Spherical Hartree-Fock calculations with linear momentum projection before the variation.Part II: Spectral functions and spectroscopic factors

The hole--spectral functions and from these the spectroscopic factors have been calculated in an Galilei--invariant way for the ground state wave functions resulting from spherical Hartree--Fock calculations with projection onto zero total linear momentum before the variation for the nuclei 4He, 12C, 16O, 28Si, 32S and 40Ca. The results are compared to those of the conventional approach which uses the ground states resulting from usual spherical Hartree--Fock calculations subtracting the kinetic energy of the center of mass motion before the variation and to the results obtained analytically with oscillator occupations.Comment: 16 pages, 22 postscript figure

Spherical Hartree-Fock calculations with linear momentum projection before the variation.Part I: Energies, form factors, charge densities and mathematical sum rules

Spherical Hartree--Fock calculations with projection onto zero total linear momentum before the variation are performed for the nuclei 4He, 12C, 16O, 28Si, 32S and 40Ca using a density--independent effective nucleon--nucleon interaction. The results are compared to those of usual spherical Hartree--Fock calculations subtracting the kinetic energy of the center of mass motion either before or after the variation and to the results obtained analytically with oscillator occupations. Total energies, hole--energies, elastic charge form factors and charge densities and the mathematical Coulomb sum rules are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 13 postscript figure

Credit unions and the common bond

Credit Unions are cooperative financial institutions specializing in the basic financial needs of certain groups of consumers. A distinguishing feature of credit unions is the legal requirement that members share a common bond. This organizing principle recently became the focus of national attention as the Supreme Court and the U.S. Congress took opposite sides in a controversy regarding the number of common bonds that could co-exist within the membership of a single credit union. Despite its importance, little research has been done into how common bonds affect how credit unions actually operate. We frame the issues with a simple theoretical model of credit-union formation and consolidation. To provide intuition into the flexibility of multiple-group credit unions in serving members, we simulate the model and present some comparative-static results. We then apply a semi-parametric empirical model to a large dataset drawn from federally chartered occupational credit unions in 1996 to investigate the effects of common bonds. Our results suggest that credit unions with multiple common bonds have higher participation rates than credit unions that are otherwise similar but whose membership shares a single common bond

Exact exchange optimized effective potential and self-compression of stabilized jellium clusters

In this work, we have used the exchange-only optimized effective potential in the self-consistent calculations of the density functional Kohn-Sham equations for simple metal clusters in stabilized jellium model with self-compression. The results for the closed-shell clusters of Al, Li, Na, K, and Cs with $N=$2, 8, 18, 20, 34, and 40 show that the clusters are 3% more compressed here than in the local spin density approximation. On the other hand, in the LSDA, neglecting the correlation results in a contraction by 1.4%.Comment: 7 pages, RevTex, 5 eps figures, 2 table

Corporate governance and corporate performance

National corporate-governance traditions are distinctive, deeply rooted, and difficult to change. Recent research points to a country's legal traditions and its stage of economic development as important determinants of corporate-governance institutions. Common-law countries tend to provide more explicit investor protections than civil-law countries. Richer countries tend to enforce corporate law more strictly. Broader and deeper financial markets emerge in the presence of strong investor protections, fostering more outside financing and better corporate financial performance. Corporate-governance systems also influence resident firms' capital structures and ownership structures. A broader perspective on corporate performance suggests that no country's system of corporate governance is without shortcomings, however.Corporations - Finance ; Corporations

Universal banking, allocation of control rights, and corporate finance in Germany

Corporate governance practices differ greatly in the United States and Germany. This paper describes the main institutional features of the German corporate governance system, focusing on universal banks and codetermination. The paper also summarizes existing empirical evidence that has investigated how- and how well- this system works.Germany ; Banks and banking

Universal banking, control rights, and corporate finance in Germany

This article describes the most important corporate governance practices in contemporary Germany. These practices include a prominent role for universal banks, other large financial and non-financial firms, and employees through a system known as codetermination. While some similarities exist, many features of corporate governance in Germany differ greatly from those found in the United States. This article provides historical background and a review of the existing empirical evidence on these topics.Corporations - Finance ; Germany

Asset mispricing, arbitrage, and volatility

Market efficiency remains a contentious topic among financial economists. The theoretical case for efficient markets rests on the notion of risk-free, cost-free arbitrage. In real markets, however, arbitrage is not risk-free or cost-free. In addition, the number of informed arbitrageurs and the supply of financial resources they have to invest in arbitrage strategies is limited. This article builds on an important recent model of arbitrage by professional traders who need—but lack—wealth of their own to trade. Professional abitrageurs must convince wealthy but uninformed investors to entrust them with investment capital in order to exploit mispricing and push market prices back toward intrinsic value. The authors introduce an objective function for the arbitrageur that resembles real-world contracts. Also, the authors calibrate the objective function to show that arbitrage generally has a price-stabilizing influence and reduces volatility in asset returns.Arbitrage ; Asset-liability management

When for-profits and not-for-profits compete: theory and empirical evidence from retail banking

We model competition in local deposit markets between for-profit and not-for-profit financial institutions. For-profit retail banks may offer a superior bundle of financial services, but not-for-profit (occupational) credit unions enjoy sponsor subsidies that allow them to capture a share of the local market. The model predicts that greater participation in credit unions in a given county will be associated with higher levels of retail-bank concentration. We find empirical evidence of this association. The ability of credit unions to affect local banking market structure supports the presumption of current banking antitrust analysis that retail banking markets remain local. We identify local economic factors that modulate the nature of competition between banks and credit unions, including income per capita and population density.Banks and banking