The Valuation Impact of Financial Advisors: An Empirical Analysis of REIT Mergers and Acquisitions

This paper analyzes the effect of financial advisor-monitors on the valuation of real estate investment trust (REIT) mergers. Advisor choice determinants and the effect of advisors on transaction value are examined using a sample of REIT mergers for the 1981 to 2001 period. A two-stage target firm pricing model is estimated: the first stage (logit) estimates the probability of advisor use and the second stage analyzes the effect of advisors on target firm valuation. The results indicate that financial advisor monitoring, possibly by reducing information asymmetries, has significant positive effects on the value of REIT acquisitions.

The Legal Environment and the Choice of Default Resolution Alternatives: An Empirical Analysis

In addition to standard foreclosure, three other methods of resolution for mortgage defaults are available: bankruptcy protection, surrender of deed to the lender, and pre-foreclosure sale. This paper develops a model that specifies the choice of resolution method as a function of the state-specific legal environment and local area economic conditions. A large national data set is used to estimate a multinomial logit choice model for the 1987 to 1991 period. The results indicate that the choice of default resolution alternative is sensitive to the legal environment. The results imply that selected legal reforms will tend to improve the efficiency of the default resolution process.

Shrinking the Malaria Map: A Prospectus on Malaria Elimination

\ud Thirty-nine countries across the world are making progress toward malaria elimination. Some are committed to nationwide elimination, while others are pursuing spatially progressive elimination within their borders. Influential donor and multilateral organizations are supporting their goals of achieving malaria-free status. With elimination back on the global agenda, countries face a myriad of questions. Should they change their programs to eliminate rather than control malaria? What tools are available? What policies need to be put into place? How will they benefit from elimination? Unfortunately, answers to these questions, and resources for agencies and country program managers considering or pursuing elimination, are scarce. The 39 eliminating countries are all positioned along the endemic margins of the disease, yet they naturally experience a variety of country characteristics and epidemiologies that make their malaria situations different from one another. The Malaria Elimination Group (MEG) and this Prospectus recognize\ud that there is no single solution, strategy, or time line that will be appropriate for every country, and each is encouraged to initiate a comprehensive evaluation of its readiness and strategy for elimination. The Prospectus is designed to guide countries in conducting these assessments. The Prospectus provides detailed and informed discussion on the practical means of achieving and sustaining zero transmission. It is designed as a road map, providing direction and options from which to choose an appropriate path. As on all maps, the destination is clearly marked, but the possible routes to reach it are numerous. The Prospectus is divided into two sections: Section 1 Eliminating Malaria comprises four chapters covering the strategic components important to the periods before, during, and after an elimination program. Section 2 Tools for the Job, comprises six chapters that outline basic information about how interventions in an elimination program will be different from those in a control setting. Chapter 1, Making the Decision, evaluates the issues that a country should consider when deciding whether or not to eliminate malaria. The chapter begins with a discussion about the quantitative and qualitative benefits that a country could expect from eliminating malaria and then recommends a thorough feasibility assessment. The feasibility assessment is based on three major components: operational, technical, and financial feasibility. Cross-border and regional collaboration is a key subject in this chapter. Chapter 2, Getting to Zero, describes changes that programs must consider when moving from sustained control to an elimination goal. The key strategic issues that must be addressed are considered, including supply chains, surveillance systems, intersectoral collaboration, political will, and legislative framework. Cross-border collaboration is again a key component in Getting to Zero. Chapter 3, Holding the Line, provides recommendations on how to conduct an assessment of two key factors that will affect preventing the reemergence of malaria once transmission is interrupted: outbreak risk and importation risk. The chapter emphasizes the need for a strong surveillance system in order to prevent and, if necessary, respond to imported cases. Chapter 4, Financing Elimination, reviews the cost-effectiveness of elimination as compared with sustained control and then presents the costs of selected elimination programs as examples. It evaluates four innovative financing mechanisms that must support elimination, emphasizing the need for predictable and stable financing. Case studies from Swaziland and two provinces in China are provided. Chapter 5, Understanding Malaria, considers malaria from the point of view of elimination and provides a concise overview of the current burden of the disease, malaria transmission, and the available interventions that can be used in an elimination program. Chapter 6, Learning from History, extracts important lessons from the Global Malaria Eradication Program and analyzes some elimination efforts that were successful and some that were unsuccessful. The chapter also reviews how the malaria map has been shrinking since 1900. xiv A Prosp ectus on Mala ria Elimi natio n\ud Chapter 7, Measuring Malaria for Elimination, provides a precise language for discussing malaria and gives the elimination discussion a quantitative structure. The chapter also describes the role of epidemiological theory and mathematical modeling in defining and updating an elimination agenda for malaria. Chapter 8, Killing the Parasite, outlines the importance of case detection and management in an elimination setting. Options for diagnosis, the hidden challenge of Plasmodium vivax in an elimination setting, and the impact of immunity are all discussed. Chapter 9, Suppressing the Vector, explores vector control, a necessary element of any malaria program. It considers optimal methods available to interrupt transmission and discusses potential changes, such as insecticide resistance, that may affect elimination efforts. Chapter 10, Identifying the Gaps — What We Need to Know, reviews the gaps in our understanding of what is required for elimination. The chapter outlines a short-term research agenda with a focus on the operational needs that countries are facing today. The Prospectus reviews the operational, technical, and financial feasibility for those working on the front lines and considers whether, when, and how to eliminate malaria. A companion document, A Guide on Malaria Elimination for Policy Makers, is provided for those countries or agencies whose responsibility is primarily to make the policy decisions on whether to pursue or support a malaria elimination strategy. The Guide is available at www.malaria eliminationgroup.org

An Analysis of Aircraft Weapon Systems Cost Growth and Implementation of Acquisition Reform Initiatives Using a Hybrid Adjusted Cost Growth Model

This thesis examined cost growth in Department of Defense (DoD) aircraft weapon systems from 1991 to 2001 using Selected Acquisition Report (SAR) data with a hybrid adjusted cost growth (ACG) model. In addition, an analysis of acquisition reform initiatives during the treatment period was conducted to determine if reform efforts affected aircraft weapon system cost growth. A pre-reform (1 January 1991-31 December 1996) period and a post reform (1 January 1997-31 December 2001) period were subjectively developed to compare the mean annual ACG during each period for statistical differences. The hybrid ACG model outlined in this thesis may aid program managers and other interested parties in determining weapon systems cost growth, and the conclusion drawn from analyzing current acquisition initiatives may assist DoD leadership in assessing reform effectiveness on reducing cost growth. This research effort analyzed 78 SARs for 13 aircraft weapon systems that reported a Milestone II baseline during the treatment period. ACG calculations revealed that aircraft systems from 1 January 1991 to 31 December 2001 averaged a 40 percent cost growth annually. The acquisition reform analysis included 43 SARs from 11 programs during the pre-reform period and 35 SARs from 7 programs in the post-reform period. A small sample t-test was used to compare the annual means of the two periods. The t-test revealed that there was no significant difference between the annual average ACG for the pre-reform and post-reform periods. The 13 aircraft systems reviewed in this study are as follows: B-1B (Lancer), C130-J (Hercules), C-17 (Globemaster III), KC-135R (Stratotanker), AV-8B (Harrier) AV-8B (Harrier remanufacture), F-14D (Tomcat), F-16 (Fighting Falcon), F-22 (Raptor), FA-18 E/F (Super Hornet), FA-18 (Hornet), T-6A (JPATS), and the T-45-TS (Goshawk). The thesis methodology, results, and suggestions for future research are provided

Seasonal Thermal Expansion and Contraction Characteristics of a Precast Prestressed Concrete Composite Pavement on U.S. Highway 14 - Bypass

An important structural consideration of rigid pavements is providing for expansion and contraction in the pavement. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the thermal expansion and contraction characteristics of a precast prestressed concrete composite pavement on U. S. Highway 14-Bypass near Brookings, South Dakota. Expansion and contraction measurements, obtained once every three months, and the corresponding temperatures were used to reach the objective. Precast prestressed concrete panels arranged transversely and longitudinally to the roadway will be considered. Present research on the U. S. Highway 14-Bypass composite pavement is part of a five-year cost and performance study. The research project is a cooperative research study sponsored by the South Dakota Department of Highways and the U. S. Bureau of Public Roads

The Incentive Effects of No Fault Automobile Insurance

This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the effects of no fault automobile insurance on accident rates. As a mechanism for compensating the victims of automobile accidents, no fault has several important advantages over the tort system. However, by restricting access to tort, no fault may weaken incentives for careful driving, leading to higher accident rates. We conduct an empirical analysis of automobile accident fatality rates in all U.S. states over the period 1982-1994, controlling for the potential endogeneity of no fault laws. The results support the hypothesis that no fault is significantly associated with higher fatal accident rates than tort.

Study of printed spiral coils for neuroprosthetic transcranial telemetry applications

Journal ArticleWe have explored the use of printed spiral coils (PSC's) for neuroprosthetic transcranial telemetry applications. We fabricated two-dimensional PSC's on a thin (25 microns) polyimide substrate using copper (35 microns) as a conducting material. All the coils had a fixed inner diameter of 1.0 cm. We fabricated two sets of coils. One set of coils consisted of 2- to 5-turn circular and square spiral coils and had different trace widths (W), different spacings (S) between adjacent traces, and different outer diameters. The other set of coils consisted of 5-turn circular spiral coils and had fixed inner and outer diameters but different W to S ratios. We measured loss resistances (Rs and Rp) and quality factors (Q) of these coils at different resonating frequencies in the range of 5-40 MHz. Over this frequency range, we observed that for fixed inner and outer diameters, the coil with the largest W achieved the lowest Rs and the highest Rp and Q. These electrical properties and the fact that these coils can conform to the complex convoluted cortical surface suggest that a PSC [15] can provide a viable alternative to a conventional wire-wound coil for neuroprosthetic transcranial telemetry applications

The limits of global liberalisation: lessons from Asia and Latin America

We are in the midst of a series of economic crises that have altered the economic and socio-political fortunes of several heretofore rapidly developing states. At a second, more abstract though no less significant level, the East Asian economic crises and the global contagion that has emanated from them represent a set-back for the inexorable process of international economic liberalisation that has come to be known as ‘globalisation’. On the eve of the twenty-first century we are experiencing the first serious challenges to the hegemony of neoliberalism as the dominant form of economic organisation since the end of the Cold War. This resistance is not uniform, nor is it restricted to one site or group of actors. Moreover, in many instances, resistance is often to practice more than to principle. Events in Asia and Latin America represent less the final ideological triumph of liberalism in a post-Cold War era rather than a context for rethinking the significant aspects of the neoliberal project. The aim of this paper, embedded in a comparative discussion of the initial economic crises in East Asia with unfolding events in Latin America, is to make some judgements about the broader implications for the potential management of the global economic order at the end of the twentieth century