Fixed point theorems for α\alpha--contractive mappings of Meir--Keeler type and applications

In this paper, we introduce the notion of $\alpha$--contractive mapping of Meir--Keeler type in complete metric spaces and prove new theorems which assure the existence, uniqueness and iterative approximation of the fixed point for this type of contraction. The presented theorems extend, generalize and improve several existing results in literature. To validate our results, we establish the existence and uniqueness of solution to a class of third order two point boundary value problems

Considerations regarding the fair evaluation of real estate securities by the banks

The current economic crisis, deeply globalized, has its source in the major financial turmoil triggered in the U.S. at the end of 2007 and early 2008 because of the unrealistic bubble of the sub –prime loans based mostly on real estate transactions overestimated. That is why we consider appropriate the analysis and the accommodation of the fair value of real estate securities in correlation with the market developments.real estate securities, banks, economic crisis

Exchange rate and trade: J-curve in European Union

The EU economy is experiencing a severe recession amid the global crisis, and although in other regions began to appear mild signs of recovery, in EU countries are recorded a continuously worsening. In many European states, the economic contraction is a consequence of the decrease in net exports component of GDP. The aim of the article is to analyze the situation in which the EU chooses to devalue its currency to increase exports. We found that, the depreciation of the Euro, has no influence on exports and that in EU, it is not expressed a J-curve effects

The Nexus between Economic Growth and Public Spending in Eastern European Countries

This study analyses the relationship between governmental expenditure and economic growth rate for 8 Eastern-European countries with data for 1995–2014 using the ARDL model. The main goal of the present study is to test the presence of a non-linear - Armey Curve type - relationship between the government size and economic growth and also to find an optimal level of public spending which maximizes economic growth. Our results reveal the occurrence of a significant cointegration of public spending and economic growth for all considered countries and show that the current share of public spending within the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeds the optimal level calculated for the three countries for which the Armey-type phenomenon occurs. Also, the results suggest that the optimal percentage of governmental spending varies between 37 % and 41 % and the present level is higher than the optimal level for Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. The outstripping of the optimal level may conclude to the idea that the weight of public sector should be slightly decreased in these countries since the public sector is not able to efficiently cope with its resources. Based on the study results, the weight of public expenditure should be reduced while the efficiency of public spending programs should be increased

The inflation and economic growth: evidence from Romania

The main purpose of this study is to establish the existence (or not) of a relationship between inflation and economic growth in Romania, the study lasting between 1970-2013. The methodology used in this study is the one specific to time series: structural break test using Zivot-Andrews test, the stationarity test using Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF), and then Granger causality testing. Test results showed that for the analyzed period, there was a cointegrating relationship between inflation and economic growth for Romania. Finally, to establish the econometric model of the two variables, it has been developed an ARDL model with two different periods of lag

Evaluation of Seismic Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) by Different Approaches

The paper investigates the seismic SSI effects for rigid type structures. Structural response is computed by modal synthesis versus frequency response approach. The main aspects analysed are as follows: a) the seismic SSI effects on structural response; b) shortcomings in the current SSI computational procedure; c) seismic structure –soil-structure interaction (SSSI) effects on structural response of neighbouring heavy buildings. Two case studies are presented: a shearwell multistory building (SMB) on soft clay and a massive reactor building (RB). Seismic response quantities are accelerations, displacements, stresses, floor response spectra (FRS) and spectra amplification functions (SAF)

Determining the sensitivity of Data Envelopment Analysis method used in airport benchmarking

In the last decade there were some important changes in the airport industry, caused by the liberalization of the air transportation market. Until recently airports were considered infrastructure elements, and they were evaluated only by traffic values or their maximum capacity. Gradual orientation towards commercial led to the need of finding another ways of evaluation, more efficiency oriented. The existing methods for assessing efficiency used for other production units were not suitable to be used in case of airports due to specific features and high complexity of airport operations. In the last years there were some papers that proposed the Data Envelopment Analysis as a method for assessing the operational efficiency in order to conduct the benchmarking. This method offers the possibility of dealing with a large number of variables of different types, which represents the main advantage of this method and also recommends it as a good benchmarking tool for the airports management. This paper goal is to determine the sensitivity of this method in relation with its inputs and outputs. A Data Envelopment Analysis is conducted for 128 airports worldwide, in both input- and output-oriented measures, and the results are analysed against some inputs and outputs variations. Possible weaknesses of using DEA for assessing airports performance are revealed and analysed against this method advantages