Non-Parametric Tests for Firm Efficiency in Case of Errors-in-Variables

This paper develops a novel statistic for firm efficiency called efficiency depth thatallows for statistical inference in case of errors-in-variables. We derive statistical teststhat require minimal statistical assumptions; neither the sample distribution nor thenoise level is required. An empirical illustration for European banks illustrates that -despite the minimal assumptions- the tests can have substantial discriminating powerin practical applications.errors-in-variables;firm efficiency;nonparametric analysis

Non-parametric production analysis under alternative price conditions.

The literature on non-parametric production analysis has formulated tests for profit maximizing behavior that do not require a parametric specification of technology. Negative test results have conventionally been interpreted as inefficiency, or have been attributed to data perturbations. In this paper, we exploit the possibility that negative test results reveal violations of the underlying neoclassical assumption that prices are exogenously fixed and perfectly certain. We propose non-parametric tests that do allow for endogenous price formation and price uncertainty. In addition, we investigate how to recover the technology and how to forecast behavior in new economic situations.Non-parametric production analysis; Endogenous price formation; Price uncertainty;

New tools for dealing with errors-in-variables in DEA.

Errors in variables; Tool;

K0 form factor at order p^6 of chiral perturbation theory

This paper describes the calculation of the electromagnetic form factor of the K0 meson at order p^6 of chiral perturbation theory which is the next-to-leading order correction to the well-known p^4 result achieved by Gasser and Leutwyler. On the one hand, at order p^6 the chiral expansion contains 1- and 2-loop diagrams which are discussed in detail. Especially, a numerical procedure for calculating the irreducible 2-loop graphs of the sunset topology is presented. On the other hand, the chiral Lagrangian L^6 produces a direct coupling of the K0 current with the electromagnetic field tensor. Due to this coupling one of the unknown parameters of L^6 occurs in the contribution to the K0 charge radius.Comment: 22 pages Latex with 8 figures, Typos corrected, one reference adde

Round-robin tournaments with minimum number of breaks and two teams per club

We study round-robin tournaments for 2n teams. Here n is either interpreted as the number of clubs, each having two teams, or the number of strength groups with two teams each. For even n we give a construction of a single round-robin tournament for 2n teams with 2n - 2 breaks, where the teams of the same club have complementary home-away patterns and play against each other in the first round. If the pairs of teams are strength groups, then a cyclic permutation of the constructed schedule results in a group-balanced tournament

Window scaling in one-dimensional maps

We describe both the internal structure and the width of the periodic windows in one-dimensional maps, by considering a universal local submap. Both features are found to depend only on the order of the extremum of this submap. Moreover, we discuss how the windows are grouped in accumulating families, and we calculate the scaling of the widths within these families

Mobilizing Public Will For Social Change

Examines the theory and strategies of "public will" campaigns and offers tangible criteria for their evaluation. It provides a rich inventory of strategies for use in mobilizing the public will through an integration of models of agenda building, social problem construction, issues management, social movements, media advocacy, and social capital. In addition, the paper provides cases and examples of public will campaigns directed at various social problems, along with criteria for evaluating these campaigns at various stages of a social problem's life cycle

The squeeze effect in non-integrable Hamiltonian systems

In non-integrable Hamiltonian systems (represented by mappings of the plane) the stable island around an elliptic fixed point is generally squeezed into the fixed point by three saddle points, when the rotation number ρ of the motion at the fixed point approaches 1/3. At ρ=1/3 the island is reduced to one single point.\ud A detailed investigation of this squeeze effect, and some of its global implications, is presented by means of a typical two-dimensional area-preserving map. In particular, it turns out that the squeeze effect occurs in any mapping for which the Taylor expansion around the fixed point contains a quadratic term, whereas it does not occur if the first non-linear term is cubic. We illustrate this with two physical examples: a compass needle in an oscillating field, showing the squeeze effect, and a ball which bounces on a vibrating plane, for which the squeeze effect does not occur