Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Econometric Analysis of Realised Covariation: High Frequency Covariance, Regression and Correlation in Financial Economics

This paper analyses multivariate high frequency financial data using realised covariation. We provide a new asymptotic distribution theory for standard methods such as regression, correlation analysis and covariance. It will be based on a fixed interval of time (e.g. a day or week), allowing the number of high frequency returns during this period to go to infinity. Our analysis allows us to study how high frequency correlations, regressions and covariances change through time. In particular we provide confidence intervals for each of these quantities.
CEO Horizon, Optimal Pay Duration, and the Escalation of Short-Termism

This paper studies optimal CEO contracts when managers manipulate their performance measure, sometimes at the expense of firm value. Optimal contracts defer compensation. The manager’s incentives vest over time at an increasing rate, and compensation becomes increasingly sensitive to short-term performance. This process generates an endogenous CEO horizon problem whereby managers intensify performance manipulation in their final years in office. Contracts are designed to foster effort while minimizing the adverse effects of manipulation. We characterize the optimal mix of short- and long-term compensation along the manager’s tenure, the optimal vesting period of incentive pay, and the resulting dynamics of managerial short-termism over the CEO’s tenure. Our paper provides a rationale for issuing stock awards with performance-based vesting provisions, a practice increasingly adopted by U.S. firms.
Exploring How Disturbance Is Transmitted Upstream: Going against the Flow

Modifications of lower watersheds such as water abstraction, channel modification, land-use changes, nutrient enrichment, and toxic discharge can set off a cascade of events upstream that are often overlooked. This oversight is of particular concern since most rivers are altered by humans in their lower drainages and most published ecological investigations of lotic systems have focused on headwater streams. Factors contributing to ecological processes or biophysical legacies in upper watersheds often go unacknowledged because they occur at disparate geographic locations downstream (e.g., gravel mining, water abstraction, dams) with significant lag times. This paper considers examples of how alterations to streams and rivers in their lower reaches can produce biophysical legacies in upstream reaches on levels from genes to ecosystems. Examples include: 1) genetic- and species-level changes, such as reduced genetic flow and variation in isolated upstream populations; 2) population- and community-level changes that occur when degraded downstream areas act as population "sinks" for "source" populations of native species upstream or, conversely, as "source" populations of exotic species that migrate upstream; and 3) ecosystem- and landscape-level changes (e.g., nutrient cycling, primary productivity, regional patterns of biodiversity) that can occur in headwater systems as a result of downstream habitat deterioration and hydrologic modifications. Finally, a case study from my own research illustrates the importance of careful consideration of downstream-upstream linkages in formulating research questions, designing experiments, making predictions, and interpreting results. The effects of dams and associated water abstraction in lowland streams of Puerto Rico has forced my colleagues and me to re-evaluate the results of ecological research that we have conducted in highland streams over the past decade and to redirect our research to consider downstream-upstream linkages.
Platform Competition and Consumer Myopia: The Case of Airports

This paper studies the effect of competition and consumer foresight on platform proﬁts. The focus is on airports, which provide passengers with aeronautical and commercial services through airlines and retailers. Our results can be summarized as follows. First, we unravel the relationship between consumer foresight and the optimal pricing of the two services. When passengers are myopic, the airport charges low landing fees and makes proﬁts from the retail business. As the degree of myopia decreases, consumers value more the retail services and the airport changes its strategy by charging higher landing fees and allowing for a more competitive environment on<br>the retail side. Second, we ﬁnd that the relationship between proﬁts and consumer foresight strictly depends on the considered market structure. When the airport has no competitors, airport proﬁts are non-decreasing in the degree of consumer foresight. By contrast, under duopoly competition, a weakly-negative correlation between airport proﬁts and consumer foresight is observed. These results allow to derive two main managerial implications. First, airport competition can lead to higher landing fees. Second, under competition, an airport is not necessarily interested<br>in informing passengers about its retail facilities. However, an extension where airports decide whether to set an advertising campaign to inform passengers about their retail facilities reveals that they end up locked in a Prisoner’s Dilemma.
The Effects of Monetary Policy: A Meta-Analysis

In this paper we perform a meta-analysis of the effects of monetary policies on output and prices. We use a sample of published papers on the effects of monetary policies in different countries. There is a large variation in the estimated effects of monetary policies on output and prices. We find that the use of different econometric methodologies is an important variable explaining these differences. In addition, we analyze the importance of macroeconomic variables. Thus we find that in countries with high inflation, the output effects of monetary policies are significantly reduced. A lot of variation in the estimated effects of monetary policies remains unexplained. More research will have to be done to understand these large differences.
HABITAT SELECTION AND PREY ODOR IN THE FORAGING BEHAVIOR OF WESTERN RATTLESNAKES (CROTALUS VIRIDIS)

We tested the roles of prey odor and other habitat cues in the pre-strike movement patterns of two, ecologically distinct sub-species of the western rattlesnake in naturalistic arenas. In the first experiment, rattlesnakes preferred habitat containing prey odor and cover comprised of rocks, sticks and plants. While searching, rattlesnakes methodically investigated the edges and crevices within rock, areas rodents might frequent in nature. In the second experiment, rattlesnakes investigated sticks more than rocks arranged topographically similar to sticks. In the third experiment, rattlesnakes preferred habitat that included brush foliage and used chemical prey trails in pre-strike behavior via (i) trail-following, (ii) casting search patterns and (iii) scanning search patterns. Several snakes coiled in stereotyped ambush postures that allowed them to face chemical trails while resting against rocks and foliage. These results suggest that rattlesnake foraging exhibits qualities advantageous for hunting rodent prey in addition to providing protection from predators and perhaps promoting thermoregulation. Sub-species did not exhibit geographic variation in foraging behavior despite differences in natural history and morphology. Hence, the microevolutionary pattern suggests that generalized foraging repertoires are successful in numerous environments when coupled with locally specialized body patterns.
Pass-Through of Exchange Rate and Tariffs into Import Prices of India: Currency Depreciation versus Import Liberalisation

This paper examines the extent of pass-through of exchange rate and tariff changes into import prices using sectoral panel data (at the 2-digit SITC level) for the post-reform period in India (1990-2001). After having controlled for unobserved effects that might have an impact on the import prices by using sector dummies, we find that on average exchange rate pass-through (ERPT) is a dominant effect compared to tariff rate pass-through (TRPT) in explaining changes in India's import prices. The sectoral panel results suggest that the pass-through of exchange rates and tariff rates varies across products. ERPT into import prices is significant in 12 industries, whereas TRPT is significant only in 6 industries, with full pass-through. However, ERPT is incomplete only in 4 industries, but TRPT is incomplete in 36 industries, which means that firms exporting to India more frequently adopt strategies to maintain their market share against tariffs than against exchange rate changes. The sectoral differences in pass-through seem to be related to the sector's share in total imports and the sector's effective protection rate. Hence India's relatively high levels of protection have an impact on the behaviour of foreign exporters.
A Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Initiatives

There are three dimensions of sustainability: Financial, Social and Economic. The companies who are working in area of sustainability must include these facets. The performance of any company can’t be measured just on the basis of financial performance but also we need to focus on the social and environmental performance. The organisations now need to take initiatives in the era of sustainability which include all three components of 3BL.This article is the review article and provides the literature review of sustainable supply chain management and also drivers of sustainability are also introduced. This study elaborate the literature on sustainable strategies in relation to environmental and social concerns. This study introduces a process view of Sustainable Supply Chain Management and identifies 10 sustainable supply chain processes (SSCPs) from literature. Further, a tabular view is proposed considering significance of various SSCPs and their sustainability objectives with the issues faced by them. This study introduces an approach to enhance sustainability of supply chain basis on theoretical lenses of stakeholder theory and resourced based view.
Seedling and adult plant peaetions of Brassica napus-B. juncea recombinant lines towards A- and B-group isolates of Leptosphaeria maculans

Summary The Brassica napus-B. juncea recombinant lines MX and MXS carrying a B. juncea major gene (JLml) in the genetic background of a spring- or a winter type B. napus cultivar, respectively, were tested for their resistance level to Leptosphaeria maculans under controlled conditions. Inoculation with three A-and four B-group individual isolates and with different mixtures of isolates realised within or between these groups was performed on cotyledons, leaves and stems. Cotyledons and leaves of the two recombinant lines were more resistant to A-group isolates than those of B. napus cultivars, except for one isolate recovered from the MX line. The recombinant lines were susceptible at cotyledon stage and resistant on leaves to B-group isolates, as were B. napus cultivars. On stems, severe cortical damage was usually produced on B. napus cultivars by some A-group isolates, whereas B-group isolates induced pith blackening on all genotypes. Stems of the MX line and the resistant donor species (B. juncea cv. Picra) were more resistant than those of the susceptible B. napus (cv. Westar) to the individual A-group isolates. Cultivar Picra was the most susceptible genotype to pith infection caused by the B-group isolates. The consequence of the host pathogen differential interactions on the durability of the monogenic resistance to L. maculans introduced from B. juncea into B. napus is discussed.
Inquiry into Poverty and Financial Hardship

The former Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee. In October 2002 the Australian Senate referred, for inquiry and report, questions related to poverty and financial hardship to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee. The former Department of Family and Community Services responded to the Committee's request for submissions as part of their information gathering process. This Occasional Paper reproduces the Department's submission. The key themes of the submission are: Australia has high and rising living standards with the benefits having been shared widely across the community. While some Australians continue to face disadvantage this is often the result of a number of compounding factors and the existence of multiple disadvantage. Traditional approaches to poverty which tend to focus on the use of simple income measures are not adequate to identify this type of problem, nor do they provide guidance on the factors which cause it. The important challenges for social policy, in addition to tackling this form of multiple disadvantage, concern improving economic participation where this is possible. This focus is underpinned by the need to respond to the changing demographic landscape of Australia, with recognition that economic participation is important not just for the welfare of families and individuals while they are of working age, but in promoting greater levels of well-being in retirement. The submission notes the extensive range of programs currently in place to provide income support and strengthen the capacity of individuals, families and communities, although it highlighted: The need, previously identified, for the reform of working age payments to simplify the structures, address anomalies and strengthen the effectiveness of these payments to support participation and self-reliance; A recognition that addressing the poor outcomes recorded by some Australians requires much earlier intervention, whereas current programs are inclined to respond to problems after they arise; and that improving social outcomes cannot be achieved by one level of government, or by government alone, but requires individual, family, community and society-wide commitment and acceptance of responsibility. The submission also incorporates a significant technical discussion of the issues associated with the measurement of income distribution and different approaches to poverty measurement. Emphasising the importance of moving away from some of the traditional approaches of income poverty the Department attached to its submission a copy of research which has been undertaken on hardship using financial stress indicators.
Russia's Economic Aid to Other Countries in 2016

In the past few years, the volumes of Russia’s aid to foreign states remained high. Also, substantial growth was observed in the share of the bilateral development aid (when the aid is channeled directly to the recipient) as compared to the multilateral aid (when it is provided through international organizations). This can be explained by expansion of aid programs to former-Soviet states, including programs aimed at promoting the Eurasian economic integration.
Determinants of offspring number and size in the brown snake, Storeria dekayi

Determinants of reproductive variables in the brown snake, Storeria dekayi, are examined using path analysis, a method which reveals both direct effects (e.g., of female size on offspring number) and indirect effects (e.g., of female size on offspring size through offspring number). In S. dekayi, there is a clear trade-off between offspring number and offspring size. Part of this trade-off is mediated through the timing of parturition suggesting that placental nourishment contributes to offspring development. However, placental nourishment is not sufficient to result in an uncoupling of offspring number and size. Another clear result is that female size and female condition at ovulation (a size-corrected measure of mass) both influence offspring number. As a result, female size and female condition have indirect effects on offspring size such that overall, larger females and females in better condition produce smaller offspring. Larger females also produce offspring in poorer condition. Additional reproductive mass (mass lost by females at parturition beyond that accounted for by offspring) is determined directly by offspring number suggesting it represents a per-offspring allocation of resources. Captivity has marked effects on repro- duction; females held captive longer produced offspring which were smaller and in poorer condition. Comparisons among species reveals that female size consistently has positive effects on offspring number and offspring size in viviparous snakes but that the effect of offspring number on offspring size varies among species.
Social Media and Funding of Crowdfunded Projects: Investigating the Moderating Role of Entrepreneur and Project Characteristics

Entrepreneurs are increasingly focusing on understanding and managing their social media strategies to optimize crowdfunding campaign to succeed. While much of the current crowdfunding literature focus on the roles of social media engagements on funding performance of crowdfunded projects, in this study, we examine how contextual factors such as product and entrepreneurs characteristics moderate the influence of social media on funding performance. This study examined the effects of Facebook and Twitter engagements on funding performance in the reward-based crowdfunding. Using a dataset of technology crowdfunded projects, we investigated whether Facebook and Twitter engagements affect funding outcomes and if so, how the two interact with each other and their influences vary by project and entrepreneur characteristics. We found that both Facebook and Twitter engagements positively affect funding, but the two weaken each other’s impact, particularly for hardware products. Additionally, Facebook engagements had a larger effect on funding outcomes in early days of a campaign driven by its pre-launch efforts whereas Twitter engagements had a larger effect in later days. Furthermore, our findings indicated that the Facebook engagement is more influential for hardware products. An entrepreneur's internal social capital built inside the crowdfunding platform also weakened the effects of Facebook engagements generated outside the platform whereas Twitter engagements on subsequent funding had less influence on experienced entrepreneurs. Our findings suggest that Facebook mainly serves as a channel to show the significant commitment of entrepreneurs to their projects and increase funder engagement while Twitter serves to spread and share information about projects.
Ecological consequences of contrasting dispersal syndromes in New World Ephedra: higher rates of niche evolution related to dispersal ability

In this study we selected the New World species of Ephedra to understand the ecological consequences of diff erent dispersal syndromes. Th e twenty-three species of Ephedra in the New World have a disjunct distribution in North and South American arid and semi-arid habitats, exhibiting three dispersal syndromes related to dispersal by birds, wind and rodents. Using DNA sequence data we inferred phylogenetic relationships and lineage divergence times, and used these estimates to test diff erent ecological assumptions. Using comparative methods we tested for correlations between dispersal syndromes and a set of ecological variables (niche breadth, niche evolution, distributional ranges and niche position). We found that speciation events in the New World coincided with the expansion of arid habitats in this region. We suggest that the bird dispersal syndrome is related with higher rates of climatic niche evolution for all variables used, including aridity index, mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation. Distribution ranges were correlated with niche breadth, they were however not signifi cantly diff erent between dispersal syndromes. Species inhabiting the extremely arid regions on niche axes had narrower niche breadths. We conclude that species whose seeds are dispersed by birds have colonized a broader set of habitats and that those with wind and rodent dispersal syndromes might have promoted the colonization of more arid environments.
Portfolios of Actively Managed Mutual Funds

Investors should focus on the performance of portfolios of active funds, not on the performance of individual active funds. Taking this portfolio approach with respect to active U.S. equity mutual funds, I build an optimized portfolio of funds that subsequently has low idiosyncratic volatility and a large, positive, statistically significant alpha. Consistent with a Berk and Green (2004) equilibrium, that outperformance is short lived if the optimized portfolio is not rebalanced often, as investors allocate substantial capital—in excess of that expected based on past performance—to the funds with a large weight in the optimized portfolio.
Does Government Ideology Matter in Monetary Policy? A Panel Data Analysis for OECD Countries

This paper examines whether government ideology has influenced monetary policy in OECD countries. We use quarterly data in the 1980.1-2005.4 period and exclude EMU countries. Our Taylor-rule specification focuses on the interactions of a new time-variant index of central bank independence with government ideology. The results show that leftist governments have somewhat lower short-term nominal interest rates than rightwing governments when central bank independence is low. In contrast, short-term nominal interest rates are higher under leftist governments when central bank independence is high. The effect is more pronounced when exchange rates are flexible. Our findings are compatible with the view that leftist governments, in an attempt to deflect blame of their traditional constituencies, have pushed market-oriented policies by delegating monetary policy to conservative central bankers.
Female gametophyte and seed development inMusella lasiocarpa(Musaceae), a monotypic genus endemic to Southwestern China

Musella is a monotypic genus composed of a single species, Musella lasiocarpa (Franch.) C.Y. Wu ex H.W. Li, endemic to Southwestern China. The genus status of Musella remains controversial. Musella had been placed first in Musa , then in Ensete , and back to Musa before its monotypic status was recognized. Musella was reported to be extinct in the wild and maintained through cultivation only via vegetative propagation through sprouting of rhizomes. In this study, female gametophyte and seed development of Musella are described to assess its systematic position and possible reasons why the wild population is now extinct. The ovules are anatropous, bitegmic, and crassinucellar. The micropyle is formed by both integuments. The megaspore mother cell undergoes meiotic division and forms a linear megaspore triad or more rarely, a T-shaped megaspore tetrad. The chalazal megaspore develops into a Polygonum type embryo sac. A nucellar pad forms, and a hypostase differentiates. Fertilization is porogamous. Endosperm formation is of the nuclear type. The zygote degenerates and so the process by which the embryo develops, if it does, remains unclear. An operculum, micropylar collar, and chalazal chamber form in mature seeds. The storage tissue is mainly endosperm containing large, compound starch grains and some perisperm. The seed coat has lignified exotestal cells, 25–30 cell layers of sclerotic mesotestal cells, and unspecialized endotesta cells; the tegment consists of two layers of longitudinally elongated cells. The seed is inviable. After comparison with the other Musaceae s. str. taxa using embryological and botanical features, we conclude that Musella should be a distinct genus. Female sterility in Musella may be the main reason why the wild population is extinct. Based on these findings, we propose conservation strategies for this endemic species, including habitat protection as well as ex-situ conservation.