Officer of the Deck Competency Data Collection and Analysis

NPS NRP Executive SummaryOfficer of the Deck Competency Data Collection and AnalysisCommander, Naval Surface Forces (CNSF)This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Officer of the Deck Competency Data Collection and Analysis

NPS NRP Project PosterOfficer of the Deck Competency Data Collection and AnalysisCommander, Naval Surface Forces (CNSF)This research is supported by funding from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Program (PE 0605853N/2098). https://nps.edu/nrpChief of Naval Operations (CNO)Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Testing Paternalism: Cash Versus In-kind Transfers in Rural Mexico

Working paperWelfare programs are often implemented in-kind to promote outcomes that might not be realized under cash transfers. This paper tests whether such paternalistically motivated transfers are justified compared to cash, using a Randomized Controlled Trial of Mexico’s food assistance program. In relation to total food consumption, the in-kind transfer was infra-marginal and non-distorting. However, the transfer contained 10 food items, and there was a large variation in the extent to which individual foods were extra-marginal and distorting. Small differences in children’s nutritional intake under in-kind transfers did not lead to meaningful differential improvements in child health compared to cash

Have Assessment-Based Accountability Reforms Influenced the Career Decisions of Teachers and Principals?

Report. Prepared as part of Title I, Part E, Section 1503 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

The performance of secondary equity offerings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange

A research report submitted to the School of Economic and Business Sciences, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment (50%) of the requirements for degree of Master of Commerce in Finance. Date of submission: April 2016International studies have widely documented the long-run underperformance of firms conducting secondary equity offerings (SEOs), a phenomenon commonly referred to as the ‘new issues puzzle’. Understanding the market’s reaction to SEOs is vital for managers who are commonly tasked with deciding on how to finance their firm’s operations. This study investigates the short-run and long-run performance of firms conducting SEOs on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) over the period of 1998 to 2015, by exploring both rational and behavioural models in predicting SEO behaviour. Event-study analysis reveals that the market generally reacts negatively to the announcement of SEOs with a statistically significant average two-day cumulative abnormal return of -2.6%. Using a buy-and-hold abnormal return approach, as well as factor regression analysis to study the long-run share performance of issuing firms, there is no evidence that issuing firms significantly underperform relative to non-issuing firms over a five-year period when testing for abnormal share return performance with the Capital Asset Pricing Model. Furthermore, issuing firms exhibit no consistent signs of operating underperformance in comparison to non-issuing firms over a fiveyear period. Finally, in evidence contradicting the market timing theory, investor sentiment appears to bear no consistently significant influence on either a firm’s decision to issue equity, or on the short-run and long-run performance of SEOs. Overall, the results imply that the longrun performance of SEOs conducted in South Africa is best described by rational explanations centred on the risk-return framework. There is no consistent evidence of any ‘new issues puzzle’ on the JSE.MT201

Pensions and Intertemporal Choice: Evidence from the U.S. Military

SSRN-id2383874We study a choice made by over 20,000 U.S. military personnel annually between the High-3 and Redux retirement plans. Compared to High-3, Redux offers a $30,000 current lump sum payment in exchange for lower future annuity payments. Despite break-even discount rates between 10chose Redux. The likelihood of choosing Redux is decreasing with the break-even discount rate and is related to individual demographics. The implied personal discount rates from this choice are around 9.2Offering this choice has already saved the government over$2 billion in future retirement payments

The Price Effects of Cash Versus In-Kind Transfers

This paper compares how cash and in-kind transfers affect local prices. Both types of transfers increase the demand for normal goods, but only in-kind transfers also increase supply. Hence, in-kind transfers should lead to lower prices than cash transfers, which helps consumers at the expense of local producers. We test and confirm this prediction using a program in Mexico that randomly assigned villages to receive boxes of food (trucked into the village), equivalently-valued cash transfers, or no transfers. The pecuniary benefit to consumers of in-kind transfers, relative to cash transfers, equals 11% of the direct transfer.

Business time: how ready are UK firms for the decisive decade?

The UK is set for a decade of major change, with private sector firms in the front line. How ready are they for this change? What form should policy towards business take within a new economic strategy for the UK? This report is the first of a series on UK firms for the Economy 2030 Inquiry to address these questions. Private sector productivity is the key driver of longer-term improvements in living standards. UK performance in this regard is dire in two respects – levels and growth. These are a pervasive feature of the UK, present in most sectors of the economy. The gap between the best and worst firms is huge, but this problem is not especially bad in the UK when compared to other countries, nor getting any worse overall. Nor do UK firms appear to have suffered the same loss of dynamism as in other countries. Where they stand out, though, is in their low levels of investment and mediocre management. Increasing investment is necessary but must be wisely targeted, and will necessitate postponing consumption or increasing net imports

The short-run performance of equity issues in South Africa: Bad timing or a last resort?

Understanding the stock market’s reaction to secondary equity offerings (SEOs) is vital for managers who are commonly tasked with deciding on how to finance their firm’s operations. This study investigated the short-run performance of firms conducting equity issuance on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) over the period 1998–2015 by exploring both rational and behavioural models in predicting SEO behaviour. Event-study analysis reveals that the market generally reacts negatively to the announcement of SEOs with a statistically significant average two-day cumulative abnormal return of -2.6%. We also found that the probability of a firm conducting a SEO is significantly negatively related to the number of years listed and the future share return. Although it would make sense that more corporate activity takes place during periods of high investor sentiment, there is no significant evidence that firms conducting SEOs are attempting to time the market

Management of infection by the Zika virus

A panel of national experts was convened by the Brazilian Infectious Diseases Society in order to organize the national recommendations for the management of zika virus infection. The focus of this document is the diagnosis, both clinical and laboratorial, and appropriate treatment of the diverse manifestations of this infection, ranging from acute mild disease to Guillain-Barré syndrome and also microcephaly and congenital malformations.1