INTERNATIONAL VARIATION OF RETURN ON EQUITY IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES

The objective was to analyze the effects of country and firm specific factors on the return on equity in the beverage and tobacco and food and consumer products industries for eleven industrialized nations. The results indicated that country and firm specific factors were important in explaining variation in return on equity within countries but not generally across countries or time.variation on return in equity, globalization, Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Designing Catastrophe Bonds to Securitize Systemic Risks in Agriculture: The Case of Georgia Cotton

This article makes an initial attempt to design catastrophe (CAT) bond products for agriculture and examines the potential of these instruments as mechanisms for transferring agricultural risks from insurance companies to investors/speculators in the global capital market. The case of Georgia cotton is considered as a specific example. The CAT bond contracts are based on percentage deviations of realized state average yields relative to the long-run average. The contracts are priced using historical state-level cotton yield data. The principal finding of the study is that the proposed CAT bonds demonstrate potential as risk transfer mechanisms for crop insurance companies.CAT bonds, catastrophe bond pricing, catastrophe insurance, disaster risk, reinsurance, risk securitization, Risk and Uncertainty,

Determinants of Household Participation in Rural Development Projects

This paper provides evidence for determinants of households participation in rural development projects. Study findings are based on qualitative analysis and logistic estimation of a random utility model. Households with higher incomes appear less likely to participate; those with more labor are more likely. Availability of activities of interest to community members could enhance participation.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

A Suggested Criterion for Selecting between E-V and Stochastic Dominance Analysis Tools

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

An introduction to numerical methods and analysis

Praise for the First Edition "". . . outstandingly appealing with regard to its style, contents, considerations of requirements of practice, choice of examples, and exercises.""-Zentrablatt Math "". . . carefully structured with many detailed worked examples . . .""-The Mathematical Gazette "". . . an up-to-date and user-friendly account . . .""-Mathematika An Introduction to Numerical Methods and Analysis addresses the mathematics underlying approximation and scientific computing and successfully explains where approximation methods come from, why they sometimes work (or dJames F. Epperson, PHD, is Associate Editor of Mathematical Reviews. Dr. Epperson received his PhD from Carnegie Mellon University, and his research interests include the numerical solution of nonlinear evolution equations via finite difference methods, the use of kernel functions to solve evolution equations, and numerical methods in mathematical finance

Subsidizing Unit Donations: Matches, Rebates, and Discounts Compared

An influential result in the literature on charitable giving is that matching subsidies dominate rebate subsidies in raising funds. We investigate whether this result extends to ‘unit donation’ schemes, a popular alternative form of soliciting donations. There, the donors’ choices are about the number of units of a charitable good to fund at a given unit price, rather than the amount of money to give. Comparing matches and rebates as well as simple discounts on the unit price, we find no evidence of dominance in our online experiment: The three subsidy types are equally effective overall. At a more disaggregate level, rebates lead to a higher likelihood of giving while matching and discount subsidies lead to larger donations by donors. This suggests that charities using a unit donation scheme enjoy additional degrees of freedom in choosing a subsidy type. Rebates merit additional consideration if the primary goal is to attract donors

Chaos-driven dynamics in spin-orbit coupled atomic gases

The dynamics, appearing after a quantum quench, of a trapped, spin-orbit coupled, dilute atomic gas is studied. The characteristics of the evolution is greatly influenced by the symmetries of the system, and we especially compare evolution for an isotropic Rashba coupling and for an anisotropic spin-orbit coupling. As we make the spin-orbit coupling anisotropic, we break the rotational symmetry and the underlying classical model becomes chaotic; the quantum dynamics is affected accordingly. Within experimentally relevant time-scales and parameters, the system thermalizes in a quantum sense. The corresponding equilibration time is found to agree with the Ehrenfest time, i.e. we numerically verify a ~log(1/h) scaling. Upon thermalization, we find the equilibrated distributions show examples of quantum scars distinguished by accumulation of atomic density for certain energies. At shorter time-scales we discuss non-adiabatic effects deriving from the spin-orbit coupled induced Dirac point. In the vicinity of the Dirac point, spin fluctuations are large and, even at short times, a semi-classical analysis fails.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

Use of Sperm Proteins as a Putative Fertility Marker

The objectives of this study were to characterize the variation and evaluate whether CD9 and SERPINA5 could be used as fertility markers in bovine sperm

Wie der Einfluss von Lobbyismus auf die Politik in Deutschland und der EU wahrgenommen wird : Auswertung einer repräsentativen Umfrage in Deutschland zu Lobbyismus allgemein und Lobbyismus in der EU-Klimapolitik allgemein und Lobbyismus in der EU-Klimapolitik

Die Wirkungskanäle von Lobbyismus sind vielfältig und – zumindest in der Theorie – weitgehend bekannt. Jedoch gibt es nur wenig empirische Evidenz hinsichtlich der Wahrnehmung von Lobbyismus in der Bevölkerung. Vor diesem Hintergrund hat das ZEW – Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung gemeinsam mit der Universität Mannheim eine repräsentative Umfrage in Deutschland durchgeführt. Das Haupter-gebnis: Die große Mehrheit der Bevölkerung sieht nicht nur einen enormen Einfluss von Lobbygruppen auf die nationale und die in Brüssel gemachte Politik (EU-Politik), sondern steht diesem Einfluss auch sehr ablehnend gegenüber