2,189 research outputs found
Earliest-deadline-first service in heavy-traffic acyclic networks
This paper presents a heavy traffic analysis of the behavior of multi-class
acyclic queueing networks in which the customers have deadlines. We assume the
queueing system consists of J stations, and there are K different customer
classes. Customers from each class arrive to the network according to
independent renewal processes. The customers from each class are assigned a
random deadline drawn from a deadline distribution associated with that class
and they move from station to station according to a fixed acyclic route.
The customers at a given node are processed according to the
earliest-deadline-first
(EDF) queue discipline. At any time, the customers of each type at each node
have a lead time, the time until their deadline lapses. We model these lead
times as a random counting measure on the real line. Under heavy traffic
conditions and suitable scaling, it is proved that the measure-valued lead-time
process converges to a deterministic function of the workload process
A Multivariate Model of Strategic Asset Allocation
Much recent work has documented evidence for predictability of asset returns. We show how such predictability can affect the portfolio choices of long-lived investors who value wealth not for its own sake but for the consumption their wealth can support. We develop an approximate solution method for the optimal consumption and portfolio choice problem of an infinitely-lived investor with Epstein-Zin utility who faces a set of asset returns described by a vector autoregression in returns and state variables. Empirical estimates in long-run annual and postwar quarterly US data suggest that the predictability of stock returns greatly increases the optimal demand for stocks. The role of nominal bonds in long-term portfolios depends on the importance of real interest rate risk relative to other sources of risk. We extend the analysis to consider long-term inflation-indexed bonds and find that these bonds greatly increase the utility of conservative investors, who should hold large positions when they are available.
Neoliberalism, English, and spoiled identity: The case of a high-achieving university graduate in Hong Kong
Neoliberalism has permeated every sphere of social life, including education and language learning, seeking to produce a particular kind of subject, homo economicus, with the dispositions required to manage the self as an economic project. This article unravels the workings of the unfulfilled promise of neoliberal English education and its damaging consequences on a high-achieving female university graduate in the context of contemporary Hong Kong. Combining Marxist and Foucauldian perspectives, while simultaneously drawing on Goffman's concepts of stigma and spoiled identity, our analysis is informed by positioning theory and captures the impact of what we have termed the English language gaze on our informant's sense of self. Seen through a Foucauldian lens, the data reveal the extent, but also the limits, of her assimilation of neoliberal governmentality, while the Marxist lens allows us to account for her plight in terms of alienation and the resulting stigma of a spoiled identity
Corporate Governance and Managerial Risk Taking: Theory and Evidence
We study how the investor protection environment affects corporate managersâ incentives to take value-enhancing risks. In our model, the manager chooses higher perk consumption when investor protection is low. Since perks represent a priority claim held by the manager, lower investor protection leads the manager to implement a sub-optimally conservative investment
policy, effectively aligning her risk-taking incentives with those of the debt holders. By the same token, higher investor protection is associated with riskier investment policy and faster firm growth. We test these predictions in a large Global Vantage panel. We find strong empirical confirmation that corporate risk-taking and firm growth rates are positively related to the quality of investor protection
Development of a Fuzzy Fire Risk Evaluation Model for Building Construction Sites in Hong Kong
Earlier research works on fire risk evaluation indicated that an objective,reliable, comprehensive, and practical fire risk evaluation model is essentialfor mitigating fire occurrence in building construction sites. Nevertheless,real empirical studies in this research area are quite limited. This journalpaper gives an account of the second stage of a research study aiming atdeveloping a fuzzy fire risk evaluation model for building construction sitesin Hong Kong. The empirical research findings showed that the overall firerisk level of building construction sites is 3.6427, which can be interpretedas âmoderate riskâ. Also, the survey respondents perceived that âRestrictionsfor On-Site Personnelâ is the most vital fire risk factor; with âStorage ofFlammable Liquids or Dangerous Goodsâ being the second; and âAttitudeof Main Contractorâ the third. The proposed fuzzy fire risk evaluationmodel for building construction sites can be used to assess the overall firerisk level for a building construction site, and to identify improvementareas needed. Although the fuzzy fire risk evaluation model was developeddomestically in Hong Kong, the research could be reproduced in othernations to develop similar models for international comparisons. Suchan extension would provide a deeper understanding of the fire riskmanagement on building construction sites
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A Multivariate Model of Strategic Asset Allocation
We develop an approximate solution method for the optimal consumption and portfolio choice problem of an infinitely long-lived investor with EpsteinâZin utility who faces a set of asset returns described by a vector autoregression in returns and state variables. Empirical estimates in long-run annual and post-war quarterly U.S. data suggest that the predictability of stock returns greatly increases the optimal demand for stocks. The role of nominal bonds in long-term portfolios depends on the importance of real interest rate risk relative to other sources of risk. Long-term inflation-indexed bonds greatly increase the utility of conservative investors.Economic
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