bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Bank Mergers and Crime: The Real and Social Effects of Credit Market Competition
Authors: GARMAISE MARK J. , MOSKOWITZ TOBIAS J. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTUsing a unique sample of commercial loans and mergers between large banks, we provide micro‐level (within‐county) evidence linking credit conditions to economic development and find a spillover effect on crime. Neighborhoods that experience more bank mergers are subject to higher interest rates, diminished local construction, lower prices, an influx of poorer households, and higher property crime in subsequent years. The elasticity of property crime with respect to merger‐induced banking concentration is 0.18. We show that these results are not likely due to reverse causation, and confirm the central findings using state branching deregulation to instrument for bank competition.
A Consumption‐Based Explanation of Expected Stock Returns
Authors: YOGO MOTOHIRO 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTWhen utility is nonseparable in nondurable and durable consumption and the elasticity of substitution between the two consumption goods is sufficiently high, marginal utility rises when durable consumption falls. The model explains both the cross‐sectional variation in expected stock returns and the time variation in the equity premium. Small stocks and value stocks deliver relatively low returns during recessions, when durable consumption falls, which explains their high average returns relative to big stocks and growth stocks. Stock returns are unexpectedly low at business cycle troughs, when durable consumption falls sharply, which explains the countercyclical variation in the equity premium.
Do the Fama–French Factors Proxy for Innovations in Predictive Variables?
Authors: PETKOVA RALITSA 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTThe Fama–French factors HML and SMB are correlated with innovations in variables that describe investment opportunities. A model that includes shocks to the aggregate dividend yield and term spread, default spread, and one‐month Treasury‐bill yield explains the cross section of average returns better than the Fama–French model. When loadings on the innovations in the predictive variables are present in the model, loadings on HML and SMB lose their explanatory power for the cross section of returns. The results are consistent with an ICAPM explanation for the empirical success of the Fama–French portfolios.
Risk, Reputation, and IPO Price Support
Authors: LEWELLEN KATHARINA 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTImmediately following an initial public offering, underwriters often repurchase shares of poorly performing offerings in an apparent attempt to stabilize the price. Using proprietary Nasdaq data, I study the price effects and determinants of price support. Some of the key findings are (1) Stabilization is substantial, inducing price rigidity at and below the offer price; (2) I find no evidence that stocks with larger information asymmetries are stabilized more strongly; (3) Larger underwriters stabilize more, perhaps to protect their reputations with investors; and (4) Investment banks with retail brokerage operations stabilize much more than other banks, inconsistent with the view that stabilization benefits primarily institutional investors.
Does Weak Governance Cause Weak Stock Returns? An Examination of Firm Operating Performance and Investors' Expectations
Authors: CORE JOHN E. , GUAY WAYNE R. , RUSTICUS TJOMME O. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTWe investigate Gompers, Ishii, and Metrick's (2003) finding that firms with weak shareholder rights exhibit significant stock market underperformance. If the relation between poor governance and poor returns is causal, we expect that the market is negatively surprised by the poor operating performance of weak governance firms. We find that firms with weak shareholder rights exhibit significant operating underperformance. However, analysts' forecast errors and earnings announcement returns show no evidence that this underperformance surprises the market. Our results are robust to controls for takeover activity. Overall, our results do not support the hypothesis that weak governance causes poor stock returns.
Are Busy Boards Effective Monitors?
Authors: FICH ELIEZER M. , SHIVDASANI ANIL 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTFirms with busy boards, those in which a majority of outside directors hold three or more directorships, are associated with weak corporate governance. These firms exhibit lower market‐to‐book ratios, weaker profitability, and lower sensitivity of CEO turnover to firm performance. Independent but busy boards display CEO turnover‐performance sensitivities indistinguishable from those of inside‐dominated boards. Departures of busy outside directors generate positive abnormal returns (ARs). When directors become busy as a result of acquiring an additional directorship, other companies in which they hold board seats experience negative ARs. Busy outside directors are more likely to depart boards following poor performance.
Does Investor Misvaluation Drive the Takeover Market?
Authors: DONG MING , HIRSHLEIFER DAVID , RICHARDSON SCOTT , TEOH SIEW HONG 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTThis paper uses pre‐offer market valuations to evaluate the misvaluation and Q theories of takeovers. Bidder and target valuations (price‐to‐book, or price‐to‐residual‐income‐model‐value) are related to means of payment, mode of acquisition, premia, target hostility, offer success, and bidder and target announcement‐period returns. The evidence is broadly consistent with both hypotheses. The evidence for the Q hypothesis is stronger in the pre‐1990 period than in the 1990–2000 period, whereas the evidence for the misvaluation hypothesis is stronger in the 1990–2000 period than in the pre‐1990 period.
Offering versus Choice in 401(k) Plans: Equity Exposure and Number of Funds
Authors: HUBERMAN GUR , JIANG WEI 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTRecords of over half a million participants in more than 600 401(k) plans indicate that participants tend to allocate their contributions evenly across the funds they use, with the tendency weakening with the number of funds used. The number of funds used, typically between three and four, is not sensitive to the number of funds offered by the plans, which ranges from 4 to 59. A participant's propensity to allocate contributions to equity funds is not very sensitive to the fraction of equity funds among offered funds. The paper also comments on limitations on inferences from experiments and aggregate‐level data analysis.
The Entrepreneur's Choice between Private and Public Ownership
Authors: BOOT ARNOUD W. A. , GOPALAN RADHAKRISHNAN , THAKOR ANJAN V. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTWe analyze an entrepreneur/manager's choice between private and public ownership. The manager needs decision‐making autonomy to optimally manage the firm and thus trades off an endogenized control preference against the higher cost of capital accompanying greater managerial autonomy. Investors need liquid ownership stakes. Public capital markets provide liquidity, but stipulate corporate governance that imposes generic exogenous controls, so the manager may not attain the desired trade‐off between autonomy and the cost of capital. In contrast, private ownership provides the desired trade‐off through precisely calibrated contracting, but creates illiquid ownership. Exploring this tension generates new predictions.
Pension Plan Funding and Stock Market Efficiency
Authors: FRANZONI FRANCESCO , MARÍN JOSÉ M. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTThe paper argues that the market significantly overvalues firms with severely underfunded pension plans. These companies earn lower stock returns than firms with healthier pension plans for at least 5 years after the first emergence of the underfunding. The low returns are not explained by risk, price momentum, earnings momentum, or accruals. Further, the evidence suggests that investors do not anticipate the impact of the pension liability on future earnings, and they are surprised when the negative implications of underfunding ultimately materialize. Finally, underfunded firms have poor operating performance, and they earn low returns, although they are value companies.
Consensus statement on injury definitions and data collection procedures in studies of football (soccer) injuries
Authors: Fuller C. W. , Ekstrand J. , Junge A. , Andersen T. E. , Bahr R. , Dvorak J. , Hägglund M. , McCrory P. , Meeuwisse W. H. 
Published: March 2006

Variations in definitions and methodologies have created differences in the results and conclusions obtained from studies of football injuries; this has made inter‐study comparisons difficult.An Injury Consensus Group was established under the auspices of FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Centre. Using a nominal group consensus model approach, a working document that identified the key issues related to definitions, methodology and implementation was discussed by members of the group during a 2‐day meeting. Following this meeting, iterative draft statements were prepared and circulated to members of the group for comment before the final consensus statement was produced.Definitions of injury, recurrent injury, severity and training and match exposures in football together with criteria for classifying injuries in terms of location, type, diagnosis and causation are proposed. Proforma for recording players' baseline information, injuries and training and match exposures are presented. Recommendations are made on how the incidence of match and training injuries should be reported and a checklist of issues and information that should be included in published reports of studies of football injuries is presented.The definitions and methodology proposed in the consensus statement will ensure that consistent and comparable results will be obtained from studies of football injuries.
Comparison of the abilities of redtop (Agrostis alba L.) and zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) to purify liquid animal waste
Authors: Takada‐Oikawa Naoko , Kawanabe Sukeo , Oshida Toshio , Itagaki Shin‐ichi , Onozawa Minori , Sakurai Masumi 
Published: March 2006

AbstractThe animal waste treatment facility of Azabu University utilizes cultivation beds where liquid animal waste is purified by filtration through soil and vegetation. The beds are presently covered with zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.), which thrives in warm weather. However, the purification activities of this grass decrease during winter dormancy. To improve purification activity between autumn and early spring, we introduced redtop (Agrostis alba L.), which thrives in cool conditions, into an experimental bed and compared the purification efficiency with that of zoysiagrass. Drainage purified through the bed of redtop showed significantly lower values of turbidity, chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus and ammonium‐nitrogen concentrations, and significantly higher nitrate‐nitrogen concentrations than that through zoysiagrass during the late vegetative stage when redtop had the highest biomass. This suggested vigorous nitrification activity of rhizosphere under aerobic conditions afforded by redtop. The high purification efficiency of redtop appeared to be associated with better essential salts absorption and improved physicochemical properties of soil supporting its growth. The results showed that the purification efficiency of redtop is higher than that of zoysiagrass under seasonal low temperatures.
Neotyphodium endophyte infection affects the performance of tall fescue in temperate region Andisols
Authors: Rahman M. Hasinur , Saiga Suguru , Sabreen Shamima , Kodama Yukinobu , Tsuiki Mikinori 
Published: March 2006

AbstractA pot experiment was conducted for 75 days to observe the effect of Neotyphodium coenophialum endophyte on three tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) ecotypes grown in two Andisols viz. Black Andisol and Red Andisol. Black Andisol with a naturally low content of P was high in other nutrients such as N, K, while Red Andisol, with a naturally high content of P, was low in other nutrients. Tiller number, plant height, chlorophyll content, shoot dry weight and agronomic efficiency of water use (WUEag) showed higher values in endophyte‐infected (E+) plants than noninfected (E–) plants. Plants growing in Black Andisol performed better than those in Red Andisol. Among the three tall fescue ecotypes, one of them (ecotype Showa) had the best performance regardless of soils and endophyte infection. When considering the effect of endophyte infection in different soil conditions, higher WUEag was observed in endophyte‐infected plants grown in Black Andisol. Endophyte infection significantly enhanced all plant parameters in Black Andisol but they were reduced in Red Andisol. Our results indicate that infected plants grew better in soil that was naturally low in P whereas uninfected plants had increased vegetative growth in soil that was naturally high in P. In nutrient poor soil with comparatively high P content (Red Andisol) the cost of endophyte infection may override its benefit. The presence of endophyte had a variable impact on plant performance and the effect of endophyte varied with ecotype of grass it infected into.
Nitrate concentration of groundwater and its association with livestock farming in Miyakonojo Basin, southern Kyushu, Japan
Authors: Sugimoto Yasuhiro , Hirata Masahiko 
Published: March 2006

AbstractNitrate concentration of groundwater was surveyed in 741 wells in 10 districts in central Miyakonojo Basin, southern Kyushu, Japan, to determine the nitrate status in the region and to examine its association with livestock farming. Nitrate‐N concentration averaged 5.4 mg L−1, with 13% of the wells exceeding the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water (10 mg L−1). Wells possessed by farmers had a higher maximum (48.6 versus 27.6 mg L−1), mean (7.4 vs 3.6 mg L−1) and percentage above the MCL (23 versus 5%) than those possessed by nonfarmers. Occurrence of nitrate in groundwater varied not only with the ownership of wells but also among the districts (mean nitrate‐N concentration = 3.0–8.6 mg L−1, percentage above the MCL = 0–32%). The mean nitrate‐N concentration of individual districts was positively correlated with both excretal nitrogen output from livestock (r = 0.725, P = 0.018) and excretal nitrogen load to farmland (r = 0.864, P = 0.001). The results show that groundwater quality in central Miyakonojo Basin was considerably deteriorated mainly in farmers’ wells, with livestock farming as a responsible source of nitrate contamination.
Ant Diversity and Abundance along an Elevational Gradient in the Philippines1
Authors: Samson Douglas A. , Rickart Eric A. , Gonzales Pedro C. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTAnt communities were surveyed along an elevational gradient in the Philippines extending from lowland dipterocarp forest (250 m elevation) to mossy forest (1750 m). Standardized pitfall trapping in arboreal and terrestrial microhabitats at seven sites yielded 51 species. Collecting by hand at five of the sites yielded 48 species. The two methods produced substantially different assemblages, with only 22 species (29%) taken in common. Only a fraction of the total ant community appeared to be sampled at most of the sites. Measures of species richness and relative abundance peaked at mid‐elevations and declined sharply with increasing elevation. Ants were extremely rare above 1500 m elevation. Arboreal ants were trapped much less frequently than terrestrial ants at all sites. Ant species that were abundant had broader elevational distributions than those that were less common, but most species were rare and occurred at only one or two sites. The elevational patterns for ants are largely the inverse of those documented for Philippine small mammals which reach their greatest diversity and abundance at high elevations where ants are rare. This suggests that the two groups may interact competitively. Some of the patterns observed or inferred from this study may apply to tropical ant communities in general, and are presented as series of testable hypotheses as a guide and stimulus for future research.
Heterogeneity of Light Availability and its Effects on Simulated Carbon Gain of Tree Leaves in a Small Gap and the Understory in a Tropical Rain Forest1
Authors: Tang Yanhong , Kachi Naoki , Furukawa Akio , Awang Muhamad B. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTTo clarify the small‐scale heterogeneity of light regimes in a rain forest, photosynthetic photon flux density (PFD) was measured at 1‐min intervals during six days at 12 microsites in each of two plots, a small gap and an understory in Pasoh Forest Reserve, Peninsular Malaysia. Frequency distribution of microsite PFD was unimodal with the peak value between 16 and 32 μmol/m2/sec in the small gap, but between 8 and 16 μmol/m2/sec in the understory. In the small gap, PFD was more variable among microsites; total daily PFD and daily sunfleck PFD exceeding 10 μmol/ m2/sec tended to be higher (P <0.05; t‐test) compared to those in the understory. Sunfleck PFD exceeding 50 μmol/ m2/sec, however, showed no difference between the two plots. Diffuse PFD transmittance, defined as the ratio of PFD in the forest to that measured at 43 m above ground during the periods 0800‐0810 and 1750‐1800 h, was significantly higher in the small gap than in the understory plot. Diffuse PFD transmittance was also positively correlated with microsite total daily PFD. To examine the effects of the subtle heterogeneity of light regimes on leaf carbon gain, we simulated carbon gain by sun and shade leaves in a typical shade‐tolerant species, Brosimum aticastrum Sw. (Moraceae). Despite the similarity in total daily PFD, total daily carbon gain was considerably higher in the gap than in the understory for both sun and shade leaves. This study suggests that frequency distribution of PFD is critical in describing microsite PFD regimes and determining leaf carbon gain in the tropical forest floor.
Grazing Lawns in Terai Grasslands, Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal1
Authors: Karki Jhamak Bahadur , Jhala Yadavendardev V. , Khanna Param Pal 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTWe compared the community structure, nutritive quality, and aboveground biomass of grazing lawns (patches of shortgrass communities) to neighboring grasslands in the Terai of western Nepal. Grazing lawns differed from the adjacent grasslands in species composition and community structure. Species diversity and species richness were higher on grazing lawns (H = 1.60, S = 20.93) than the grasslands (H = 0.97, S = 8.97). Fencing that excluded grazers for 150 days made areas of grazing lawns indistinguishable from neighboring grasslands in terms of plant height and biomass. Growing shoots of forage from grazing lawns had higher digestibility, crude protein, and sodium than forage from the grasslands. Grazing lawns appear to be maintained by continuous grazing and are enriched by deposition of urine, dung, and by certain plant species not found in the the adjacent grasslands.
Influence of Forest Type and Tree Species on Canopy‐Dwelling Beetles in Budongo Forest, Uganda1
Authors: Wagner Thomas 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTBeetles were collected on 64 trees of four species (Cynometra alexandri C. H. Wright, Rinorea beniemis (Welwitsch ex Olivier) Kuntze, Teclea nobilis Delile, and Trichilia rubescens Olivier) in Budongo Forest, Uganda, using an insecticidal fogging technique. Selected tree species were abundant, taxonomically not closely related, and different in the shape of leaves, growth form, and size, with heights between 7 and 35 m. Trees were fogged in an old primary forest stand, in an area of secondary forest where selective logging was performed, and in a swamp forest. Eight conspecific trees per forest type were fogged. A total of 29,736 beetles were collected from all trees that could be assigned to 1433 (morpho)‐species; 41.6 percent were singletons and 89.6 percent of species were found with less than ten individuals. Abundant beetle taxa included Latridiidae (N= 4093), Chrysomelidae (3952), Staphylinidae (2931), Apioninae (2621), and Curculionidae (2457). Most species‐rich groups were Staphylinidae (N= 196 spp.), Curculionidae (189), and Chrysomelidae (148). Abundance increased in the order: primary < secondary < swamp forest. Due to the relatively high dominance of some species in the secondary forest, species richness increased in the order: secondary < primary < swamp forest. Beta diversity measures and factor analysis showed distinct differences among forest types but higher similarity of beetle communities on different tree species within one forest type. The taxonomic distribution of beetles in the secondary forest was more heterogeneous than in the primary forest. Analyses of the data revealed low host specificity even for phytophagous beetles, underlining the importance of habitat structure and chance effects on the spatial distribution of beetles in the canopy of Budongo Forest.
Influence of Fruit Availability on Ecological Overlap among Four Neotropical Primates at Tinigua National Park, Colombia1
Authors: Stevenson Pablo R. , Quiñones Marcela J. , Ahumada Jorge A. 
Published: March 2006

ABSTRACTData on fruit abundance and ecological overlap amongAteles belzebuth, Lagothrix lagothricha, Cebus apella, andAlouatta seniculuswere gathered during 13 months at Tinigua National Park (Colombia), in an effort to test the following hypotheses concerning competition for fruits. Coexistence is possible because: (1) during periods when fruit availability is limited, the species utilize different resources; and (2) the species have different fruit preferences independent of fruit production in the forest. Differences were found in resource use (diet and habitat) for all four species. Despite these differences, all four devoted large proportions of time feeding on fruit. Fruit abundance influenced their activity patterns. Ninety percent of all interspecific aggressive interactions (TV = 69) were seen in fruiting trees. The first hypothesis was best supported, given that all species significantly increased their intake of the vegetative parts of plants during periods of fruit scarcity. Fruit partitioning during periods of scarcity was observed clearly only for one pair of species (C. apellaandL. lagothricha).In general, the second hypothesis was not supported as a mechanism for reducing competition because most fruit species were consumed by more than one primate species. Fruit preferences, however, may be particularly important in explaining differences in niche overlap between the most ecologically similar species:A. belzebuthrelied heavily on the fruits of one palm species (Oenocarpus bataud) during periods of fruit scarcity and abundance, whileL. lagothrichacompletely ignored this fruit.