The Effects of Corporate Finance on Firm Risk-taking and Performance: Theory and Evidence

Some firms may exhibit better operating performance than others because they undertake riskier projects: risk-return tradeoff. We develop a model to examine the effects of financial contracts on a firmfs choice between safer (lower risk, lower return) and riskier (higher risk, higher return) projects. The model shows that, assuming a competitive capital market (i.e., financiers with no monopoly power), three types of financial contracts (rollover loans, non-rollover loans, and new share issues) can each be an equilibrium contract, depending on conditions. While firms undertake griskierh projects when using non-rollover loans or new share issues, firms undertake gsaferh projects when using rollover loans. The model emphasizes the role of rollover loans (with passive monitoring) as a potential disciplinary device to suppress a firmfs risk-taking. The model generates several predictions about the determinants of a firmfs risk-taking and its performance. One key prediction of the model is that (risk-neutral) firms with closer bank relationships are more likely to use rollover loans and undertake gsaferh projects, even with a contestable capital market. We find novel empirical support for the modelfs predictions.corporate finance, corporate governance, firm risk-taking, firm performance, loan rollover

A Study of a Ventricular Motion in Cardiac MRI using Deformable Model

We experimented with a novel deformable model that track the right ventricle’s (RV) wall motion through complete cardiac cycle by using a snake-like approach. The model uses a complex Fourier shape descriptor parameterization for efficient calculation of forces that constrains contour deformation. Even though the complexity exists in RV boundary shape, the model tracks the contour correctly and shows the robustness in weak contrast and noisy edge map. We also present a quantitative evaluation of delineation accuracy by comparing manual segmented contours and semi-automatically segmented contour, to check the reliability of our deformable model. The extracted shapes shows that the error between two contours to be an average of two pixels from 256 pixels by 256 pixels of cardiac magnetic resonance images. We used the spatio-temporal characterization of ventricular wall motion, obtained by our model, to help classifying the Intra-ventricular dyssynchrony (IVD) in the LV - i.e. asynchronous activation of LV wall - by adding RV information of ventricular movement to existing data. The classifying method was to use a popular statistical pattern recognition method of the Principal Component Analysis and the Fisher’s Linear Discriminant Analysis. From a database contains 33 patients, our classifier produced correct classification performance of 87.9 % with the RV data, which shows the promising improved IVD classification as contrast to current criteria for selecting therapy, which provided the correct classification of just 84.8 % on the same database with only the LV data

The R&D based Endogenous Growth Model: R&D Workers, Skill Premium and Productivity Growth

This paper attempts to explain the features of the recent U.S. economy by applying the transitional dynamics analysis of the R&D based endogenous growth model. It tries to explain the observed comovements of three variables: the relative wage rate of high skilled labour, the share of R&D workers and per capita output growth rate show a sharp decline in the beginning of 1970s followed by a gradual increase. The paper shows that an unexpected structural change, which induces a change in the allocation of high skilled workers, pushes the economy away from the steady state along the saddle path and the economy, thereafter, moves back gradually towards the steady state

Note on the determination of the magnetoresistance tensor of a crystal having the symmetry Oh or O

In order to get some information about the band structure of conduction electrons or holes it is often desirable to measure the magnetoresistance effect. This note describes a practical method for the determination of the three components of the magnetoresistance tensor for crystals having the point group symmetry Oh or 0 . The methods, which depend upon equations (IIIa), (IIIb) or (IIc) in this note, are most convenient for crystals having a cleavage plane (100), (110) or (111) . In this case, all the tensor components can be obtained by means of a single experimental run

"A Comparison of the Japanese and U.S. Business Cycles"

The paper constructs a consistent set of quarterly Japanese data for the 1960-2002 sample period and compares properties of the Japanese and U.S. business cycles. We document some important differences in the adjustment of labor input between the two countries. In Japan most most of the adjustment is in hours per worker of males and females and also in employment of female. In the U.S. most of the adjustment is in employment of both males and females. We formulate, estimate and analyze a model that makes distinction between the intensive and extensive margin and allows for gender differences in labor supply. A weak empirical correlation between hours per worker and employment in Japanese data is a puzzle for our theory.