Business Commons^™

Sources Of Productivity Spillovers: Panel Data Evidence From China, Badi H. Baltagi, Peter H. Egger, Michaela Kesina

Center for Policy Research

This paper assesses sources of productivity spillovers in China's electric and electronic manufacturing industry using a rich panel data-set of 25,360 firms observed over the period 2004-2007. This industry is characterized by its important reliance on technology. In particular, the paper focuses on the role of other firms' productivity as well as productivity shifters in affecting own firm-level total factor productivity. In addition, this paper examines the possible difference between spillovers from foreign-owned units and from units which participate at global markets through exporting in comparison to domestically-owned and non-exporting units. We find evidence of stronger spillovers from exporting firms …

Financial Literacy And Financial Inclusion Of Women In Rural Rajasthan, Emily Levi-D'Ancona

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Financial inclusion is an important step in development, as access to finances can help the poor build money and lift themselves out of poverty. In many parts of the developing world, and especially in India, microfinance is seen as a new approach to fighting poverty by bringing financial services, including low-interest loans, to the poor so that they can afford to start a business or invest and eventually gain self-sufficiency – in other words, a method of financial inclusion for the poor. However, microfinance in India cannot sufficiently reach the poor populations, especially those in rural India, and many of …

A Study On Employee Turnover In Shanghai’S Fine Dining Restaurants, Yang Liu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Preliminary 2014 Montana Nonresident Traveler Expenditures And Economic Contribution, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This report shows the 2014 preliminary economic contributions, expenditures, and average daily spending of nonresident visitors to Montana.

Negotiating Deals From A Position Of Powerlessness, Michael Schaerer, Roderick I. Swaab

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

When you are negotiating a deal it pays to have viable alternatives to fall back on – or at least that’s what most people think. New research suggests that being powerless can be liberating and help you achieve better deals.

Empirical Studies On Interest Rate Derivatives, Xudong Sun

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Interest rate models are the building blocks of financial market and the interest rate derivatives market is the largest derivatives market in the world. In this dissertation, we shall focus on numerical pricing of interest rate derivatives, estimating model parameters by Kalman filter, and studying various models empirically. We shall propose a front-fixing finite element method to price the American put option under the quadratic term structure framework and compare it with a trinomial tree method and common finite element method. Numerical test results show the superiority of our front-fixing finite element method in the aspects of computing the option …

A Closer Look At The Impact Of Quantitative Easing On The Capital Markets: Garch Analysis Of The Exchange Traded Funds Market, Nicholas R. Duafala

Undergraduate Economic Review

This paper analyzes the effects of quantitative easing (QE) on the capital markets by modeling exchange traded funds (ETFs) returns using a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) methodology. The results show that the 10-Year Treasury yields are significant in the returns of some sectors of the economy more so than others, and the Federal Funds Futures trading volume is significant in all ETFs return volatility. The implications of these results not only provide information about the reaction of the ETF market and QE, but also provide insight for developing investment strategies.

Emerging Markets And The End Of Qe, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Quantitative easing made it easier for emerging economies to delay necessary reforms, but policymakers are better able to manage crises than ever before

Bitcoins, Block Chains, And Mining Pools, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Bitcoins can help facilitate online commerce, but investors – and speculators – should understand how the cryptocurrency works

Retention Pay, Kevin F. Hallock

Economics Faculty Publications

In many seasonal jobs, such as store clerks during the holiday shopping season, retention is about employers wanting as little employee turnover as possible during the small window they have each year to earn a big part of their profits. One way seasonal businesses might persuade workers to stay is with some sort of cash bonus paid for staying until the season's end or by paying a substantially higher wage at the very end. While the summer beach of Cape Cod may feel worlds away from the corporate office, the need to consider retention strategies for key employees is universal. …

Successful Communities: What Is Desired And What Is Present In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska, 2014 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Nebraska Rural Poll

Rural Nebraskans are looking for many things in a community. The characteristics of a community that most believe are absolutely essential include social dimensions (sense of personal safety), economic dimensions (jobs/economic opportunities), some basic services (a quality school system, available medical services, affordable housing, quality housing and well maintained infrastructure) and environmental dimensions (a clean and attractive natural environment).

Unfortunately, when asked if these characteristics are present in their current community, some of these areas are lacking. One of the more extreme cases involves jobs/economic opportunities. Seventy-seven percent of the respondents say these are absolutely essential in order for them …

Mind The Liquidity Gap: Building A Better Capital Market For You, Kaushik Rudra

Asian Management Insights

Asian banks in most jurisdictions are currently more than adequately capitalised with respect to Basel III. However, as they are called upon to support the region’s economic growth over the next decade, they are likely to run up against capital constraints.

Mutual Funds And Information Diffusion: The Role Of Country-Level Governance, Chunmei Lin, Massimo Massa, Hong Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We hypothesize that poor country-level governance, which makes public information less reliable, induces fund managers to increase their use of semipublic information. Utilizing data from international mutual funds and stocks over the 2000-2009 period, we find that semipublic information-related stock rebalancing can be five times higher in countries with the worst quality of governance than in countries with the best. The use of semipublic information increases price informativeness but also increases information asymmetry and reduces stock liquidity. It also intensified the price impact and liquidity crunch during the recent global financial crisis.

Ceo Optimism And Incentive Compensation, Clemens A. Otto

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

I study the effect of chief executive officer (CEO) optimism on CEO compensation. Usingdata on compensation in US firms, I provide evidence that CEOs whose option exercisebehavior and earnings forecasts are indicative of optimistic beliefs receive smaller stockoption grants, fewer bonus payments, and less total compensation than their peers. Thesefindings add to our understanding of the interplay between managerial biases andremuneration and show how sophisticated principals can take advantage of optimisticagents by appropriately adjusting their compensation contracts.

Raising The Bar 2: Challenges To Productivity Initiatives In The Finance And Accounting Function, Clarence Goh

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Faced with a tightening labour supply, raising productivity has become an increasingly important issue for manybusinesses in Singapore. To understand how this impacts on the F&A functions of businesses, the Instituteof Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) collaborated with Robert Half to survey over 550 senior financeexecutives in Singapore and also the region to understand the focus of F&A functions of businesses andcorporations regarding raising productivity and effectiveness. Our findings are presented in a series of three reportswith the following themes – (1) Trends in implementing productivity initiatives, (2) Challenges faced in implementingproductivity initiatives, and (3) Essential skills and training needed to …

Theories And Practices Of Islamic Finance And Exchange Laws: Poverty Of Interest, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Power America's — And Nevada's — Advanced Industries: State By State, Region By Region, Mark Muro

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

With the U.S. economy still flat, economic experts and leaders continue to search for the next source of U.S. and regional growth. One key component of the next era of prosperity can be projected: It is what the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program calls the advanced industry (AI) sector. The nation’s most strategic R&D — and STEM worker intensive industries, AIs like aerospace and IT are prime movers of regional and national prosperity, because they are key sources of technology innovation and generate domestic and international exports. Accordingly, the AI swatch of 50 discrete industries has emerged as an important new …

Teece's Competing Through Innovation, Herbert J. Hovenkamp

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay reviews David J. Teece's book, Competing Through Innovation: Technological Strategies and Antitrust Policies (2013).

Urban Blue Space And "The Project Of The Century": Doing Justice On The Seattle Waterfront And For Local Residents, Anne Wessells

Anne Taufen

No abstract provided.

Huge Growth Potential In 2015 For Used Books Market - A Surney, Lissa Coffey

LissaCoffey

Selling Buying Used Books - A Market With Huge Potential in 2015 - Selling/buying books online is a great way to earn extra income and an upcoming market having huge growth potential in 2015. Size the US market for used books ... Conduct research on used book selling and buying activities. The starting point for their analysis is the double-edged impact of a used book market ... But there's another effect: the presence of a market for used books ... "The growth reflects how easy is has become to sell used books.The used book market for college textbooks has been …

Central Minnesota Economic And Business Conditions Report, Second Quarter 2014, Richard A. Macdonald, King Banaian

Central Minnesota Economic and Business Conditions Report

Central Minnesota business conditions are expected to improve over the next several months according to the predictions of the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Central Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators. The leading economic indicator index (LEI) improved in the second quarter as improvements in durable goods orders, additional new business incorporations, and strength in a general measure of state business conditions helped drive the LEI higher. The SCSU Central Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators is now 7.95 percent higher than one year ago.

There were 1,370 new business filings with the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State …

Northeast Minnesota Economic And Business Conditions Report, Second Quarter 2014, Richard A. Macdonald, King Banaian

Northeast Minnesota Economic and Business Conditions Report

Northeast Minnesota business conditions are expected to improve over the next several months according to the predictions of the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Northeast Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators. The leading economic indicator index (LEI) improved in the second quarter as increases in Duluth/Superior Area (MSA) residential building permits, additional filings for new business incorporations, improvements in a general measure of state business conditions, gains in a supply managers’ survey index and lower initial jobless claims all drove the LEI higher.

There were 548 new business filings with the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State in Northeast …

Northwest Minnesota Economic And Business Conditions Report, Second Quarter 2014, Richard A. Macdonald, King Banaian

Northwest Minnesota Economic and Business Conditions Report

Northwest Minnesota business conditions are expected to improve over the next several months according to the predictions of the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Northwest Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI). The macroeconomic environment for rural America has improved and consumer sentiment has strengthened in recent months. A rise in new business formation along with an increase in residential building permits in Northwest Minnesota’s two major metropolitan areas also helped drive the LEI higher in the second quarter. The SCSU Northwest Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators is now 1.4 percent above its level one year ago as it …

Southwest Minnesota Economic And Business Conditions Report, Second Quarter 2014, Richard A. Macdonald, King Banaian

Southwest Minnesota Economic and Business Conditions Report

Southwest Minnesota business conditions are expected to slow over the next several months according to the predictions of the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Southwest Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI). Despite improvements in the general outlook for rural economies, an increase in new regional business formation and rising Mankato area residential building permits, the LEI is little changed from its strong reading in this year’s first quarter. Holding back the regional economic outlook is a recent rise in initial jobless claims in the Southwest Minnesota planning area. The SCSU Southwest Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased by …

Twin Cities Minnesota Economic And Business Conditions Report, Second Quarter 2014, Richard A. Macdonald, King Banaian

Twin Cities Minnesota Economic and Business Conditions Report

Twin Cities business conditions are expected to pick up over the next several months according to the predictions of the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Twin Cities Index of Leading Economic Indicators. The leading economic indicator index (LEI) was lifted by a rise in new filings for business incorporations and limited liability companies (LLC) in the Twin Cities. Improvement in two general measures of statewide business conditions also contributed positively to the Twin Cities outlook. Lower initial jobless claims further enhanced projected economic growth in the seven-county metro area. The Twin Cities index increased 5.38 points in the second quarter …

Do Hitters Boost Their Performance During Their Contract Years?, Heather M. O'Neill

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

Each season, baseball fans and journalists alike identify which players are in the final years of their contracts because a lot rides on how the players produce in their “contract year.” Will a player boost his effort and performance in an effort to improve his value and bargaining power? Or will he crumble under the pressure? Or are players’ performances uncorrelated with where they stand in their contract cycles?

Women Directors On Public Company Boards: Does A Critical Mass Affect Leverage?, Cindy K. Harris

Business and Economics Faculty Publications

This study examines the relationship between corporate leverage (the ratio of total debt to total assets) and gender diversity on US public company boards, with particular focus on boards that have at least 25% women directors. Using this critical mass of women eliminates from consideration boards with lesser female representation, whose female directors may be marginalized in their contributions to board functioning and decision-making. I hypothesize that when boards have this minimum threshold of gender diversity, the influence of risk-averse female directors will impact board decisions related to financing, resulting in lower debt ratios when compared to boards with no …

Mexico Consensus Economic Forecast, Volume 17, Number 4, Thomas M. Fullerton Jr., Adam G. Walke

Departmental Papers (E & F)

No abstract provided.

Southeast Minnesota Economic And Business Conditions Report, Second Quarter 2014, Richard A. Macdonald, King Banaian

Southeast Minnesota Economic and Business Conditions Report

Southeast Minnesota business conditions are expected to remain strong over the next several months according to the predictions of the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Southeast Minnesota Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI). Improvements in consumer sentiment, an increase in new filings for business incorporation and limited liability company (LLC), a rise in the Minnesota Business Conditions index, and increasing Rochester metropolitan area residential building permits all helped lift the second quarter LEI by 5.42 points. The only component of the LEI that served as a drag on the leading index was initial jobless claims. The Southeast Minnesota Index is …

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2014, James V. Koch, Vinod Agarwal, Chris Colburn, Vicky Curtis, Steve Daniel, Elizabeth Janik, Feng Lian, Sharon Lomax, Alice Mcadory, Janet Molinaro, Ken Plum, Ayush Toolsidass, Shara Weber, Luke Watson, Gilbert Yochum

Economics Faculty Books

This is Old Dominion University's 15th Annual State of the Region Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion or it's president, John R. Broderick. The report maintains the goal of stimulating thought and discussion that ultimately will make Hampton Roads an even better place to live. We are proud of our region's many successes, but realize that it is possible to improve our performance. In order to do so, we must have accurate information about "where we are" and a …