Tricky Figures: Why the Assessment of Competition in Banking Industries is Rather a Matter of Taste

Economic studies on the degree of competition (DC) in banking systems use various measures which are subsumed under the 1) structure- (e.g. Hirschman-Herfindahl index), 2) conduct- (e.g. Boone indicator) or 3) performance-oriented approach (e.g. Lerner index). Yet, the respective empirical operationalizations of the different DC measures are expected to represent one central construct – the true DC of a banking system. We review 35 studies covering 15 European banking systems from 1998 to 2007. Contrasting the central construct hypothesis, we find substantial differences in the produced DC measures. Thus, the economic validity of derived conclusions regarding the competition intensity is chal-lenged

Alkylated albumin-derived dipeptide C(-HETE)P derivatized by propionic anhydride as a biomarker for the verification of poisoning with sulfur mustard

Sulfur mustard (SM) is a banned chemical warfare agent recently used in the Syrian Arab Republic conflict causing erythema and blisters characterized by complicated and delayed wound healing. For medical and legal reasons, the proof of exposure to SM is of high toxicological and forensic relevance. SM reacts with endogenous human serum albumin (HSA adducts) alkylating the thiol group of the cysteine residue C34, thus causing the addition of the hydroxyethylthioethyl (HETE) moiety. Following proteolysis with pronase, the biomarker dipeptide C(-HETE)P is produced. To expand the possibilities for verification of exposure, we herein introduce a novel biomarker produced from that alkylated dipeptide by derivatization with propionic anhydride inducing the selective propionylation of the N-terminus yielding PA-C(-HETE)P. Quantitative derivatization is carried out at room temperature in aqueous buffer within 10 s. The biomarker was found to be stable in the autosampler at 15 °C for at least 24 h, thus documenting its suitability even for larger sets of samples. Selective and sensitive detection is done by micro liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem-mass spectrometry (μLC-ESI MS/MS) operating in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode detecting product ions of the single protonated PA-C(-HETE)P (m/z 379.1) at m/z 116.1, m/z 137.0, and m/z 105.0. The lower limit of detection corresponds to 32 nM SM in plasma in vitro and the limit of identification to 160 nM. The applicability to real exposure scenarios was proven by analyzing samples from the Middle East confirming poisoning with SM. Graphical abstractDeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Peer Reviewe

Diverse Degrees of Competition within the EMU and their Implications for Monetary Policy

Our paper calls attention to the heterogeneous levels of competition in EMU banking systems. We enhanced the ECB MFI interest rate statistics by calculating a lending rate average weighted by loan volumes for each EMU member country. Employing a modified Lerner Index, our unique data set enables us to calculate banks\u27 price setting power in the national lending business alone, instead of measuring market power for banks\u27 total business. For 12 countries, we ultimately show that market power in the exclusive segment of lending is greater than market power in total banking business. In an OLS regression model, we investigate to what extent loan rate variations can be explained by changing degrees of market power during the period 2003-2009. Significant cross-country differences can be observed. We find that changes in the national degree of competition considerably affect funding conditions in the individual countries and therefore hinder a homogeneous transmission of ECB monetary policy

Global Player\u27 im Bankenwesen - ökonomisch sinnvoll oder problembehaftet?

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Gesundheitsverhaltensmuster der Wiener Bevölkerung - Assoziationen von Health Lifestyle und sozioökonomischen Determinanten

Der Beitrag betrachtet das Gesundheitsverhalten multidimensional und untersucht Risikoagglomerationen in Hinblick auf sozioökonomische Merkmalsverteilungen der Wiener Bevölkerung. Die Analysen zeigen, dass circa 38% der Bevölkerung zumindest in einer der beobachteten Kategorien riskante Verhaltensweisen haben, 35% mindestens zwei, wenn nicht gar drei Dispositionen. Sozioökonomische Faktoren wie beispielsweise formale Bildungsabschlüsse stehen mit einem multiplen Risikoverhalten in Zusammenhang

Produktivitätsmessung von Banken: Die Cost Income Ratio – ein belastbares Performancemaß?

Die Cost-Income-Ratio (CIR) ist zutiefst im Verständnis der Banking Community wie auch der Wissenschaft als geeigneter Produktivitätsindikator verwurzelt. Gleichwohl impliziert die Messung einer Wert- anstelle einer Mengenrelation von Input und Output eine mögliche Verzerrung durch Preiskomponenten – unabhängig von der betrieblichen Leistungsfähigkeit. Dahingehend widmet sich der Beitrag dem Einfluss unterschiedlicher Geschäftsmodelle, ungleicher Lohnniveaus und vor allem divergierender Wettbewerbsverhältnisse auf die CIR. Bestehende Schwachstellen werden aufgezeigt und daran anschließend ein alternativer, adjustierter CIR-Ansatz abgeleitet. Empirisch werden die Zusammenhänge ferner für die privaten Geschäftsbanken aus 13 europäischen Ländern zwischen 1997 und 2009 untersucht