Political instability and stock market returns: Evidence from OECD countries

This paper examines the relationship between political instability and stock market returns using quarterly time series data from 1993 to 2013. In this paper, stock market returns are defined as the returns of the general stock market index and banking index for 18 OECD countries. Five different political instability indicators are constructed in order to measure political uncertainty. The empirical part utilizes the EFA, PCA and GARCH-M methodologies. The findings indicate a direct and an indirect impact between the PI indicators and the returns of the Banking Index and the Overall Stock Market Index. The research contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence to policy makers on the effects that political instability has on stock markets

The Behaviour of Banking Stocks During the Financial Crisis and Recessions. Evidence from Changes-in-Changes Panel Data

This paper examines the impact of the financial crisis and economic recessions on bank shares compared to the overall stock market index for 18 OECD countries from 1993 to 2015. The empirical methodology utilizes the changes-in-changes approach. We compare and contrast the returns of the bank ing stock price index (treatment group) in each country with their general stock price index (control group), which experiences smaller changes. Our results suggest that bank returns on average perform significantly worse than that of the general stock pr ice index during recessions. In addition we also find significantly greater volatility in bank share returns

Route efficiency index as an operational tool for detour decision making in an urban motorway

Decisions on efficient detours are crucial for motorway operations following closures. This paper presents a framework for supporting decision making on detour routing in urban motorways. A Route Efficiency Index (REI) is developed for that purpose; the index is based on three major criteria: safety, user cost and environmental impacts in the vicinity of a detour. The Athens (Greece) ring-road is used as an application setting for the proposed methodology. Results show that safety is more important for decision making compared to other criteria, as it is affected by physical characteristics of the detour rather than diverted traffic volumes. Based on the paper findings, a tool for straightforwardly deriving and assessing detour action plans for urban motorways, is developed. © 2018, Gioacchino Onorati Editore. All rights reserved

An overview of recent findings of the Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network (Part I)

Aim and Methods: Selected recent findings of the Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network are briefly reviewed and their clinical implications discussed. Results: Daily prospective ratings on the NIMH-LCM indicate a high degree of residual depressive morbidity (three times that of hypomania or mania) despite active psychopharmacological treatment with a variety of modalities including mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and benzodiazepines, as well as antipsychotics as necessary. The rates of switching into brief to full hypomania or mania during the use of antidepressants is described, and new data suggesting the potential utility of continuing antidepressants in the small group of patients showing an initial acute and persistent response is noted. Bipolar patients with a history of major environmental adversities in childhood have a more severe course of illness and an increased incidence of suicide attempts compared with those without. Preliminary open data suggest useful antidepressant effects of the atypical antipsychotic quetiapine, while a double-blind randomized controlled study failed to show efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids (6 g of eicosapentaenoic acid compared with placebo for 4 months) in the treatment of either acute depression or rapid cycling. The high prevalence of overweight and increased incidence of antithyroid antibodies in patients with bipolar illness is highlighted. Conclusions: Together, these findings suggest a very high degree of comorbidity and treatment resistance in outpatients with bipolar illness treated in academic settings and the need to develop not only new treatment approaches, but also much earlier illness recognition, diagnosis, and intervention in an attempt to reverse or prevent this illness burden