Debt as a control device in transitional economies : the experiences of Hungary and Poland

The basic economic challenge in the transition from socialism to capitalism is creating incentive structures and institutions that promote enterprise change and restructuring. This is the motivation for most of the reforms debated during the transition - whether privatization, demonopolization, trade reform, or financial sector reform. Most research on corporate governance and privatization has focused on the role of owners - whether on the problems inherent in the separation of ownership and management (most Western literature) or on the need for true owners who represents the interests of capital (most literature on transition economies). But debt is also an important control device, as Western literature on corporate finance increasingly recognizes. The authors explore debt's role as a control device in transition economies, focusing especially on Hungary and Poland, which are relatively far along in the reform process. They ask, first, in what ways creditors exert control over firms in advanced market economies and how such control interacts with that exerted by equity holders. They then ask whether creditors in Central and Eastern European countries play similar roles and, if not, what roles they should play, and what can be done to give them the capacity and incentives to play those roles. They focus on three fundamental requirements for debt to function as a control device: information, proper incentives for creditors (including banks, suppliers, and government), and an efficient legal framework for debt collection (including collateral, workout, and bankruptcy regimes). While both countries are making progress in all three areas, there is still much to be done. Hungary and Poland illustrate only two of many approaches. Other transitional economies, such as the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Russia, are following different approaches that should be explored in future analysis.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Banks&Banking Reform,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Financial Intermediation,Financial Crisis Management&Restructuring,Housing Finance

AN APPLIED PROCEDURE FOR ESTIMATING AND SIMULATING MULTIVARIATE EMPIRICAL (MVE) PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS IN FARM-LEVEL RISK ASSESSMENT AND POLICY ANALYSIS

Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Evaluation of the HARDMAN comparability methodology for manpower, personnel and training

The methodology evaluation and recommendation are part of an effort to improve Hardware versus Manpower (HARDMAN) methodology for projecting manpower, personnel, and training (MPT) to support new acquisition. Several different validity tests are employed to evaluate the methodology. The methodology conforms fairly well with both the MPT user needs and other accepted manpower modeling techniques. Audits of three completed HARDMAN applications reveal only a small number of potential problem areas compared to the total number of issues investigated. The reliability study results conform well with the problem areas uncovered through the audits. The results of the accuracy studies suggest that the manpower life-cycle cost component is only marginally sensitive to changes in other related cost variables. Even with some minor problems, the methodology seem sound and has good near term utility to the Army. Recommendations are provided to firm up the problem areas revealed through the evaluation

A comparison of minimum distance and maximum likelihood techniques for proportion estimation

The estimation of mixing proportions P sub 1, P sub 2,...P sub m in the mixture density f(x) = the sum of the series P sub i F sub i(X) with i = 1 to M is often encountered in agricultural remote sensing problems in which case the p sub i's usually represent crop proportions. In these remote sensing applications, component densities f sub i(x) have typically been assumed to be normally distributed, and parameter estimation has been accomplished using maximum likelihood (ML) techniques. Minimum distance (MD) estimation is examined as an alternative to ML where, in this investigation, both procedures are based upon normal components. Results indicate that ML techniques are superior to MD when component distributions actually are normal, while MD estimation provides better estimates than ML under symmetric departures from normality. When component distributions are not symmetric, however, it is seen that neither of these normal based techniques provides satisfactory results

RISK AND RETURN TO IP GRAIN PRODUCTION: THE CASE OF HIGH OIL CORN

Returns for soybeans, commodity corn and high oil corn under an export and domestic market buyer's-call contract were simulated. High oil corn is competitive with commodity corn when yield drag is two percent and bundling reduces seed cost. Commodity loan rate is important in reducing high oil corn price risk.Crop Production/Industries,

Preliminary design study - Oxidizer tank relief valve, Flox-Atlas airborne Final report

Protecting fluorine-liquid oxygen Atlas launch vehicle oxidizer tank against overpressurizatio

Modeling Technical Change in Midwest Corn Yields, 1895-2005: A Time Varying-Regression Approach

This paper explores the use of time-varying regression models to model the effects of technical change in US Midwest Corn yields. The data extends from 1895 to 2005 encompassing the implementation of hybrid technologies and improvements in farm production practices.time-vary regression model, modeling technical change, corn yield technical change, Crop Production/Industries,

New string vacua from twistor spaces

We find a new family of AdS_4 vacua in IIA string theory. The internal space is topologically either the complex projective space CP^3 or the "flag manifold" SU(3)/(U(1)xU(1)), but the metric is in general neither Einstein nor Kaehler. All known moduli are stabilized by fluxes, without using quantum effects or orientifold planes. The analysis is completely ten--dimensional and does not rely on assumptions about Kaluza--Klein reduction.Comment: 19 pages. v3: published version, further minor correction

Understanding the relationship between sexual identity, life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and online community use

Identity-based frameworks allow for a diverse look at sexuality because they consider non-binary groups that are typically excluded. This study sought to address gaps in LGBQ research by utilizing a diverse sample of sexual identities. It was hypothesized that asexual, demisexual, polysexual, and pansexual individuals would report lower levels of life satisfaction and psychological well-being, more frequent support-seeking internet use, and lower sense of community compared to gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals. A total of 284 individuals completed an online survey. Results suggest that experiences of life satisfaction, well-being, and sense of community are more nuanced than considered in past research. Further research is needed to create more inclusive means of intervention for LGBQ individuals