold purification. Enzyme hydrolysis of pretreated algal biomass produced one fold higher reducing sugar than acid hydrolysis.
Passive Appreciation in Divorce A Quantitative Measure

Breaking up is hard to do. High net worth marital estates often contain family businesses started or inherited by one or both spouses. The growth in the value of such business interests occurring during the marriage can consist of two components. It may be attributable to environmental factors (passive) or marital efforts and resources (active). Quantifying the passive contribution of economic environment changes during the marriage is a complex task. A substantial body of case law dealing with establishing causation and attributing impact has developed in the torts and class action practice areas. This paper presents this statistically sound, empirically tested, and peer reviewed methodology for estimating the passive (caused by/resulting from external forces) portion of appreciation for a business. This methodology can assist the forensic accountants in identifying pertinent causal factors and quantifying their impact (passive appreciation) on the value of a business during a marriage.
Fund Management Structure and Conflicts of Interest: Evidence from Business Development Companies

Using the universe of Business Development Companies for the period 2006-17, we analyze the effects of fund management structure on managerial decisions and fund premiums. We show that externally managed funds trade at significantly higher discounts relative to their internally managed counterparts and they are 74% (67%) less likely to announce (execute) value enhancing share repurchase programs. We further find a significantly higher positive market reaction to share repurchase announcements of externally relative to internally managed funds. Overall, we show the benefits of internal management structure in avoiding agency costs associated with the dependence of managerial compensation on total assets.
Exploring Conceptual Links Between Development Journalism and the Gandhian Model of Rural Development

Development journalism has the power to bring positive changes in society and presents as an alternative to sensationalist, commercially driven journalism. However, for development journalism to be successful, it must follow the postulates that M. K. Gandhi stated for development of rural society. A village built on his ideals of swaraj and self-development will be a fit background for local newspapers, radio stations, and other media channels to spread awareness and interest in villages. This will, in turn, motivate and garner resources for the village to pursue its development plans more effectively. Exploring this symbiotic relationship between rural self-development and supportive development journalism, preferably by the villagers themselves through a simple means of communication, can be a new step in the direction of rural uplift. This is the concept that the paper has tried to explore. The paper aims to establish a theoretical link between two groups of literature available in printed form – the articles, books, and papers written about development journalism, and the selected writings of M. K. Gandhi on the topic of rural self-development. It takes a qualitative approach with an advocacy/participatory worldview. The paper presents a model depicting mutual coexistence between development journalism and elements of Gandhian rural development, and gives policy recommendations based on this analysis
Individualism vs. Collectivism and the Early-Stage Transmission of COVID-19

We propose a new perspective based on the individualism vs. collectivism (IC) cultural distinction to understand the diverging early-stage transmission outcomes of COVID-19 between countries. To provide a fair comparison for different countries, we use the date when the total cases per million capita reach one as the starting point of each country's outbreak. With data of sixty days after the outbreak, we find the COVID-19 spread much faster in the early stage in more individualistic societies than in more collectivistic societies. We further use pronoun drop and absolute latitude as the instruments for IC to solve reverse causality and omitted variable bias. We find a significant impact of IC cultural distinction on the early-stage transmission outcome of COVID-19. The results are robust to different measures of COVID-19 outcomes, different measures of IC, other cultural dimensions, and different sub-samples. We propose to take into account the role of IC not only for understanding the current pandemic but also for thinking about the future trend of the world.
Dynamics of Venture Capital Syndication: Perspective of Information

Syndication develops an increasing social network of venture capitals (VC). On one hand, information channel to the center of network. On the other hand, firms in the center are faced with redundant information. Using the evidence from China, we investigate the dynamics of syndication network with the perspective of information. The position of a firm in the network exerts a curvilinear effect on its strategy of syndication in the future. Specifically, less-centered firms focus more on the quantity of information and are prone to gather information by syndication (especially with familiar partners). Contrarily, the top centered firms focus more on information diversity and are prone to operate solo or to syndicate with new partners. Furthermore, cross-clique syndication improves VC firm’s performance. In addition, the ownership and experience of VC firms affects the curvilinear relationship.
Ring Opening of Epoxides and Aziridines with Benzotriazoles Using Magnetically Retrievable Graphene Based (CoFe@rGO) Nanohybrid

Reduced Graphene oxide (rGO) behaves as an excellent heterogeneous catalyst because of its remarkable characteristics such as large specific surface area and high thermal stability. In this regards, Graphene oxide was converted to magnetic nanohybrid (CoFe@rGO) and utilized as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the ring opening reactions and act as Lewis acid to promote the reaction. Developed a new facile, environmentally benign and green methodology for the synthesis of β-hydroxytriazoles and β- N -tosylsulfonamidetriazoles derivatives via ring opening reaction of epoxides and aziridines respectively in the presence of CoFe@rGO nanohybrid as catalyst in good to excellent yields under solvent free reaction conditions. Catalyst was separated from the reaction mixture by an external magnet, recycled and reused up to six catalytic runs without significant loss of catalytic activity. Environmentally benign conditions, cheap starting materials, shorter reaction times, easy work-up and purification of the products, high regioselectivity, high yields, recyclability and reusability of catalyst are the main advantages of our protocol.
Banks as Firms’ Blockholders: A Study in Spain

This article analyses how a firm’s returns are affected when a bank becomes a large blockholder. We investigate this issue by taking into consideration the types of blockholders that build coalitions with banks in order to control a firm. We find that the effect on a firm’s returns is negative when a bank buys the largest stake and forms coalitions with other banks. However, this negative effect does not apply in other situations. We underscore our theoretical conjectures based on an empirical analysis of a panel dataset comprising a representative sample of listed and unlisted Spanish firms over the period 1996 to 2000.
How SME Uniqueness Affects Capital Structure: Evidence from a 1994-1998 Spanish Data Panel

The principal aim of this paper is to test how firm characteristics affect Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) capital structure. We carry out an empirical analysis of panel data of 6482 non-financial Spanish SMEs during the five year period 1994-1998, modelling the leverage ratio as a function of firm specific attributes hypothesized by capital structure theory. Our results suggest that non-debt tax shields and profitability are both negatively related to SME leverage, while size, growth options and asset structure influence positively SME capital structure; they also confirm a maturity matching behaviour in this firm group.
Market Reactions to ESG Announcements: Evidence from a $1 Trillion Fund

The world’s single largest stockowner, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, makes ESG announcements about the products or conduct of its invested firms. The announcements regard divesting from firms or placing them on a watch-list based on the fund’s ethical guidelines. We analyze market reactions to these announcements through the immediate price and trading effects on firms. Our results show robust and significant negative average abnormal return of -0.28% for all firms on the announcement date, with a larger magnitude at -0.52% for firms committing unethical conduct. The return effects are stronger in recent years. We find no effect on trading volume. <br>
Trusting the Social Media

The growth of social media has transformed how information is transmitted in the financial markets. It has impacted its primary users, the household investors' decision making on the stock market. Through Prospect theory, the household investors' unconditional trust in the social media for investing advice is extracted as a commonality between the social media and market sentiments. This is found to be pro-cyclical since 1998 when social media started but has been increasing from 2008 to 2016. This increasing unconditional trust however did not translate to increased household stock market participation as evidenced by the Survey of Consumer Finance. Instead, households' participation correlated with trust in the social media conditional on what they read in the news headlines and their increased risk aversion post 2008 crisis as studied in \cite{Guiso18}.
CCP Anti-Procyclicality Tools - A Closer Assessment

In the new market and regulatory environment of the post-crisis, central counterparties need to find the right balance between ensuring the safety of their business and avoiding creating additional distress in the market in the form of procyclical margin calls. However, balancing these conflicting goals poses a number of challenges, and no one-size-fits-all type of solution appears to exist. The paper investigates whether the substantial focus placed on procyclicality of initial margin reflects both the original concerns at the time of the crisis and the intrinsic modus operandi of central counterparties. The authors argue that the imposition of a procyclicality framework shaped by lessons learnt from securities financing and bilateral over-the-counter markets to central counterparties may have created unexpected challenges. The authors support the idea that the best mitigation mechanisms for procyclicality may be achieved through the establishment of an outcome-based approach and enhanced disclosure of margining practices, especially regarding intraday mark-to-market procedures.
Synthesis, X-Ray Characterization, Spectroscopic (Ft-Ir, Uv-Vis, EPR ) and Hirshfeld Surface Analysis of Dimer Copper(Ii)-Benzoate Complex

The copper(II) complex with benzoic acid, [Cu2 (BA) 4 (BAH) 2]) (BAH: Benzoic acid) was synthesized and the original dimer complex formed by complexing copper ions with benzoic acid was investigated. The dimer complex has been characterized by spectroscopic (FT-IR, EPR, UV-Vis), structural (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis and have displayed satisfactory elemental analysis. The copper(II) compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c, Z=4, with the unit-cell dimensions: a=10.775(5) Å, b=11.730 (5) Å, c=15.271 (4) Å, β=91.393 (4)˚. The coordination polyhedron around each copper central is described as an elongated (4+1) square pyramidal sphere. The trigonality factor (τ=(β-α)/60) value of the copper complex is 0.01 and this value expresses having slightly distorted square pyramidal environment of the Cu(II) ions coordination. Hydrogen bonds and π⋯π weak interactions form a three-dimensional supramolecular structure. The FT-IR studies of the complex were commented, focusing on the shifts in the vibrational peaks between the complex form and free benzoic acid. The powder EPR spectra of complex was investigated at liquid nitrogen temperature. As a result of EPR analysis, spin Hamiltonian parameters were obtained. In addition, zero field splitting parameters of the dimer-complex was obtained as Dobs= 0.60 cm-1 and E≈0. Thermal properties were carried out by thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Moreover, the intermolecular interactions have been also analyzed using Hirshfeld surface analysis.