Geographical versus Industrial Diversification: A Mean Variance Spanning Approach

This paper addresses whether country allocation provides benefits over industry allocation in a sample of European country and industry indexes. Strategy performance is compared using a mean-variance spanning test. We find that, for investors with low risk aversion, industry allocation is as good as investing in the complete set of assets. Moreover, in the most recent subperiod coinciding with the inception of the Euro, country and industry diversification are both effective. By contrast, investors with high risk aversion should always mix country and industry portfolios. A striking aspect of our analysis is that we do not find empirical evidence to support the argument that country diversification is a superior approach.Diversification gains, EMU, mean-variance spanning, portfolio allocation strategies

Geographic versus industry diversification: constraints matter

This research addresses whether geographic diversification provides benefits over industry diversification. In the absence of constraints, no empirical evidence is found to support the argument that country diversification is superior. With short-selling constraints, however, the geographic tangency portfolio is not attainable by industry portfolios. Results with upper and lower constraints on portfolio weights as well as an out-of-sample analysis show that geographic diversification almost consistently outperforms industry portfolios, although we cannot establish statistical significance. JEL Classification: G11, G15block-bootstrap tests, Diversification gains, EMU, geographic diversification, industry diversification

Doctoral Recital

List of performers and performances

Do international portfolio investors follow firms’ foreign investment decisions?

We analyze the interlinkages between foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign portfolio investment (FPI) between Germany and the major economies. First, we show that Tobin’s q helps explaining the variation of the growth rate of the stock of FDI. Second, we show that foreign and the home stock market returns explain the ariation of the growth rate of the stock of FPI. Most importantly, we find that information about foreign fundamentals is revealed via direct investment. In other words, FDI transactions measured by fitted growth rates of the stock of FDI help explaining current growth rates of the stock of FPI. To our knowledge this observation is the first unambiguous evidence that international portfolio investors follow firms’ expected foreign investment decisions. JEL Classification: F21, F23, G11, G15and Information Spillovers, Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Portfolio Investment, Investor Heterogeneity, Tobin’s q

Senior Recital

List of performers and performances

Roadmap to Success: a K-5 media curriculum

A K-5 media curriculum based on the ITEM standards. This includes 27 lessons, standards (ITEM, MN ELA, social studies and science (ISD 535), materials, and assessments for grades K-5

When does cash matter? : evidence for private firms

Using a database of more than 180,000 private companies from 2000 to 2009, we find that the benefits of holding more cash vary substantially with a firm’s size and the conditions it faces. Cash holdings matter most for small firms: when there are negative shocks to industry or macroeconomic conditions, a small firm’s cash holdings are positively associated with changes in its sales and assets. Cash is less important for other conditions. Differences in the benefits of cash holdings between large and small firms are traced to a firm’s ability – and willingness – to increase leverage when there is a cash shortfallUtilizando una base de datos de más de 180.000 empresas privadas desde el año 2000 hasta el 2009, encontramos que los benefi cios de mantener más efectivo varían sustancialmente dependiendo del tamaño y de la situación de cada compañía. La tenencia de liquidez afecta, fundamentalmente, a las pequeñas empresas. En casos de shocks negativos en la industria o en la situación macroeconómica, la tenencias de efectivo por parte de empresas pequeñas se asocia positivamente a los cambios en sus ventas y activos. La liquidez es menos relevante en otros casos. Las diferencias en los benefi cios por mantener efectivo entre grandes y medianas empresas se relaciona con la capacidad, y voluntad, de cada una de ellas de aumentar el apalancamiento cuando hay un défi cit de capita

Going It Alone: Why University Presses Are Creating Their Own E-Book Collections

Most university presses deliver their e-books to libraries through aggregators. However, in 2019, two university presses, the MIT Press and University of Michigan Press, will launch their own e-book offerings for direct sale to institutions, and other presses are considering following suit. While there are a few university presses who have offered their own e-book products for a number of years, the intensity of discussion within the university press community about “going it alone” is new and deserves further interrogation. This paper summarizes why the MIT Press and University of Michigan Press are taking the bold step of launching their own e-book collections