Three Essays on Corporate Policies

Different fields of economics have historically tended to focus on firms' strategies in isolation. In contrast, a lot of the recent work explores how various aspects of firm behavior interact with each other. This dissertation contributes to this growing literature by studying the interdependences of organizational and financial policies within firms in different contexts. The first essay studies the interactions between acquisition decisions of multinationals and innovation decisions in the subsidiaries they buy. My coauthors Maria Guadalupe and Catherine Thomas, and I use a rich panel dataset of Spanish manufacturing firms and a propensity score reweighting estimator to show that multinational firms acquire the most productive domestic firms, which, on acquisition, conduct more product and process innovation (simultaneously adopting new machines and organizational practices) and adopt foreign technologies, leading to higher productivity. The proposed model of endogenous selection and innovation in heterogeneous firms can explain both the observed selection patterns and the innovation decisions. The innovation upon acquisition is further shown in the data to be associated with the increased market scale provided by the parent firm, thereby highlighting the role of foreign ownership in increasing the benefits from innovation. This work has potentially important implications for the evolution of within-industry productivity distributions. Under the mechanism described in the paper, foreign entry may lead to divergence of productivity and contribute to the stylized fact of large and persistent productivity differences even within narrowly defined industries. I further use this rich dataset in my second essay to establish a causal relationship between the use of flexible contractual arrangements with labor and capital structure of the firm. Using the exogenous inter-temporal variation from government subsidies, I find that hiring more temporary workers leads firms to have more debt. Since temporary workers, unlike permanent ones, can be fired at a much lower cost during their contract duration, or their contracts may be not extended upon expiration, a firm can more easily meet its interest payments and avoid bankruptcy when faced with a negative shock. I interpret this result as evidence of flexible workforce decreasing operating leverage which, in turn, promotes financial leverage. This study therefore contributes to the literature exploring the interactions between firm employment decisions and corporate policies by providing evidence for a new channel - the one of flexible employment contracts. Given the overwhelming extent of labor reforms in continental Europe in recent years that are aimed at offering more job security to workers, it is important to understand how such policies would affect firms, and for that it is necessary to model the interdependences of firms' strategies. Finally, my third essay looks at a different type of firms - hedge funds. Although, they do not produce goods in a strict sense of the word, they provide valuable services to investors by smartly investing into large selections of assets. Hedge funds are a very interesting type of financial firms to study due to their lower regulation and reporting standards that enable them to use some know-how trading strategies and potentially outperform other investors. A part of such outperformance can be explained by higher risks born by certain hedge funds, which outlines the broad question we explore in this paper with my coauthor Sergiy Gorovyy. We use a proprietary dataset obtained from a fund of funds to study the risk premia associated with hedge fund transparency, liquidity, complexity, and concentration over the period from April 2006 to March 2009. We are able to directly measure these qualitative characteristics by using the internal grades that the fund of funds attached to all the funds it invested in, and that represent the unique information that cannot be obtained from quantitative data alone. Consistent with factor models of risk premium, we find that during the normal times low-transparency, low-liquidity, low-complexity, and high-concentration funds delivered a return premium, with economic magnitudes of 5% to 10% per year, while during bad states of the economy, these funds experienced significantly lower returns. We also offer a novel explanation for why highly concentrated funds command a risk premium by revealing that it is mostly prevalent among the non-transparent funds where investors are unaware about the exact risks they are facing and hence cannot diversify them away. The large an significant return premium associated with more secretive, less transparent hedge funds has an important policy implication with respect to whether hedge funds should be required to disclose the information regarding their trades and positions, especially in the light of the recent regulatory changes, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act passed in July 2010, the consequences of which are yet to be evaluated

Research of dissolution ability of ionic liquids ofr polysaccharides such as cellulose

Imidazolium-based ionic liquids were studied as solvents for cellulose and chitosan. Cellulose solutions and cellulose/chitosan blends were produced in ILs. The best dissolution ability among the studied ILs show acetate containing ILs. It is possible to dissolve up to 18 wt% of cellulose at 110 oC in EMIMAc and up to 20 wt% in BMIMAc. The worst dissolution ability among the studied solvents was shown by BDMIMCl. It was possible to dissolve only 5 wt% of cellulose under the same conditions. In case of BMIMCl, dissolution stops when the concentration of cellulose is more than 14 wt%. The dissolution in EMIMAc, BMIMAc and BDMIMCl was limited by the viscosity of the solutions. By DLS was found that solutions of cellulose in ionic liquids BMIMAc, BMIMCl and EMIMAc represent the steady disperse systems containing polymer aggregates, with sizes of up to 5 times higher than that of a single macromolecule of cellulose of the same molecular weight. The hydrodynamical radius of particles of cellulose in EMIMAc slightly exceeds those in BMIMAc and BMIMCl, with other conditions being equal (humidity of cellulose, concentration of the solution, and the temperature). The influence of water on dissolution ability of ILs was determined. Generally, water has negative influence on cellulose dissolution in ILs, and excess of water should be removed from solution. The size of cellulose aggregates in ILs solutions grows with an increase in the water content of solutions, which may be interpreted in terms of both the deterioration of the solvent and the swelling of particles in the presence of water. The phase diagram of cellulose/BMIMCl/ water system was plotted. A colloid solution useful for technical purposes could be obtained at water content in the BMIMCl solution below 8%. Selected thinners were studies in order to find the appropriate one to facilitate cellulose dissolution in ILs. Cellulose/IL/thinner systems were prepared with different orders of component mixing. The type of the system (the order of component mixing) did not affect the composition of cellulose/IL/thinner systems. The composition of cellulose/IL/thinners systems remained stable even for 4 months. Ethyl acetate and diethyl ether almost completely evaporated from the solution upon heating and facilitated cellulose dissolution in ILs, which was confirmed by mean of 1H NMR spectroscopy. DMSO as DEE and EAc increased the speed of cellulose dissolution in ILs, but it remained in the solution and lowered its viscosity. Both protic and aprotic thinners inhibit the cellulose degradation in obtained films which occurred at its dissolution in ILs. DMSO, DEE and EAc adding could help keep the same DP as for initial sample. The films with highest mechanical properties could be obtained with using aprotic solvents. Produced films obtained became weaker and more fragile with increasing of the thinners content. Aprotic solvent are more efficient for cellulose films production and facilitating the dissolution of cellulose in ILs. Among the studied ILs, EMIMAc and BMIMAc are suitable to produce cellulose/chitosan blends by heating. Microwave treatment wasn’t efficient for chitosan dissolution. Simultaneously blending of components is more efficient than mixing of separately prepared chitosan and cellulose solutions in common solvent. The addition of thinners decreased the viscosity of cellulose solutions and cellulose/chitosan solutions in ILs. The thinners addition decreased slightly the Eact of blended solutions and its values were almost equal to the Eact of solutions without thinners. The sizes of polymer aggregates in blended solutions were bigger in EMIMAc solution than in BMIMAc solution. Addition of thinners decreased the size of polymer aggregations in both IL solutions. Blended films with 3 -10 wt% of chitosan were prepared from the studied solutions. The increasing of chitosan concentration in blends increased the degradation of the cellulose part. DMSO and DEE improve the mechanical properties of blended films. We have not found any pertaining to better dissolution of MCCh in ILs and its blending with cellulose. Chitosan is a promising polysaccharide for cellulose modification, but the process of blend production in ILs still needs to be studied. Glycerine/POE-400 mixture was chosen as plasticizer. By means of TG-IR was found that the adding of plasticizers to wash-bath is more preferable. Much less sugar residues were found in wash-bash, and its amount increased slightly at longer dissolution, which indicates that cellulose degrades slowly at the temperatures studied. The traces of ILs were observed in the FTIR spectra of cellulose films and wash-baths. A residual content of 0,7- 3 % ILs, was typically found, therefore water alone is not efficient at the complete removal of ILs during cellulose coagulation. It is possible to recover ILs from the water-bath by distillation. Recovered ILs have a moisture about 7-11 %, and despite the same dissolving ability the mechanical properties of the films obtained from recovered ILs are worse than those obtained from fresh ILs. The ability of ILs to dissolve polysaccharides was studied in this work. The influence of water, thinners, and other polysaccharides was analyzed and was concluded that ILs are effective reusable solvents for processing polysaccharides into a films, which may also be viable on a technical scale

SOCIAL ADVERTISING AS A MEAN OF COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE FORMATION OF THE STUDENTS (on a material of the French language)

Abstract. Modern advertising in all its diversity plays a significant role in the life of modern society, affecting all its areas. A huge social and cultural influence is rendered by advertising on a single consumer, prompting him to act at the expense of memorizing simple advertising slogans, providing, stipulating, and in some way constructing the automatism of his behavior. This is a special kind of communication between the advertiser and the consumer, directly affecting on the addressee, regulating his behavior, contributing to the formation of assessments, referring to the psychology of man with the aim of more stimulating the fulfillment of the communicative, original will of the advertiser. This kind of communication has firmly entered and consolidated in our life. The main tools for the distribution of advertising are television, radio and print media. Advertising envelops all spheres of life of modern man and become an indispensable attribute of his social activities. The article examines the features of social advertising in the modern world. Currently, advertising agencies create stunning social advertisements, real art-projects that make you think about the problems of the world around you. Social advertising is a communication complex, the means of information delivery here are text and visual image, merging into a single whole for a fuller, quicker and accurate delivery of the main idea of the authors. Thus, it plays a huge role in the formation of the communicative competencies of students.Key words: communicative competence, advertising, social advertising, text, advertising message, metaphor, non-verbal and verbal means of communication.Abstract. Modern advertising in all its diversity plays a significant role in the life of modern society, affecting all its areas. A huge social and cultural influence is rendered by advertising on a single consumer, prompting him to act at the expense of memorizing simple advertising slogans, providing, stipulating, and in some way constructing the automatism of his behavior. This is a special kind of communication between the advertiser and the consumer, directly affecting on the addressee, regulating his behavior, contributing to the formation of assessments, referring to the psychology of man with the aim of more stimulating the fulfillment of the communicative, original will of the advertiser. This kind of communication has firmly entered and consolidated in our life. The main tools for the distribution of advertising are television, radio and print media. Advertising envelops all spheres of life of modern man and become an indispensable attribute of his social activities. The article examines the features of social advertising in the modern world. Currently, advertising agencies create stunning social advertisements, real art-projects that make you think about the problems of the world around you. Social advertising is a communication complex, the means of information delivery here are text and visual image, merging into a single whole for a fuller, quicker and accurate delivery of the main idea of the authors. Thus, it plays a huge role in the formation of the communicative competencies of students.Key words: communicative competence, advertising, social advertising, text, advertising message, metaphor, non-verbal and verbal means of communication

DISORGANIZERS OF TIME AND MOTIVATIONAL DIRECTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS

Рациональное использование времени является важным показателем успешности работы специалиста. На практике разрабатывается механизмы овладения временной компетентностью, но слабо осуществляется работа по ликвидации дезорганизаторов времени. А дезорганизаторы влияют на силу мотивации, на ценностно-смысловую сферу личности.Цель работы: выделить доминирующие дезорганизаторы деятельности сотрудников правоохранительных органов (управления конвоирования) и установить сваимосвязь мотивационной направленности сотрудников с дезорганизаторами времени и деятельности.Методы и методики исследования. В качестве методов исследования было использовано психологическое тестирование. Диагностика мотивационной направленности осуществлялась с помощью «Методики изучения мотивационного профиля личности» (Ш. Ричи и П. Мартин). Для изучения видов дезорганизаторов и силы их выраженности были применены методика «Анализ жизненных помех» (Л. Зайверг) и «Методика диагностики личностных дезорганизаторов времени» (О.В. Кузьмина).Результаты исследования. Доминирующими дезорганизаторами деятельности сотрудников управления конвоирования выступают дезорганизаторы, связанные с взаимодействиями, осознанием цели своей деятельности, перспектив профессионального развития и недостаточность обратной связи с непосредственным руководителем. Дезорганизаторы имеют корреляционную связь с мотивационной направленностью. Чем сильнее реализуется потребность в четком структурировании работы, тем в меньшей степени проявляются дезорганизаторы, связанные с целеполаганием, и напряженностью. При реализации потребности в признании усиливаются дезорганизаторы, связанные с взаимодействием. Снижение потребности в интересной общественно полезной работе и ощущения востребованности приводит к непониманию целей в жизни, размытость временных и содержательных перспектив.Rational use of time is an important indicator of the success of a specialist. In practice, mechanisms for mastering temporary competence are being developed, but work is being done to eliminate the disorganizers of time. And disorganizers affect the power of motivation, the value-semantic sphere of the individual.The purpose: to identify the dominant disorganization of the activities of law enforcement officers (convoy management) and establish a link between the motivational orientation of employees and the disorganizers of time and activity.Methods and methods of research. Psychological testing was used as research methods. Diagnostics of motivational orientation was carried out with the help of “Methods of studying the motivational profile of the individual” (Sh. Richie and P. Martin). To study the types of disorganizers and the strength of their expression, the technique “Analysis of life disturbances” (L. Zaiverg) and “Methods for diagnosing personal disorganizers of time” (O.V. Kuzmina) were applied.Results of the study. The disorganizers of the convoy management are the disorganizers, associated with interactions, awareness of the purpose of their activity, prospects for professional development and inadequate feedback from the immediate supervisor. Disorganizers have a correlation with motivational orientation. The stronger the need for a clear structuring of work is realized, the less disorganized the goal-setting and tension are. When the need for recognition is realized, the disorganization associated with the interaction is strengthened. Decreasing the need for interesting socially useful work and a sense of demand leads to misunderstanding of goals in life, blurring of time and content perspectives

The impact of the institutional environment on the shadow economy

This article aims to explore the relationship of the shadow economy with the institutional environment and develop practical recommendations for government policies around the world, and particularly in Russia. The urgency of the issue under research is caused by the existing need to study the shadow economy in order to find ways to reduce its scale and level out its negative externalities. Despite the fact that most of the papers focus on tax burden as a fundamental determinant of the shadow economy, the authors of this article believe that institutional tools can expand the boundaries of research on the content of the shadow economy as an economic category. Statistical analysis of 105 countries with different development levels revealed a stronger correlation between the quality of institutions and the size of the shadow economy than the one between total tax burden and the size of the shadow economy. The findings of this article can be useful in developing state strategies for combating the shadow economy and carrying out economic policies of the state as a whole

Problems of the English Abbreviations in Medical Translation

AbstractThe article deals with the attempt to verify the prevalence of abbreviation-related problems in medical translation over other problematic lexical groups. Medical abbreviations appear extremely fast in modern English, evidenced by abbreviations that are not registered in dictionaries. As a result, the main problem of medical abbreviations translation is that the same abbreviations may have different meanings, depending on the disease, anatomy, or procedure being discussed. The aim of the paper is to study general and nationally specific features of the English medical abbreviations, to survey extra- and intralinguistic requisites of their formation, to determine regularities of medical abbreviations usage in modern English, to analyze peculiarity of classification of abbreviations. Special attention was also given to investigating some basic procedures applicable in translating them. We used such research methods as the method of component analysis of meaning based on dictionary definitions, the method of contextual analysis of the abbreviations, identifying their situational relevance. We also collected and processed nonregistered English medical abbreviations. Continuous sampling of the studied units of scientific and medical texts identified corpus examples. Material for the study was selected from articles, periodical literature on medicine and its related branches of science, from encyclopedic dictionaries. In conclusion, ordering of abbreviation in medicine can be achieved through a more thorough study of medical abbreviations, their proper use in medical professionals training and by means of modeling, which fixes the most convenient, concise and succinct clichés in medical discourse

Russian trends in ensuring gender equality in the digital economy

The digital economy is becoming increasingly important these days, but it also reflects gender inequalities in technology and IT. Women in the digital economy often face barriers to career advancement, access to education, and project opportunities. Despite this, women play a key role in the development of the digital economy and can make a significant contribution to innovation and technology development. The development of strategies to eliminate gender inequalities in the digital economy is a necessary measure to achieve equality of opportunity and sustainable development of society. The article is devoted to the problems of overcoming gender inequality in the digital economy. The problem of the gender gap in the digital economy is inherent not only in developing economies, but also in countries that classify themselves as developed countries. The article shows the main objective reasons that give rise to gender inequality in the transition of the economy to a digital format; reviewed the experience of the BRICS member countries in creating conditions for overcoming gender inequality in the digital economy in accordance with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proclaimed by the UN; describes the main trends of changes in the field of ensuring gender equality in the Russian Federation in the interaction of the state, business and society

Сommunication between Population of Germany and German-Speaking Switzerland: Intra- or Intercultural Communication?

The relevance of the research is determined by the contemporary interest to the intercultural communication in the context of the anthropocentric paradigm of modern linguistics. The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of communicative interaction between the citizens of Germany and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. The systematic analysis of studies on the communicative styles of Germans living in Germany and Switzerland allowed us to determine their main features. The study showed that the communication between the analyzed ethno-cultural communities is complicated by a number of linguistic and culturally-conditioned problems. While the inhabitants of Germany demonstrate the characteristic features of the low-context culture, the communicative style of the German-speaking Swiss is mitigative as they are referred to the high-context culture. The socio-cultural differences in the mutual perception of the analyzed ethnosocial groups lead to the formation of stereotypes and clichés which influence the intercultural communication. The materials of the paper may be used in comparative cultural linguistics, country and cultural studies

Ecological aspects of modern city-planning

Directions for creation of a steady eco-city (or an eco-district) and the criteria of stability and environmental friendliness of the cities are presented. The authors also recognize that the sustainable eco-friendly development of the city demands association of the matters of the so called “green” agenda and the “brown” agenda. On the other hand, there are places where the sharp social inequality and the interfaced social problems are presented. The authors prove that, although the economic activity of cities leads to serious environmental problems, cities have the greatest potential for developing ways of sustainable environmental development

Каталогизация ресурсов Интернета: проблемы и решения (опыт создания каталога веб-ресурсов в Самарской областной универсальной научной библиотеке

The paper deals with important questions of cataloguing of web resources. It summarizes certain experience of creating bibliographical data base in the environment of «МАРК-SQL» computer-aided library IT system achieved in the course of realizing the project «Multi-resource on-line support in the fields of culture, education and national health» which got the grant of President of the Russian Federation in 2009. The problems connected with selection and the description of web resources by catalog maintenance in an actual condition are considered, the ways of their decision are offered.Статья посвящена актуальным вопросам каталогизации сетевых ресурсов. Подытожен опыт создания каталога интернет-ресурсов в среде АИБС МАРК-SQL. Рассмотрены проблемы, связанные с отбором и описанием веб-ресурсов, поддержанием каталога в актуальном состоянии, предложены пути их решения