The Causal Effect of Exporting and Multinational Acquisition on TFP in UK: An Evaluation Method Approach

This paper assesses the effect on total factor productivity (TFP) of a change in the status of a firm from domestic producer to either exporter or subsidiary of a multinational firm. It is an extension of earlier work that looks solely on the effect of exporting on TFP (Girma et al, 2003 and 2004 and Wagner, 2002). In particular, it estimates the differences in TFP between domestic, exporting firms or subsidiaries of multinationals after controlling for the likely presence of endogeneity using the Multiple Treatment Approach (Blundell and Costa Dias, 2000 and Lechner, 2001). Results show that firms that have become exporters experience higher TFP, between 7.8% and 8.8%, with respect to domestic producers. Productivity gains were also experienced for firms acquired by multinationals relative to domestic producers ranging from 11.5% to 13%. Finally, exporters have a lower annual TFP compared to firms acquired by multinationals by around 10 percentage points.Exporting, acquisition, TFP, multinationals, propensity score matching, multiple treatments.

Competitive conditions in the Central and Eastern European banking systems

The aim of this study is to conduct a large-scale empirical analysis of the competitive conditions in the banking systems of Central and Eastern European countries. The well-known model of Panzar and Rosse (1987) is implemented on bank-level data over the period 1999-2006. The estimates based on the separate country panels suggest a wide variation in the competitive conditions of the banking systems examined, with some being characterized as (monopolistically) competitive and other as non-competitive. Finally, the results from the full sample indicate that bank revenue is substantially influenced by structural and macroeconomic conditions.Market power; Central and Eastern European banks; Panzar-Rosse model

Effective power-law dependence of Lyapunov exponents on the central mass in galaxies

Using both numerical and analytical approaches, we demonstrate the existence of an effective power-law relation $L\propto m^p$ between the mean Lyapunov exponent $L$ of stellar orbits chaotically scattered by a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy and the mass parameter $m$, i.e. ratio of the mass of the black hole over the mass of the galaxy. The exponent $p$ is found numerically to obtain values in the range $p \approx 0.3$--$0.5$. We propose a theoretical interpretation of these exponents, based on estimates of local `stretching numbers', i.e. local Lyapunov exponents at successive transits of the orbits through the black hole's sphere of influence. We thus predict $p=2/3-q$ with $q\approx 0.1$--$0.2$. Our basic model refers to elliptical galaxy models with a central core. However, we find numerically that an effective power law scaling of $L$ with $m$ holds also in models with central cusp, beyond a mass scale up to which chaos is dominated by the influence of the cusp itself. We finally show numerically that an analogous law exists also in disc galaxies with rotating bars. In the latter case, chaotic scattering by the black hole affects mainly populations of thick tube-like orbits surrounding some low-order branches of the $x_1$ family of periodic orbits, as well as its bifurcations at low-order resonances, mainly the Inner Lindbland resonance and the 4/1 resonance. Implications of the correlations between $L$ and $m$ to determining the rate of secular evolution of galaxies are discussed.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figure

SNAKE ASSEMBLAGE STRUCTURES AND SEASONAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS ON A MILITARY BASE IN SOUTH-CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA:: LAND MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS FOR SNAKE CONSERVATION

We ascertained the assemblage structures of snakes occurring in a mixed habitat matrix of natural and disturbed habitats during 2008–2011 at Letterkenny Army Depot (LEAD), a 7200 ha U.S. Army base in south-central Pennsylvania, to understand the patterns of species abundance as they related to habitat type of managed lands. We detected eight species in 12 sites comprising natural and disturbed habitats of wetlands, forest, and thicket and open fields. The Common Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis) occurred in the most sites, the Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) was the rarest species in the study. Two to six species occupied each site and were distributed unevenly. Dynamics of assemblages could be explained in part by habitat and also by the presence of the North American Racer (Coluber constrictor). All species for which data were available exhibited a unimodal pattern to their seasonal activity (mostly May and June); however, seasonal activity peaks differed between sexes. Sex ratios varied among species but were consistently female–biased in the Common Gartersnake and Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus) in Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. As elsewhere in Pennsylvania and the Northeast, body sizes of adults were larger for species syntopic with the North American Racer than for species not syntopic with this potential predator. We found a degree of predictability with respect to snake assemblage dynamics among habitats at LEAD, which in turn can prove useful in resource management of this large and protected human-impacted system

A Dual Definition for the Factor Content of Trade and its Effect on Factor Rewards in US Manufacturing Sector

In this paper, first we introduce a dual definition of the Factor Content of Trade (FCT) using the concept of the equivalent autarky equilibrium. A FCT vector is calculated by estimating a symmetric normalized quadratic revenue function for the US manufacturing sector for the period 1965 to 1991. The FCT for capital is positive, while the FCT for skilled and unskilled labor are both negative, suggesting that the Leontief Paradox was not present for the period of investigation. Capital is revealed by trade to be relatively more abundant compared to either type of labor, while skilled labor is relatively more abundant than unskilled labor. Then using the quadratic approximation lemma, the growth rate of the factor rewards is related to the growth rate of FCT, the growth rate of endowments and technological change. We find that technological change is the most important determinant in explaining wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers in US manufacturing between 1967 and 1991.International trade, relative wages, Factor Content of Trade, skilled and unskilled labour, Leontief Paradox, revenue function.

The joint estimation of bank-level market power and efficiency

The aim of this study is to provide a methodology for the joint estimation of efficiency and market power of individual banks. The proposed method utilizes the separate implications of the new empirical industrial organization and the stochastic frontier literatures and suggests identification using the local maximum likelihood (LML) technique. Through LML, estimation of market power of individual banks becomes feasible, while a number of restrictive theoretical and empirical assumptions are relaxed. The empirical analysis is carried out on the basis of EMU and US bank data and the results suggest small differences in the market power and efficiency levels of banks between the two samples. Market power estimates indicate fairly competitive conduct in general; however, heterogeneity in market power estimates is substantial across banks within each sample. The latter result suggests that while the banking industries examined are fairly competitive in general, the practice of some banks deviates from the average behavior, and this finding has important policy implications. Finally, efficiency and market power present a negative relationship, which is in line with the so-called “quiet life hypothesis”.Efficiency; market power; local maximum likelihood

Interest rates and bank risk-taking

In a recent line of research the low interest-rate environment of the early to mid 2000s is viewed as an element that triggered increased risk-taking appetite of banks in search for yield. This paper uses approximately 18,000 annual observations on euro area banks over the period 2001-2008 and presents strong empirical evidence that low interest rates indeed increase bank risk-taking substantially. This result is robust across a number of different specifications that account, inter alia, for the potential endogeneity of interest rates and/or the dynamics of bank risk. Notably, among the banks of the large euro area countries this effect is less pronounced for French institutions, which held on average a relatively low level of risk assets. Finally, the distributional effects of interest rates on bank risk-taking due to individual bank characteristics reveal that the impact of interest rates on risk assets is diminished for banks with higher equity capital and is amplified for banks with higher off-balance sheet items.Interest rates; bank risk-taking; panel data; euro area banks

Proceso de entrenamiento de la táctica en los judocas masculinos de la categoría 15-16

The purpose of this research is to present a methodological alternative to improve the effectiveness of tactical actions in male judo athletes from 15-16 category of Guantanamo. Research methods and techniques were applied such as bibliographic analysis, document review, survey, observation, open interview and empirical frequency distribution that allowed to corroborate the deficiencies related to the subject presented by the judo athletes under study, as well as the needs that trainers present to solve this problemLa presente investigación tiene como objetivo presentar una alternativa metodológica para mejorar la efectividad de las acciones tácticas en los judocas masculinos categoría 15-16 de Guantánamo. Se aplicaron métodos y técnicas de investigación como el análisis bibliográfico, la revisión de documentos, la encuesta, la observación, la entrevista abierta y la distribución empírica de frecuencias que permitieron corroborar las deficiencias relacionadas con el tema presentadas por los judocas objeto de estudio, así como las necesidades que presentan los entrenadores para dar solución a esta problemática