13,990 research outputs found
Measuring efficiency of the Farm Credit System
The paper measures the U.S. Farm Credit System’s technical efficiency from 2000 to 2009 using a stochastic frontier production function model with quarterly unbalanced panel data. The paper's results suggest that the FCS has not efficiently utilized their inputs. On an average, the system realizes only 9.7% of their technical abilities in raising their loans, leases and investment. The efficiency of the whole system is estimated to slightly increase over time even during financial crisis period from 2007. Among the system, a significant difference in efficiency between the 5 Banks and the Associations has been found. On average, the Banks have higher technical efficiency of 62.4% compared to that of 7.7% of the associations. The efficiency of the latter increases by a small rate over time during 2004-2009 periods while efficiency of the former is more time-varying and experiences the opposite pattern. No evidence about the impact of financial crisis on the system efficiency was found.Farm Credit System, agricultural lenders, technical efficiency, financial crisis, stochastic frontier production function, financial reform, Agricultural Finance,
Pairing effect on the giant dipole resonance width at low temperature
The width of the giant dipole resonance (GDR) at finite temperature T in
Sn-120 is calculated within the Phonon Damping Model including the neutron
thermal pairing gap determined from the modified BCS theory. It is shown that
the effect of thermal pairing causes a smaller GDR width at T below 2 MeV as
compared to the one obtained neglecting pairing. This improves significantly
the agreement between theory and experiment including the most recent data
point at T = 1 MeV.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures to be published in Physical Review
Analysis of parametric biological models with non-linear dynamics
In this paper we present recent results on parametric analysis of biological
models. The underlying method is based on the algorithms for computing
trajectory sets of hybrid systems with polynomial dynamics. The method is then
applied to two case studies of biological systems: one is a cardiac cell model
for studying the conditions for cardiac abnormalities, and the second is a
model of insect nest-site choice.Comment: In Proceedings HSB 2012, arXiv:1208.315
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