cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Commercial Paper, Corporate Finance, and the Business Cycle: A Microeconomic Perspective

Abstract Little is known about the characteristics or behavior of commercial paper issuers at the firm level, or about the reasons for the countercyclical issuance of commercial paper in the aggregate. In order to examine these issues we construct a new panel data-set linking Moody's data on commercial paper outstanding with Standard and Poor's Compustat. We find that high credit quality is a requirement for entry into the commercial paper market, but that long-term credit quality (bond rating) is not a sufficient statistic for measuring short-term credit quality. Holding constant long-term credit quality, access to the commercial paper market depends on large size, high collateral levels, high earnings levels, low earnings variance, and large stocks of liquid assets. These characteristics allow firms to issue near riskless short-term debt and supply a near-money asset to the market, thereby reducing their interest costs by the amount of the commercial paper liquidity premium. In measuring the attributes of high credit quality, we find that firms of insufficiently high quality to access commercial paper markets maintain higher stocks of inventories and financial assets. They also display greater cash flow sensitivity of inventories and financial assets. This suggests that lower quality firms without access to commercial paper markets also face financing constraints that lead them to accumulate “buffer stocks” of liquid assets. Finally, in contrast to the known fact that aggregate commercial paper is countercyclical, we find that firm-level paper issuance and sales are positively correlated. Our data support three explanations for this apparent paradox, all of which recognize that commercial paper issuers are atypical by virtue of their unusually high short-term credit quality. First, such high quality firms use commercial paper to finance the accumulation of inventories during downturns. Second, they also use commercial paper to finance accounts receivable. This suggests that commercial paper issuers serve as intermediaries during downturns. Third, it may be that portfolio demand for commercial paper — a highly liquid, safe asset — increases during downturns. This view is consistent with our characterization of commercial paper issuers.
On Becoming "Professor": A Semi-Serious Look in the Mirror

Brief parody article about law reviews, socio-economic class, cheese, and the legal professoriate.
The Structure of Board Committees

Utilizing a novel dataset containing full board committee membership for over 6000 firms, we document and analyze board committee structures. We find that committee use (i) is increasing with firm ...
Viewing North Country: Sexual Harassment Goes to the Movies

North Country has much to teach its audience about the sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The Oscar-nominated film was based on the first class action establishing sexual harassment, Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court finding that the mining company employer was liable for hostile work environment sexual harassment in favor of an entire class of women. The women demonstrated that the male-dominated mine was pervasively sexualized through highly offensive verbal and visual anti-women references which portrayed women as sexual objects. Although the District Court determined that a reasonable woman would have found that the workplace constituted a hostile environment, the court held that to obtain individual relief, each woman in the class would have to demonstrate that she, individually, was affected as a reasonable woman.North Country has four significant lessons to teach the audience through its depiction of the female protagonist in somewhat formulaic terms. First, it demonstrates that sexual harassment of women is commonplace and pervasive in the workplace. Second, it underscores the fact that sexual harassment is about power--the exertion of power by men over women in the workplace and the home. Third, it depicts the devastating effects on individual litigants in pursuing discrimination claims. North Country demonstrates that there may be “safety in numbers” in that class action litigation may be more effective in a practical sense than litigation by an individual. Nevertheless, the litigation itself often re-traumatizes the sexual harassment victim. Finally, North Country indicates the importance of film in both depicting and redefining societal views of significant legal issues.
Smart Growth: The Large Law Firm in the Twenty-First Century

The large law firm has long been the subject of many a study, due to its elite rank atop the legal profession,1 its dominant position both in terms of the number of lawyers affiliated with it and its significant share of the national and global market for legal services,2 and because information about it is relatively accessible.3 Recent interest in the future of the large firm has been more practical in nature: whereas before the Great Recession, large law firms were systematically growing, hiring one out of every four law school graduates as entry-level associates,4 the downturn brought stagnation and reduction in the size of large firms and its aftermath ushered in an ongoing period of uncertainty and instability.5 Are large law firms likely to experience renewed growth domestically and globally? Will they revert back to massive hiring of entry-level attorneys? Or have large law firms entered a new era of decline, even eventual death?6
Sectoral shift in antebellum Massachusetts: A reconsideration

Abstract But no man, who can have a piece of land of his own, sufficient by his labor to subsist his family in plenty, is poor enough to be a manufacturer, and work for a master. Hence, when there is land enough in America for our people, there can never be manufacturers to any amount of value. Benjamin Franklin, 1760 1
Pandering to Persuade

A principal chooses one of multiple projects or an outside option. An agent is privately informed about the projects’ benets and shares the principal’s preferences except for not internalizing her value from the outside option. We show that for moderate outside option values, strategic communication is characterized by pandering: the agent biases his recommendation toward \conditionally better-looking" projects, even when both parties would be better o with some other project. A project that has lower expected value can be conditionally better-looking. We develop some comparative statics of pandering. Pandering is also induced by an optimal mechanism without transfers.
Credit Union Policies and Performances in Latin America

This paper presents a conceptual framework for explaining Credit Unions (CUs) loan delinquency and profitability in developing countries. It also offers an empirical estimation for a unique sample of CUs in Latin America.
Nameless + harmless = blameless: When seemingly irrelevant factors influence judgment of (un)ethical behavior

People often make judgments about the ethicality of others’ behaviors and then decide how harshly to punish such behaviors. When they make these judgments and decisions, sometimes the victims of the unethical behavior are identifiable, and sometimes they are not. In addition, in our uncertain world, sometimes an unethical action causes harm, and sometimes it does not. We argue that a rational assessment of ethicality should not depend on the identifiability of the victim of wrongdoing or the actual harm caused if the judge and the decision maker have the same information. Yet in five laboratory studies, we show that these factors have a systematic effect on how people judge the ethicality of the perpetrator of an unethical action. Our studies show that people judge behavior as more unethical when: (1) identifiable vs. unidentifiable victims are involved and (2) the behavior leads to a negative rather than a positive outcome. We also find that people’s willingness to punish wrongdoers is consistent with their judgments, and we offer preliminary evidence on how to reduce these biases.
Discovery and Communication of Important Marketing Findings: Evidence and Proposals

Abstract My review of empirical research on scientific publication led to the following conclusions. Three criteria are useful for identifying whether findings are important: replication, validity and usefulness. A fourth criterion, surprise, applies in some situations. Based on these criteria, important findings resulting from academic research in marketing seem to be rare. To a large extent, this rarity is due to a reward system that is built around subjective peer review. Rather than using peer review as a secret screening process, using an open process likely will improve papers and inform readers. Researchers, journals, business schools, funding agencies and professional organizations can all contribute to improving the process. For example, researchers should do directed research on papers that contribute to principles. Journals should invite papers that contribute to principles. Business school administrators should reward researchers who make important findings. Funding agencies should base decisions on researchers' prior success in making important findings and professional organizations should maintain websites that describe what is known about principles and what research is needed on principles.
Claiming Neutrality and Confessing Subjectivity in Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings

Supreme Court confirmation hearings provide a rare opportunity for the American people to hear what (would-be) justices think about the nature of judging and the role of the Supreme Court. In recent years, nominees have been quick to talk about judging in terms of neutrality and objectivity, most famously with Chief Justice Roberts’ invocation of the “neutral umpire,” and they have emphasized their reliance on legal texts and sources as if those sources can provide answers in difficult cases. Many of the cases heard by the Supreme Court, however, do not have objectively correct answers that can be deduced from the legal materials. Instead the justices must bring judgment to bear, and that judgment inevitably incorporates subjectivity and reference to values and principles not explicit in the legal sources.This Article considers the extent to which nominees admit to such subjectivity and the extent to which they claim neutrality or objectivity, looking at all confirmation hearings since 1955. Through coding the nominees’ testimony, the Article identifies some of the circumstances under which these claims and admissions are most likely to be made. Among other findings, the Article reports that Democratic and Republican nominees are equally likely to claim neutrality in colloquy with any particular senator. On the other hand, Democratic nominees are about twice as likely as Republican nominees to admit to a role for subjectivity. Drawing on the insights of cultural cognition scholars, the Article then considers the implications of such findings and raises potential concerns for public perceptions of the Court, especially in light of our current highly polarized political culture.
Predictability in Bond ETF Returns

This article studies the persistence of bond exchange-traded fund (ETF) premiums and discounts. Following a day of high or low premiums or discounts over net asset value (NAV), ETFs tend to maintain a premium or discount for up to 30 days. Premiums and discounts also predict distinct patterns of returns after daily closing. Overnight returns are negative following a high premium, while ETFs with large discounts are followed by positive overnight returns. The large discount ETFs have substantially higher returns than high premium ETFs over the subsequent thirty days. We find that traditional liquidity measures, along with prior deviations from NAV, are significant in explaining a fund’s premiums/discounts. Finally, we examine a long–short portfolio strategy to exploit the observed deviations from NAV and find it generates an alpha of 0.96% per month or about 11.5% per year.
"Accountability" as "Legitimacy": Global Governance, Global Civil Society and the United Nations

ion called a state . . . . For legal purposes at least, we might do well to relegate the term sovereignty to the shelf of history as a relic from an earlier era.” LOUIS HENKIN, INTERNATIONAL LAW: POLITICS AND VALUES 9–10 (1995). 29. See Background Note: Kuwait, U.S. DEP’T OF STATE, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35876.htm#history (last visited May 17, 2011). 30. Id. 31. President George H. W. Bush, Toward a New World Order, Address Before A Joint Session of Congress (Sept. 11, 1990) (transcript available at http://www.sweetliberty.org/issues/war/bushsr.htm); see also GEORGE BUSH & BRENT SCOWCROFT, A WORLD TRANSFORMED (1998). 852 BROOK. J. INT’L L. [Vol. 36:3 of force to acquire an entire country as territory. Others joined because of Saddam’s genocidal (as Human Rights Watch concluded) human rights abuses within Iraq against the Kurds and others; their concern was fundamentally the internal political order under Saddam. Still other states, particularly Middle Eastern states such as Saudi Arabia, looked at the conflict through the geopolitical aim of weakening Iraq. And still others supported the First Gulf War from the idealistic belief that this essentially unprecedented military exercise in collective security would lead to long-term global governance through the United Nations. That was with respect to sovereign states and international organizations. Within a few years, however, those idealistic hopes for collective security were dashed—in large part by the outbreak of the Yugoslavia wars and, still later, the genocide in Rwanda. The international community proved unable to respond to provide collective security; Europe proved unable to provide security even within Europe, and the Yugoslavia wars came to a halt only when the United States, under the Clinton administration, decided finally that it had to intervene. In lieu of collective security as such, the UN Security Council implemented a series of war crimes tribunals that aimed to provide after-the-fact justice, first for Yugoslavia and later for Rwanda. These were widely celebrated as the beginnings of an international criminal justice system but, critics noted, their origins were as an alternative to actual intervention before or during the fact. At the same time, however, in the early 1990s, international
Consumer Protection in the Age of Big Data

The Big Data revolution is upon us. Technological advances in the degree to which third parties can record information about individuals, along with increases in the use of predictive analytics, are transforming the way that business is conducted in practically all sectors of the economy. This is particularly true in the insurance industry, where a firm’s ability to forecast the future is the central determinant of its profitability.Scholars and the media have touted the potential benefits of Big Data analytics — it will enable businesses to tailor their practices to suit consumers’ preferences and increase the efficiency of their operations. The Big Data movement’s potential negative impacts, however, have garnered significantly less attention. Commentators have focused on privacy and data security concerns as the primary problems associated with Big Data analytics. There have been essentially no attempts to assess how these developments affect consumers’ other interests or, more broadly, the extent to which they justify additional regulation of markets.This Article fills this gap. It identifies eight societal interests that will be affected by insurers’ uses of data — actuarial fairness, loss prevention, autonomy, non-discrimination, justice, utility maximization, privacy, and good faith — and describes how regulators could act to ensure that markets generate an optimal balance of these values. While laissez-faire regulatory approaches are superior for some types of insurance, more extensive state interventions are needed for products that are sold to individual consumers. Where additional regulation is needed, community rating rules, authorization requirements for policy modifications, and claims handling standards are the mechanisms best suited to guaranteeing that insurance markets continue to advance public interests in the Big Data era.
Global Antitrust Prosecutions of International Cartels: Focus on Asia

International cartelists today face antitrust investigations and possible fines in a score of national and supranational jurisdictions. This paper aims at providing quantitative information about the size and impacts of international cartel activity in Asia and uses a sample of modern private cartels to evaluate the relative effectiveness of three prominent Asian antitrust authorities. The sample consists of legal and economic information on 433 international cartels detected in Asia and the rest of the world during 1990-2007. The need for assertive anti-cartel enforcement in Asia is demonstrated by the large affected commerce and economic injuries of known international cartels. Affected sales of detected Asian-region cartels combined with global cartels that fixed prices in Asia totals at least US$1.1 trillion in 1990-2007. The losses imposed on Asian consumers were at least $500 billion. While more than $45 billion in penalties has been imposed world wide, it is doubtful that such monetary sanctions can deter modern international cartels. Optimal cartel deterrence is frustrated by the failure of compensatory private suits to take hold outside of North America, a reluctance to act against global cartels, and the low fines in most Asian jurisdictions. Of the three selected jurisdictions, the Korean FTC has the best record of anti-cartel enforcement in Asia, but even the KFTC's surcharges are recouping less than 15% of damages to its citizens. Without significant increases in cartel detection, in the levels of expected fines or civil penalties, or expansion of the standing of buyers to seek compensation, international price fixing will remain rational business conduct.
Mitigating political uncertainty

This study examines whether firms that establish political connections gain differential access to relevant information over legislative developments, thereby mitigating the negative consequences of uncertainty. I find that political connections (partially) offset the negative relation between investment and political uncertainty documented in prior research. My results do not appear to be driven by connected firms pursuing investments that are insensitive to uncertainty. I perform additional tests to address concerns over correlated omitted variables. First, I identify a setting around a tax policy development designed to provide new investment incentives to firms. In this setting, I predict and find that reduced information asymmetry for connected firms results in delaying investment in anticipation of future lucrative tax incentives. Second, I perform a falsification test and document that political connections do not mitigate the effects of general economic uncertainty. Finally, I continue to find support for my hypothesis within a propensity matched sample.
Oust the Louse: Does Political Pressure Discipline Regulators?†

We consider a possible determinant of regulatory decisions by public utility commissioners: the desire to remain in office. We examine regulatory exit, where a regulator leaves a commission during a term or is not re-appointed/re-elected. With data from US states, we empirically investigate several hypotheses motivated by a political agency model of regulatory decision-making. Our empirical results generally support the hypotheses, including that higher electricity prices lead to ousting, that ousting is less common where it is more costly for the principal to whom the regulator reports, and that ousting is more likely where regulators are more accountable or are more likely to share the principal’s preferences. Furthermore, the results provide limited evidence that regulatory exit is not due mainly to the revolving door. Ousting also appears to lower future electricity prices.
INSECURE PROPERTY AND THE EFFICIENCY OF EXCHANGE

We examine the effect of insecure property and its accompanying enforcement costs on the efficiency of exchange. Because of the large enforcement costs that may be induced by the expectation of exchange, limited settlement without exchange may be ex ante superior for an adversary or even Pareto dominant. We therefore show how the removal of restrictions on exchange and the development of secure property are related. For much of history and in many places in the world today, property over economic resources has been or still is insecure. To enforce their claims on such resources, interested parties typically have to engage in litigation, monitoring or even arming and pay the enforcement costs that accompany such actions. The size of these costs can be expected to depend, among other factors, on the stakes involved. But for the same insecure and contested resource the stakes can be different depending on whether the resource is transferable or exchangeable once captured. What does the presence of enforcement costs imply for the ex ante efficiency of different forms of settlement? Is ex post efficient exchange always ex ante Pareto optimal? In this paper we address these and related questions. We show that ex ante ie, with the costs of enforcement endogenously determined - having ex post efficient exchange may be Pareto inferior or preferred only by one party. Thus, in the presence of insecure property, a more limited form of settlement eg, one according to which only the contested resource is negotiated and divided - can be more efficient. This outcome occurs because the expectation of full tradeability under exchange raises the stakes by rendering not just the contested resource negotiable, but also the disposition of other commodities which, though not directly contested, may nonetheless be traded down the road. This enlarges the bargaining set and induces adversaries to intensify their efforts to better their bargaining positions, thereby generating higher enforcement costs that may overwhelm the traditional (ex post) gains from trade under secure property. Only when the gains from trade are large enough can unlimited exchange be ex ante efficient. To illustrate these ideas we employ a model which has as its limiting case a simple neoclassical model of exchange with completely secure property. The gains from trade in the model, and therefore the degree to which unlimited
Two bs or not two bs? a signal detection theory analysis of repetition blindness in a counting task

Stimulus repetition usually benefits performance. A notable exception isrepetition blindness (RB), in which subjects fail to report a repeated stimulus in a rapid serial visual presentation. Theories differ in attributing RB to either perceptual encoding or memory retrieval and to impaired discrimination versus response bias. In the present study, subjects judged whether one or two letters were imbedded in sequences of digits. Unlike previous studies, false guesses of two unrepeated letters were distinguished from false guesses of two repeated letters. When repeated- and unrepeated-letter trials were randomly intermixed (Experiment 1), RB was entirely attributable to response bias. However, when they were separately blocked (Experiments 2 and 3), RB was manifested in discriminability (d’ ). The results support perceptual-encoding accounts of RB but indicate that effects on discriminability depend on subjects’ processing strategies.
THE IRREPRESSIBLE MYTH OF KLEIN

The Reconstruction-era case of United States v. Klein remains the object of a “cult” among commentators and advocates, who see it as a powerful separation of powers precedent. In fact, Klein is a myth—actually two related myths. One is that it is opaque and meaninglessly indeterminate because, given its confusing and disjointed language, its precise doctrinal contours are indecipherable; the other is that Klein is vigorous precedent, likely to be used by a court to invalidate likely federal legislation. Close analysis of Klein, its progeny, and past scholarship uncovers three identifiable core limitations on congressional control over the workings of federal courts: 1) Congress cannot dictate case outcomes or judicial findings and conclusions; 2) Congress cannot tell courts how to understand, interpret, or apply the Constitution; and 3) Congress cannot enact unconstitutional rules. But close analysis also reveals that these principles are neither exceptional nor vigorous as judicial constraints on congressional power. Blatant legislation actually violating any of these principles is unlikely to be enacted. On the other hand, in 140 years, Klein has not been used to invalidate any actual legislation, other than the law at issue in Klein itself. The myth of Klein is demonstrated in two recent pieces of Global War on Terror legislation: the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which limited federal judicial decisionmaking in cases brought by GWOT detainees, and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which granted telecommunications companies retroactive immunity for their assistance to the Bush Administration in conducting domestic warrantless surveillance. Both pieces of legislation survive constitutional Klein scrutiny, revealing that, properly understood, the case does no real constitutional heavy-lifting. At bottom, Klein becomes the lynchpin for constitutionalizing basic policy preferences against these laws. But this ignores a central distinction between bad policy and unconstitutional policy; we cannot confuse what the Constitution prohibits with bad statesmanship. Couching policy objections in Klein terms does not make the decision any less a constitutional myth. * © 2009 Howard M. Wasserman. Associate Professor of Law, FIU College of Law. Early versions of this paper were presented at faculty workshops at Florida State University College of Law in February 2010, FIU College of Law and Rutgers School of Law-Camden in March 2009, and at PrawfsFest! in November 2008; thanks to all participants for their comments and suggestions. Thanks to Michael Allen, William Araiza, Elizabeth Foley, Todd Pettys, Martin Redish, Michael Solimine, Allan Stein, William Van Alstyne, Steve Vladeck, and Gordon Young for comments and suggestions on research and early drafts.
Voices from the Cubicle: Protecting and Encouraging Private Employee Speech in the Post-Industrial Workplace

Employee self-censorship, the decline of unionization, electronic surveillance, corporate political partisanship, and longer hours at work are all contributing to a chill on private employee speech. This article examines the legal landscape of free speech for private sector workers and proposes that comprehensive protection of non-disruptive, non-disloyal employee speech would benefit workers and employers.
The Effects of Bilateral Tax Treaties on U.S. FDI Activity

The effects of bilateral tax treaties on FDI activity have been unexplored, despite significant ongoing activities by countries to negotiate and ratify these treaties. This paper estimates the impact of bilateral tax treaties using both U.S. inbound and outbound FDI over the period 1980–1999. Robust to a wide variety of alternative specifications, we find little evidence that bilateral tax treaties increase FDI activity, contrary to OECD-stated goals for such treaties.
Why do CEOs reciprocally sit on each other's boards?

Abstract The reciprocal interlocking of chief executive officers is a non-trivial phenomenon: among large companies in 1991, about one company in seven was in a relationship whereby the CEO of one company sat on a second company's board and the second company's CEO sat on the first company's board. We develop hypotheses to distinguish whether this practice furthers the interests of shareholders or the private interests of the CEOs. Using a sample of large companies, we employ a probit model to test these hypotheses. Our empirical findings are that these reciprocal CEO interlocks primarily benefit the CEOs rather than their shareholders.
International differences in emissions intensity and emissions content of global trade

Abstract Understanding international differences in the emissions intensity of trade and production is essential to understanding the effects of greenhouse gas limitation policies. We develop data on emissions from 41 industrial sectors in 39 countries and estimate the CO2 emissions intensity of production and trade. We find no evidence that developing countries specialize in emissions-intensive sectors; instead, our evidence suggests that emissions intensities differ systematically across countries because of differences in production techniques. Our results confirm that international differences in emissions intensity are substantial, but suggest that they do not play a significant factor in determining patterns of trade.
Governance of Intellectual Resources and Disintegration of Intellectual Property in the Digital Age

The Supreme Court's decision in eBay v. MercExchange brought into focus whether intellectual property policy should follow reflexively in the wake of tangible property doctrines or instead look to the distinctive market failures and institutional features of intellectual resources. Professor Richard Epstein argues in a recent article that "virtually all of the current malaise in dealing with both tangible and intellectual property stems from the failure to keep to the coherent rules of acquisition, exclusion, alienation, regulation, and condemnation that are called for by the classical liberal system . . . ." Professor Epstein purports to validate what he calls the "carryover hypothesis": that principles governing tangible property "do, and should, influence the growth of intellectual property law," and that apart from durational limits on patents and copyrights, there are essentially no significant departures from the private property mold needed to optimize intellectual property. This Article responds to Professor Epstein's premises, framework, and analysis and provides a broader and richer analytical framework for promoting innovation and creativity in the digital age. In so doing, it demonstrates that intellectual property does not and should not resemble Professor Epstein's idealized classical liberal cathedral. To the contrary, "disintegration" characterizes the intellectual property landscape and hewing to a classical liberal private property paradigm overlooks valuable prescriptions for the evolution of the intellectual property field. While the institution of private property that has developed for tangible resources provides valuable insights into how to encourage efficient economic development, it is not a panacea for all resources, contexts, and societies. Careful consideration of the characteristics of intellectual resources, comparative institutional analysis, and empirical research provide the keys to promoting innovation and creativity. CO 2012 Peter S. Menell t Robert L. Bridges Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law; Director, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. I thank Tom Grey and Mark Lemley for comments on an earlier draft. Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline (http://heinonline.org) 12th Annual Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference 595 BERKELEY TECHNOLOGY LAW JOURNAL [Vol. 26:1523
Revealing and Thereby Tempering the Abuses of Government Created Evidence in Criminal Trials

When the government is involved in creating evidence, particularly hearsay, the dangers of abuse are substantial. Declarants should be required to testify and be subject to cross-examination. In addition, one of our best and most realistic remedies for that abuse is to require that modern technology be employed to record in a verbatim fashion the transactions involved in that creation. By presenting that information, we better equip the jury to assess the value of the evidence and the value of the words of sometimes absent witnesses. Beyond its general message, this essay also recognizes the contributions of Professor Margaret Berger, who argued both as a litigant and an academic for reforms that furthered the goal of controlling abuses in government-created evidence by disclosure. Whether formally part of a confrontation right or recognized and guaranteed through other legal mechanisms, requiring disclosure of the way government agents develop hearsay statements from witnesses helps to avoid and correct abuses.
Assessment and Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Employees: An Applied Guide to Creating Healthy Organizations

Sexual harassment occurs in organizations around the world, with costly consequences for employees and employers. In this article, we present a case for the primary prevention of sexual harassment, a dysfunctional, counterproductive behavior. We propose that primary prevention can positively influence organizational characteristics and the organizational harassment culture through preventive organizational actions (POAs), helping to build healthy organizations. Rather than being reactive, and instituted after the fact, primary prevention is a proactive approach that addresses root causes of sexual harassment, preventing its development. This approach is research-based and grounded in the well-established traditions of public health and preventive medicine that are applied to prevention of chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular disease. Management commitment, zero tolerance, applicant and new hire awareness, and regular assessments and training are important aspects of the proactive preventive management of sexual harassment.
TAX EXPENDITURE FRAMEWORK LEGISLATION

Explicit federal outlays are determined through elaborate budget procedural rules (framework laws), but tax expenditures in many respects fall outside these established Congressional procedures. The preparation of the annual federal budget therefore privileges tax subsidies over outlays, even though each can substitute for the other. As a consequence, tax expenditures have become the preferred vehicle for delivering new spending programs. Moreover, the low salience of tax expenditures clouds understanding of the government’s allocative interventions among not only the public but also many policymakers. This paper considers how tax expenditures might be brought more directly into the federal budget-setting process. The analysis considers three types of tax subsidies — fi xed-dollar allocations, subsidies that are open-ended but offered for a fi xed term, and subsidies that are both open-ended and indefi nite in term. Just as the federal budget today follows different processes for discretionary spending (appropriations) and direct expenditures (entitlements), so too it is necessary to develop different framework rules for fi xed-dollar and uncapped tax subsidies.
Longitudinal 5-branes as 4-spheres in Matrix theory

Abstract We present a construction in Matrix theory of longitudinal 5-branes whose geometry in transverse space corresponds to a 4-sphere. We describe these branes through an explicit construction in terms of N × N matrices for a particular infinite series of values of N . The matrices used in the construction have a number of properties which can be interpreted in terms of the 4-sphere geometry, in analogy with similar properties of the SU (2) generators used in the construction of a spherical membrane. The physical properties of these systems correspond with those expected from M-theory; in particular, these objects have an energy and a leading long-distance interaction with gravitons which agrees with 11D supergravity at leading order in N .
The Behavior of Conventional and Islamic Bank Deposit Returns in Malaysia and Turkey

This paper examines the empirical behavior of conventional bank deposit rates and the rate of return on retail Islamic profit-and-loss sharing (PLS) investment accounts in Malaysia and Turkey, using monthly data from January 1997 to August 2010. The analysis shows that conventional bank deposit rates and PLS returns exhibit long-run cointegration and the time-varying volatility of conventional bank deposit rates and PLS returns is correlated and is statistically significant. The pairwise and multivariate causality tests show that conventional bank deposit rates Granger cause returns on PLS accounts. These findings have policy implications in terms of price stability and financial stability. Keywords: Interest rates; Islamic banks; causality; time-varying volatility correlation JEL Classifications: E42; E43; E49; F59; G14; G15; O16
COMPANY VALUATION. HOW TO DEAL WITH A RANGE OF VALUES

Company valuation is not done after having generated a few values being a result of applying different valuation methods. In many cases institutions ordering the valuation request a value which can be an equivalent of a market, transactional value. Often the one method (and the valuation resulting from the method) can be indicated, since the valuer claims that it gives the most precise value of the company. However, it is safer to consider the range of values and then try to determine the final value which is the result of a combination of several methods. However, the question is how to consistently deal with a range of values. One of the solutions are so-called mixed methods of company valuation. They are criticized in this paper as they are too subjective. Instead we suggest considering a portfolio approach – PATEV (Portfolio Approach to Equity Valuation). In addition to having to choose a method of defining one value, the value is subject to further corrections: liquidity and control discounts.
The Hidden Costs of Terrorist Watch Lists

Courts have started to recognize standing to sue for those on the government’s No Fly List, which bars listed individuals from flying. This salutary step, however, leaves untouched the complex watch list infrastructure on which the No Fly List is built and whose flaws it inherits. Lower-profile watch lists have fewer determinate consequences on listed individuals than the No Fly List does. But, this article argues, they exact substantial costs. This article first explains why the incentive structure of terrorist watch lists encourages government agencies to list more people than necessary and not to check their work. It then demonstrates how a misguided understanding of the relationship between false positives and false negatives obscures the effects of these perverse incentives. Those effects, the article shows, extend beyond individuals listed on a watch to include government agents and agencies, public policy, and society at large. Yet, as I explain, neither the current statutory regime nor judicial doctrine can address these broad negative effects; even scholarship largely misses the point. To remedy this situation, this article proposes ways to build self-assessment and improvement — in the form of Bayesian updating — into the watch list process. More broadly, the article contributes to attempts to analyze and constrain the government’s use of big data.
Five Models of Administrative Adjudication

Regulatory and benefit-distribution schemes give rise to large numbers of individualized disputes between government agencies and private parties. Every country needs a system of administrative adjudication to resolve such disputes accurately, fairly, and efficiently. Such systems generally provide for three phases—initial decision, administrative reconsideration, and judicial review. However, the details of the various systems employed around the world are bewilderingly diverse, and different countries tend to invest most of their adjudicatory resources in only one of the three phases (and private parties who have a dispute with government tend to have more confidence in one of the phases than in the other two). This Article proposes a methodology for classifying such systems. It identifies four key variables: combined-function agencies or separate tribunals, adversarial or inquisitorial procedure, judicial review that is either open to introduction of new evidence or closed to new evidence, and judicial review by generalized or specialized courts. The Article identifies five models in common use around the world that involve different combinations of these variables. The United States, for example, uses combined-function agencies, adversarial procedure, and closed judicial review in generalist courts. On the other hand, the United Kingdom employs an independent tribunal to reconsider initial agency decisions. And France employs open judicial review in a specialized court. Each of these models can deliver accurate and efficient decisions while preserving fairness. Finally, the Article discusses transplants from one administrative adjudicatory system to another. There are numerous examples of successful transplants. The Article suggests that the United States should consider adopting a social security tribunal (similar to the tribunals in the United Kingdom and Australia) to replace the present system of adjudication of social security disputes.
Entertainment Law in the State of Wisconsin

Analysis of legal issues impacting the entertainment industry within the state of Wisconsin. Supported by the Sports & Entertainment Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Time-Varying Parameter VAR Model with Stochastic Volatility: An Overview of Methodology and Empirical Applications

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the estimation methodology for the time-varying parameter structural vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) with stochastic volatility, in both methodology and empirical applications. The TVP-VAR model, combined with stochastic volatility, enables us to capture possible changes in underlying structure of the economy in a flexible and robust manner. In this respect, as shown in simulation exercises in the paper, the incorporation of stochastic volatility into the TVP estimation significantly improves estimation performance. The Markov chain Monte Carlo method is employed for the estimation of the TVP-VAR models with stochastic volatility. As an example of empirical application, the TVP-VAR model with stochastic volatility is estimated using the Japanese data with significant structural changes in the dynamic relationship between the macroeconomic variables.
Dynamic Pricing and Consumer Fairness Perceptions

Dynamic pricing practices by sellers in response to segment and individual-level differences have been made more feasible as internet buyer behavior increases. While benefits from these pricing practices can accrue to sellers and buyers, the potential for (un)fairness perceptions to mitigate these advantages is important. In an effort to investigate these issues, this article reports the results of three studies that examine the effects of seller-, consumer-, time-, and auction-based price differences on perceived price fairness and purchase satisfaction. The findings underscore the potential negative effects associated with price differences from dynamic pricing practices.
Finding Effective Constraints on Executive Power: Interrogation, Detention, and Torture

U.S. practices of coercive interrogation and torture since 2002 have called into question the efficacy of traditional structural constraints on executive power. Few dispute that the most egregious abuse of detainees in U.S. custody was unlawful, yet neither congressional oversight nor law-making functioned to check such treatment. This Article first considers why and how torture and abuse became such a pervasive problem post-9/11 despite affirmative laws prohibiting them. It then argues that the tools that were at all effective in checking executive power emerged from less classically "democratic" sources: a highly professionalized military and intelligence community; the media and organizations of non-governmental civil society; and actively engaged courts. While it is true that core democratic structures (particularly congressional oversight) failed to constrain executive operations in prisoner detention and treatment, these other levers of power saw at least modest success in changing the course of executive policy.
The Transfer Pricing Regs Need a Good Edit

The U.S. government has broad discretion to change the transfer pricing regulations as they apply to corporate multinationals. These regulations need changing because they give too much leeway to taxpayers and will continue to serve an important function in the division of international tax jurisdiction regardless of the fate of pending reform proposals. U.S. tax administrators should write revised transfer pricing rules that afford taxpayers less contracting freedom. They should incrementally add formulaic elements to rules and use high-friction, nontax reference points such as employee location. Incremental formulary changes carry less risk than the sweeping adoption of a global formulary apportionment standard. Although such changes might appear to present a tension with longstanding treaty commitments to the arm’s length standard in transfer pricing, as articulated by OECD, a developing global consensus supports increased incremental use of formulary methods. Treaty partners might well accept and perhaps follow such changes, particularly if they resulted in the allocation of income away from low-tax affiliates and toward treaty partner jurisdictions as well as the U.S..
Simulated Likelihood Estimation of the Normal-Gamma Stochastic Frontier Function

The normal-gamma stochastic frontier model was proposed in Greene (1990) and Beckers and Hammond (1987) as an extension of the normal-exponential proposed in the original derivations of the stochastic frontier by Aigner, Lovell and Schmidt (1977). The normal-gamma model has the virtue of providing a richer and more flexible parameterization of the inefficiency distribution in the stochastic frontier model than either of the canonical forms, normal-half normal and normal-exponential. However, several attempts to operationalize the normal-gamma model have met with very limited success, as the log likelihood is possesed of a significant degree of complexity. This note will propose an alternative approach to estimation of this model based on the method of maximum simulated likelihood estimation as opposed to the received attempts which have approached the problem by direct maximization.
Towards a Prescriptive Theory of Dynamic Capabilities: Connecting Strategic Choice, Learning, and Competition

The field of strategy has mounted an enormous effort to understand, define, predict, and measure how organizational capabilities shape competitive advantage. While the notion that capabilities influence strategy dates back to the work of Andrews (1971, The Concept of Corporate Strategy, Irwin: Homewood), attempts to formalize a “capabilities-based” approach to strategy only began to take shape in the past 20 years. In particular, the publication of Teece and Pisano (1994, Industrial and Corporate Change, 3(3), 537–556), Teece et al. (1997, Strategic Management Journal, 3, 509–533), and Eisenhardt and Martin (2000, Strategic Management Journal, 21, 1105–1121) works on “dynamic capabilities” triggered a flood of debate and discussion on the topic. Unfortunately, the literature on dynamic capabilities has become mired in endless debates about definitions and has engaged in an elusive search for properties that make organizations adaptable. This article argues that the research program on dynamic capabilities needs to be reset around the fundamental strategic problem facing firms: how to identify and select capabilities that lead to competitive advantage. To this end, the article develops a framework that attempts to connect firms’ capability search strategies with their strategies in product markets. It frames firms’ capability search strategies as choices among different types of capability enhancing investments. The key distinguishing feature of capabilities in this framework is their degree of fungibility: capabilities span a continuum ranging from highly general-purpose (e.g., quality management) to highly market-specific (e.g., knowing how to manufacture an airplane wing). To illustrate the potential of the framework to shed new light on traditional strategy questions, the article applies the framework to explore some unexplained features of Penrosian diversification strategies. The article concludes by suggesting a research agenda for dynamic capabilities.