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This paper evaluates an editorial and seven invaluable and interesting review papers for the Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM). The topics covered include the rising complexity of bank regulatory capital requirements from global guidelines to their United States (US) implementation, connections among big data, computational science, economics, finance, marketing, management and psychology, factors, outcome, and the solutions of supply chain finance, with a review and future directions, time-varying price-volume relationship, adaptive market efficiency, and a survey of the empirical literature, improved covariance matrix estimation for portfolio risk measurement, stock investment and excess returns, with a critical review in the light of the efficient market hypothesis, and a cross section analysis of country equity returns, and a review of the empirical literature.

The U.S. housing finance market has not yet recovered from the housing price bubble that peaked in late 2006. Even though prices have fallen significantly, there are still problems in clearing the market. For the last few years, a group of financial economists and practitioners who are part of the Financial Management Association's Practitioner Demand Driven Academic Research Initiative (PDDARI) have been studying the collapse of the housing market and have concluded that many market participants still have insufficient (and in some cases the wrong) incentives to take actions that would help restore the market's health. In January 2012, Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, released a white paper that reviewed current housing market conditions and created a framework for policy analysis designed to help reestablish the health of the U.S. housing market as part of the broader effort to foster economic recovery. Using this framework as its starting point, the PDDARI group has come up with a set of proposals whose centerpiece is an “incentive-compatible” mortgage that encourages homeowners to rebuild their home equity as an essential step to a housing recovery. By incorporating “price appreciation rights” that would provide stronger inducements for lenders or mortgage owners to make loan modifications (particularly, forgiveness of principal), the PDDARI mortgage structure could allow more homeowners to remain in their homes and avoid foreclosures and the large associated deadweight costs (as much as 40% of a home's assessed value). Additionally, the government-sponsored enterprises, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are also in need of radical reform, and a transition toward greater private market participation would promote the long-term health of the mortgage market.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to reveal how the prices, costs, and logistics develop in the case mill and how these variables correlate with profits, and finally to give suggestions for improvements.Design/methodology/approachA typical Finnish paper mill is selected for the basis of the case study. The complete data for the mill for the years 2001 to 2007 at a monthly level are used. The data are obtained from the mill's financial management system and transferred to Excel. Statistica 4.1 software is used to run the statistical correlation analyses. The results can be generalized with certain limitations to paper manufacturing located at a long distance from its customers.FindingsThis paper gives an important insight into the economics of the Finnish paper industry. From theory‐building point of view, the empirical process data show that the variation in production lines is minimal, but there are important variations in paper deliveries. A lot can be gained in the logistics processes. Larger volumes delivered in tons also tend to increase profits. From the mill to the consignees, fluctuations in the process and paper sales grow substantially, which indicates longer storage times.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the case study are based on the data of a single large integrated paper mill in Finland covering the years 2001‐2007, so the results cannot be directly generalized to concern all Nordic paper mills. In May 2005, there was an industrial blackout, which considerably affected the production and deliveries of all Finnish paper mills in that year.Practical implicationsThe competitive advantages of the Finnish paper industry are undermined by low paper prices and costly logistics. The mill managers should increasingly focus on overcapacity and cost issues and also deliver volumes, which all could contribute to higher profits.Originality/valueIn this paper, the Finnish paper industry is studied through a time series, economic geography, and statistical tools. This approach is a novel method and gives new insights into this research object. The mill's economic variables, such as paper prices, profits, and logistics and manufacturing costs, and the characteristics of these issues in a spatial context are studied.

The Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM) was inaugurated in 2008 and has continued publishing successfully with Volume 11 in 2018. Since the journal was established, JRFM has published in excess of 110 topical and interesting theoretical and empirical papers in financial economics, financial econometrics, banking, finance, mathematical finance, statistical finance, accounting, decision sciences, information management, tourism economics and finance, international rankings of journals in financial economics, and bibliometric rankings of journals in cognate disciplines. Papers published in the journal range from novel technical and theoretical papers to innovative empirical contributions. The journal wishes to encourage critical review papers on topical subjects in any of the topics mentioned above in financial economics and in cognate disciplines.

An empirical analysis is made, based on the capital allocation efficiency model of Jeffrey Wurgler, on the quantitative relationship between physical capital growth and profit growth of Chinese papermaking and paper products industry. The results show that the physical capital allocation of China papermaking and paper products industry is inefficient. Therefore the main factors which constrain physical capital allocation efficiency of China papermaking and paper products industry are further analyzed from the viewpoint of capital management and financial channel. Finally, at the aspects of business model, capital utilization and regional layout, the systematic countermeasures are suggested to optimize physical capital allocation efficiency of Chinese papermaking and paper products industry.

Current problems in population and family policy center around social security provisions for the aged in view of a declining birth rate. The financial burden for children and aged are not 2 aspects of the same problem but should be viewed as 2 separate problems. In the so-called "generation contract" the aged are supported by the current crop of wage-earners who in turn will be supported by the next generation. This puts the current wage earners at a disadvantage since they also must produce the next generation. With today's system there will be a maldistribution; the system favors childless couples and discriminates against childbearing women who spend less time in the labor market, hence have fewer pension contributions. The solution of future problems must be sought with today's parents. This solution should maintain self-responsibility of the insured through the "generation contract," whereby the pension contribution should be tied to the net income, future pensions should be taxed. Contributions from wage earners should be proportionate; i.e., tied to the number of children per family, whereby childless couples contribute a larger percentage than those with 2 or more children. This system would have an automatic stabilizing action. Some kind of compensation, in the form of a pension during child rearing years, could be provided to mothers. The correct amount of child support is also a problem. It should not be tied to income; all families should receive equal child support but income should be taxed in normal fashion. Rather than direct support the state should consider goal-directed aid to children. Besides state aid for education and child health care such aid should consider vocational education to prepare children for their later societal responsibilities. Protection against child abuse and child-oriented traffic regulations make more sense than global increase in child support to families. Compulsary school attendance, improved standards for preschool teachers and financing of work exemption for mothers with young children are all more productive measures than monetary aid.