On the negative relation between investment-cash flow sensitivities and cash-cash flow.

We predict and find empirical support for a negative relation between the firm’s investment-cash flow sensitivity and cash-cash flow sensitivity, two measures suggested to capture the concept of financing constraints. This negative relation on the firm-level stems from the fact that both investments and the cash account are uses of funds competing for limited available cash flows. Additionally, we find that the investment-cash flow sensitivity is a better predictor for the firm’s constraint-status than the cash-cash flow sensitivity for a longitudinal sample of 1,233 U.S.-based listed firms using an evaluative framework based upon ex-post evaluation of the firmvarying sensitivities.financing constraints; investment-cash flow sensitivities; cash-cash flow sensitivities; firm-varying sensitivities;

La persona adecuada en el momento adecuado: los miembros del comité de auditoría y la calidad de la información financiera

We analyze some personal characteristics of the members of the audit committee of the Spanish listed firms and the relation between these characteristics and earnings management. We find a non-linear relation with tenure, so that long tenures can initially compromise the directors’ independence but, after a given threshold, longer tenures improve the expertise of the members. Serving in too many boards has a negative influence on the ability of directors to detect earnings management, and higher academic background and more diverse professional background improve the directors’ abilities.En el presente trabajo analizamos la relación entre algunas características personales de los miembros del comité de auditoría de las empresas cotizadas españolas y la gestión del resultado. Nuestros resultados muestran una relación no lineal con la antigüedad en el consejo: mientras que en los primeros estadios una mayor duración puede comprometer la independencia de los consejeros, llega un punto en el que la mayor antigüedad en el comité incrementa su experiencia. Formar parte de un número excesivo de consejos redunda en una menor capacidad de los consejeros para detectar la gestión del resultado. Una formación académica más elevada y una experiencia profesional más diversa contribuyen a mejorar la calidad de la información financiera

C.E.O. characteristics and corporate risk-taking: evidence from emerging markets

Although the Upper Echelon Theory predicts that C.E.O.s play a relevant role in corporate risk-taking, the C.E.O.s’ traits that can be associated with such risk are not well-explored. Our study fills this gap and shows the effect of C.E.O.s’ characteristics on corporate risk-taking of a hand-collected sample of 369 Latin American listed firms. We study six traits: C.E.O.s’ age, tenure, gender, duality (i.e., holding concurrent Chairman and C.E.O. roles), educational background, and career horizon. We find that age increases risk-taking. However, when the C.E.O.’s age reaches a given point, their concern about reputation and retirement results in a negative relationship. We also find that as C.E.O. tenure increases, corporate risk begins to decrease. Nevertheless, there comes a point at which the C.E.O. uses their knowledge and their overconfidence to make risky financial decisions. Female C.E.O.s are negatively related to risk-taking, while C.E.O. duality, C.E.O. educational background, foreign C.E.O.s, and a C.E.O.’s career horizon have the opposite effect. Our study is novel because of the focus on emerging markets and because of the use of different market-based measures of risk-taking. We provide policymakers, investors, and practitioners with fresh evidence about how C.E.O.s’ risk aversion shapes the firm’s risk-taking behaviou

More on the credit channel of monetary policy transmission: an international comparison

En este trabajo presentamos algunos indicios del funcionamiento del canal del crédito como una forma posible de transmisión de las medidas de política monetaria. El tema se aborda desde una perspectiva internacional, en la que se compara la reacción ante los cambios en la política monetaria de las empresas no financieras de doce países de la OCDE. Haciendo uso del tipo de interés como un indicador del estado de la política monetaria, encontramos que dicho tipo de interés afecta a las decisiones de inversión de las empresas a través de la disponibilidad de crédito bancario, especialmente en el corto plazo. Estos resultados parecen evidenciar una distinta efectividad de la política monetaria en función de las características del sistema financiero de cada país, de modo que en los países con una mayor orientación hacia el mercado, en los cuales la financiación bancaria reviste menor importancia, las decisiones empresariales no se ven tan modificadas como en los países de mayor orientación hacia la intermediación financiera.In this paper we provide some evidence of the credit channel as a possible way of transmitting monetary policy decisions. We do it in an international framework by comparing the reaction of non-financial companies of twelve OECD countries to changes in monetary policy. Using the interest rate as an indicator of the stance of monetary policy, we find that the interest rate does affect firms’ investment and output by altering their bank finance availability, specially the short-term finance. Our results also seem to show a rather different effectiveness of the monetary policy depending on the features of the financial system of each country. In those countries with a more market-oriented financial system, corporate finance relies less heavily on banks, so they are not so influenced by shifts in monetary policy as companies of other more bank-based countrie

Restricciones financieras e inversión en activo fijo: un análisis multivariante

Producción CientíficaEl presente trabajo analiza los determinantes financieros de la inversión en activos de largo plazo de una muestra de empresas españolas. El análisis se articula en dos fases: identificación de aquellas empresas que sufren en mayor medida el efecto de las restricciones financieras y estudio de la sensibilidad de la inversión a la liquidez en dichas empresas. Entre los factores relevantes del grado de restricción se encuentran el endeudamiento, la deuda de procedencia bancaria, la composición del activo, el tamaño de la empresa y la cobertura de los gastos financieros. También se observa cómo en esas empresas la liquidez condiciona notablemente la inversión de largo plazo. Por el contrario, en las empresas menos afectadas por las restricciones financieras, los factores financieros inciden en la inversión en la medida en que se vinculan a futuras oportunidades de crecimiento

Evaluación de tres tipos de acabado en las maderas de Simarouba amara, Brosimum alicastrum y Brosimum utile

Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina. Facultad de Ciencias Forestales. Departamento Académico de Industrias ForestalesEl presente trabajo tuvo como finalidad la evaluación de tres materiales de recubrimiento (barniz alquídico, barniz poliuretano y laca nitrocelulósica) sobre dos tipos de teñido (al alcohol y al agua) aplicados en probetas de madera de las especies “Marupa” (Simarouba amara), “Congona” (Brosimum alicastrum) y “Leche Caspi” (Brosimum utile). Se prepararon 30 probetas de 18 x 95 x 300 mm de madera de duramen, secadas al 12 ± 2% y de corte tangencial de cada una de las especies mencionadas. Se aplicaron sobre las probetas, dos sistemas de teñido, así como tres tipos de recubrimiento. Se demostró que los sistemas de teñido aplicados a las maderas de Congona, Marupa y Leche Caspi, no influyen en el brillo y el espesor de película de los recubrimientos empleados, considerando que ambos están definidos por el tipo de recubrimiento a ser utilizado. Además, los sistemas de teñido al alcohol y al agua no afectan significativamente a la adherencia de los recubrimientos de barniz alquídico, barniz poliuretano y laca nitrocelulósica, por experimentar un desprendimiento por debajo del 15 %, lográndose una adherencia por encima del 85%.Tesi

A fractional-order model for calendar aging with dynamic storage conditions

Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUA.Due to the increasing importance of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicle and renewable energy applications, battery aging is a subject of intense research. Although many laboratory experiments are performed under well-controlled static conditions, batteries are stored and operated under varying conditions of temperature and state of charge in their real-life performance, so that a suitable model for predicting the effects of calendar aging in lithium-ion batteries with dynamic conditions is highly desirable. In this paper, we review previous models to calculate capacity loss due to calendar aging under variable temperature and state-of-charge conditions according to experimentally observed power-law behavior, and propose a novel model based on fractional calculus. To validate the new model, we compare its predictions with experimental results showing that it can reproduce the non-monotonic behavior that is observed when the state of charge or the temperature change significantly. This is an interesting application of fractional calculus since this characteristic is not obtained with non-fractional models.Universidad de Granada / CBU

A physics-based fractional-order equivalent circuit model for time and frequency-domain applications in lithium-ion batteries

This work was partially supported by the Regional Government of Andalusia under project P18-RT-3303 from Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación (PAIDI 2020), by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and by FEDER funds via Project MCI-20-PID2019-110955RB-I00, by the Principality of Asturias via project AYUD/2021/50994, and by the FPU-UGR-Banco Santander Program for Predoctoral Scholarships. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBUAEquivalent circuit models (ECMs) remain the most popular choice for online applications in lithium-ion batteries because of their simpler parameterization and lower computational requirements in comparison to electrochemical models. Nevertheless, standard ECMs lack physical insight and fail to accurately reproduce cell behavior under a wide range of operating conditions. For this reason, the development of physics-informed ECMs becomes essential so as to provide a better description of the physical processes while maintaining a reduced computational complexity. In this article, we propose a novel physics-based ECM derived directly from an electrochemical model, so that there is a clear correlation between circuit states and internal battery states, as well as circuit and physical parameters. The proposed model yields an RMS error below 1.46 mV for cell voltage, 0.28% for the surface concentration in the active material particles, 0.6% for the electrode-averaged electrolyte concentration and 0.32 mV for the charge-transfer overpotentials. Another key feature of this model is the relationship between circuit parameters and those identified in frequency-domain tests, which allows us to characterize and validate the model experimentally. We understand that the presented model constitutes an alternative to standard ECMs as well as electrochemical models as it combines advantageous characteristics from both of them.Regional Government of Andalusia P18-RT-3303Spanish Ministry of Science and InnovationFEDER: MCI-20-PID2019-110955RB-I00Principality of Asturias AYUD/2021/50994PU-UGR-Banco SantanderUniversidad de Granada / CBU

Audit committee expertise in large European firms

Purpose – This paper aims to study how audit committee member expertise is related to certain features of the committee and to the audit process. Design/methodology/approach – Based on information from 2,477 directors from 296 firms in eight European countries between 2005 and 2014, this study measures average audit committee expertise using a continuous variable, which combines education-based and experience-based expertise. Different measures of the audit process are then regressed against this and other control variables. Findings – Average committee expertise has increased in recent years. Education-based and experiencebased expertise seem to be complementary. Results also show that committees with greater expertise meet more frequently, have fewer directors with full-time dedication and pay lower audit fees. There is no link to changes in the external firm audit, which may be due to mandatory auditor rotation. Originality/value – The paper provides a comprehensive metric of audit committee expertise that includes directors’ academic background, professional experience and qualifications. In addition, this study expands current knowledge concerning whether and how committee expertise affects the audit proces

Board gender diversity and dividend payout: The critical mass and the family ties effect

Producción CientíficaWe analyse the relationship between female directors and payout policy for a sample of non-financial Spanish listed firms. Based on the critical mass theory, we find an inverted-U shaped relationship. For low levels of female representation in the board, women directors increase dividends in order to reduce agency conflicts, and improve reputation or legitimacy. However, after an inflection point, characteristics traditionally associated to women, such as risk aversion, a conservative and prudent financial attitude, and lower overconfidence emerge and reduce dividend payments. Moreover, our results suggest that female directors play a very different role with the controlling shareholder, depending on what family ties exist. Women directors who have family connections with the dominant shareholder exhibit the same inverted-U shaped relationship with dividends. In contrast, for female directors with no family ties, the relationship with dividends is U-shaped. Our results show the faultlines within the group of female directors depending on the relationship with the family owners, and that the influence of non-family female directors only arises when this group of women gain enough power, visibility, authority, and legitimacy.Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (projects ECO2017-82259-R and ECO2017-84132-R)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project PID2020-114797GB-I00