CEO compensation and bank efficiency: An application of conditional nonparametric frontiers

The paper investigates in a dynamic context the effect of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) bonus and salary payments on banks’ technical efficiency levels. Our methodological framework incorporates the latest developments on the probabilistic approach of efficiency measurement as introduced by B?din et al. (2012). We apply time-dependent conditional efficiency estimates to analyse a sample of 37 US banks for the period from 2003 to 2012. The empirical evidence reveals a non-linear relationship between CEO bonus and salary payments and banks’ efficiency levels. More specifically it is reported that salary and bonus payments affect differently banks’ technological change and technological catch-up levels. Finally, the empirical evidence suggests that higher salary and bonus payments are not always aligned with higher technical efficiency levels

Financial development and productive inefficiency: A robust conditional directional distance function approach

This paper examines whether the level of financial development helps lower countries’ inefficiency using time-dependent robust conditional directional distance functions in a sample of 91 countries over 1970–2011. The overall results reveal that the effect of financial development on countries’ productive inefficiency is highly nonlinear, and depends on countries’ income levels, suggesting that higher levels of financial development are enhancing more countries’ catching-up ability rather than their technological change

Towards the Assessment of the Predictive Capacity of the β-σ Two-Fluid Model for Pseudo-Homogeneous Slurry Flow in Pipes

This paper focuses on the numerical simulation of turbulent, pseudo-homogeneous slurry flows in pipes through the β-σ two-fluid model, developed by the authors and collaborators in previous research. The two-fluid model gives its name to the presence of two main calibration coefficients, namely, σ, associated with the turbulent dispersion of the particles, and β, related to the inter-phase friction and to the wall shear stress produced by the solid phase. In a recently published article, the role played by β and σ on different features of the CFD solution has been established for different flow conditions, and a procedure for the calibration of the two coefficients has been proposed. The present contribution investigates the extrapolability of previously calibrated coefficients to different conditions in terms of pipe diameter, particle type, and in-situ concentration. The experimental data used to support the conclusions and recommendations from the numerical study were obtained from previously published literature. The findings of this study not only contribute to a deeper comprehension of the β-σ two-fluid model, but they also provide a methodological background for the development of computational tools for industrial practitioners and academic researchers

Polarised target for Drell-Yan experiment in COMPASS at CERN, part I

In the polarised Drell-Yan experiment at the COMPASS facility in CERN pion beam with momentum of 190 GeV/c and intensity about $10^8$ pions/s interacted with transversely polarised NH$_3$ target. Muon pairs produced in Drel-Yan process were detected. The measurement was done in 2015 as the 1st ever polarised Drell-Yan fixed target experiment. The hydrogen nuclei in the solid-state NH$_3$ were polarised by dynamic nuclear polarisation in 2.5 T field of large-acceptance superconducting magnet. Large helium dilution cryostat was used to cool the target down below 100 mK. Polarisation of hydrogen nuclei reached during the data taking was about 80 %. Two oppositely polarised target cells, each 55 cm long and 4 cm in diameter were used. Overview of COMPASS facility and the polarised target with emphasis on the dilution cryostat and magnet is given. Results of the polarisation measurement in the Drell-Yan run and overviews of the target material, cell and dynamic nuclear polarisation system are given in the part II.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the 22nd International Spin Symposium, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA, 25-30 September 201

The interconnections of academic research and universities’ “third mission”: Evidence from the UK

A considerable body of work acknowledges the importance and benefits of the university-industry relationship for the economy and society, but also for increasing the revenue of universities themselves (known also as universities' "third mission"). However, questions have also been raised about the consequences of the university-industry relationship and its impact on their traditional role. This paper contributes to this debate by exploring whether and how being efficient in generating income from engagement activities impacts on universities' research performance. By using a sample of 119 UK higher educational institutions for period 2007-2014, and controlling for endogeneity issue, the results show that efficiency in terms of university-industry income and research performance exhibits a nonlinear relationship for both universities established before ("old universities"), and after ("new universities"), the Higher Education Act 1992 (HEA). However, for high level of efficiency, "old universities" do not appear able to improve their research performance further. Finally, positive synergies between the third mission and research mission decline in a more teaching-oriented environment. We conclude that policy makers should account for organisational heterogeneity and teaching orientation to promote research excellence effectively by stimulating engagement

Financial Centres’ Competitiveness and Economic Convergence: Evidence from the EU Regions

This study analyses the gaps in financial centres’ competitiveness and their impact on regional economic convergence in 23 EU Member States during the period of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). In particular, we explore the economic convergence and divergence patterns among regions from two different perspectives across the selected EU Member States and within each country. From a methodological viewpoint, we apply a fully non-parametric framework to the club convergence model and address the endogeneity problem between financial centres’ competitiveness and regional economic convergence. Our results show that the large and internationally-oriented financial centres experienced a diverging trend in terms of the competitiveness of financial centres’ business environment during the peak of the crisis. We also find evidence that the convergence of financial centres reduces regional economic inequalities between the regions where financial centres are located. In contrast, the increase in the competitiveness of financial centres only serves to widen existing inequalities at the national level. Finally, we examine and discuss the impact of competitiveness drivers of financial centres on the convergence pattern of EU regions

Transversity distributions from difference asymmetries in semi-inclusive DIS

In recent years information on the transversity distribution h1 has been obtained by combining the Collins asymmetry results from semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering (SIDIS) data on transversely polarized nucleon targets with the information on the fragmentation function of a transversely polarized quark from the asymmetries measured in e\ufee 12 annihilation into hadrons. An alternative method was proposed a long time ago, which does not require the e\ufee 12 data but allows one to get ratios of the u and d quark transversity distributions from the SIDIS data alone. The method utilizes the ratio of the difference of the Collins asymmetries of positively and negatively charged hadrons produced on transversely polarized proton and deuteron targets. We have applied this method to the COMPASS proton and deuteron data and extracted the ratio hdv 1 =huv 1 . The results are compared to those obtained in a previous point-by-point extraction based both on SIDIS and e\ufee 12 data

Is the collagen primed for mineralization in specific regions of the Turkey tendon?:an investigation of the protein-mineral interface using Raman spectroscopy

The tendons in the turkey leg have specific well-defined areas which become mineralized as the animal ages and they are a thoroughly characterized model system for studying the mineralization process of bone. In this study, nondestructive Raman spectroscopic analysis was used to explore the hypothesis that regions of the turkey tendon that are associated with mineralization exhibit distinct and observable chemical modifications of the collagen prior to the onset of mineralization. The Raman spectroscopy features associated with mineralization were identified by probing (on the micrometer scale) the transition zone between mineralized and nonmineralized regions of turkey leg tendons. These features were then measured in whole tendons and identified in regions of tendon which are destined to become rapidly mineralized around 14 weeks of age. The data show there is a site-specific difference in collagen prior to the deposition of mineral, specifically the amide III band at 1270 cm(-1) increases as the collagen becomes more ordered (increased amide III:amide I ratio) in regions that become mineralized compared to collagen destined to remain nonmineralized. If this mechanism were present in materials of different mineral fraction (and thus material properties), it could provide a target for controlling mineralization in metabolic bone disease

Algorithms for Colourful Simplicial Depth and Medians in the Plane

The colourful simplicial depth of a point x in the plane relative to a configuration of n points in k colour classes is exactly the number of closed simplices (triangles) with vertices from 3 different colour classes that contain x in their convex hull. We consider the problems of efficiently computing the colourful simplicial depth of a point x, and of finding a point, called a median, that maximizes colourful simplicial depth. For computing the colourful simplicial depth of x, our algorithm runs in time O(n log(n) + k n) in general, and O(kn) if the points are sorted around x. For finding the colourful median, we get a time of O(n^4). For comparison, the running times of the best known algorithm for the monochrome version of these problems are O(n log(n)) in general, improving to O(n) if the points are sorted around x for monochrome depth, and O(n^4) for finding a monochrome median.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figure