The Determinants of the Debt Maturity Decision for Real Estate Investment Trusts

This research uses the maturity of incremental bond issues and the weighted-average maturity of all outstanding debt and tests various theories from the corporate debt maturity literature to discover if real estate investment trust (REIT) debt maturity is influenced by liquidity risk, asymmetric information, personal taxes, and agency problems. The findings reveal that there is little to no evidence for the liquidity and asymmetric information hypotheses; however, there is evidence that personal taxes influence the maturity of REIT incremental debt issues, and agency problems play a role in determining the incremental and average debt maturity of REITs

Geographically-weighted regression of knowledge and behaviour determinants to anti-malarial recommending and dispensing practice among medicine retailers in western Kenya: capacitating targeted interventions

Background Most patients with malaria seek treatment first in retail drug shops. Myriad studies have examined retailer behaviours and characteristics to understand the determinants to these behaviours. Geospatial methods are helpful in discovering if geographic location plays a role in the relationship between determinants and outcomes. This study aimed to discover if spatial autocorrelation exists in the relationship between determinants and retailer behaviours, and to provide specific geographic locations and target behaviours for tailoring future interventions. Methods Retailer behaviours and characteristics captured from a survey deployed to medicine retailers in the Webuye Demographic and Health Surveillance Site were analysed using geographic weighted regression to create prediction models for three separate outcomes: recommending the first-line anti-malarial therapy to adults, recommending the first-line anti-malarial therapy to children, and selling that therapy more than other anti-malarials. The estimated regression coefficients for each determinant, as well as the pseudo R2 values for each final model, were then mapped to assess spatial variability and local areas of best model fit. Results The relationships explored were found to be non-stationary, indicating that spatial heterogeneity exist in the data. The association between having a pharmacy-related health training and recommending the first-line anti-malarial treatment to adults was strongest around the peri-urban centre: comparing those with training in pharmacy to those without training (ORæ=æ5.75, pæ=æ0.021). The association between knowing the first-line anti-malarial and recommending it to children was strongest in the north of the study area compared to those who did not know the MOH-recommended anti-malarial (ORæ=æ2.34, pæ=æ0.070). This is also the area with the strongest association between attending a malaria workshop and selling the MOH-recommended anti-malarial more than other anti-malarials, compared to retailers who did not attend a workshop (ORæ=æ2.38, pæ=æ0.055). Conclusion Evidence suggests that spatial heterogeneity exists in these data, indicating that the relationship between determinants and behaviours varies across space. This is valuable information for intervention design, allowing efforts to focus on those factors that have the strongest relationship with their targeted behaviour within that geographic space, increasing programme efficiency and cost-effectiveness

Economies Of Scale

Efficiency grows, in production and in operations, as size increases. This incentive has led to recent record levels of mergers, acquisitions, and global consolidation in such diverse industries as railroads, oil and gas refining, cement, steel, and brewing. The consolidation of the banking industry after deregulation in the 1980s has had significant ramifications for the real estate industry. Real estate investment surged initially through debt provided by banks and savings and loans. But, since 100 percent loans have disappeared, and large amounts of equity are needed to own real estate, it is likely that the real estate industry will follow the example of other capital-intensive industries and enter a period of consolidation. Evidence based on capital costs for equity REITS from 1997 and 1998 indicates that the REIT industry continues to enjoy significant economies of scale, and it appears that capital costs are the primary factor determining REIT growth.