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A theoretic model based on the concepts of constrained arbitrage and capital mobility is proposed to interpret closed-end fund puzzles. Although a discount for a closed-end fund’s price relative to its net asset value (NAV) is more prevalent, our model never excludes the possibility of a premium, which depends on the relative magnitude of the key parameters for the closed-end fund and its component stocks. Since closed-end funds tend to be more owned by individual investors who are less likely to be active traders due to investor inertia, and investor enthusiasm is usually higher for stocks than for closed-end funds, the aggregated price of component stocks will be more likely higher than the price of the closed-end fund, thus leading to the discount. Our model further shows that a closed-end fund’s discount is negatively related to its expected dividends and the interest rate. The above results are reproduced by simulation.Keywords: Closed-End Fund Puzzles, Constrained Arbitrage, Capital Mobility, Investor Inertia, Investor SentimentJEL Classifications: G12, G14, G23, G40DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.11373

This paper investigates the house price cycle in 17 major cities in Poland, analysing separately prices of newly constructed housing and prices in the existing stock. We apply the Andre, Gupta and Mwamba (2019) framework and test the deepness and steepness of the cycles. Deepness concerns the relative magnitude of peaks and downturns, while steepness determines, how fast peaks or downturns are reached. When at least one of those measures is not symmetric, there is asymmetry in the cycle. We apply the triples test and the entropy test and find little evidence for asymmetry, mostly only in small cities. This seems to be intriguing, because usually there are asymmetries, for example slow price increases end in sudden drops. The explanation for the smooth cycle in the Polish housing market are a still not satisfied demand for housing and continuously growing wages. Banks issued mortgages only to the more affluent people, which were able to pay back the mortgage. Additionally, two housing subsidy schemes helped to keep house prices stable, when the situation in the global economy worsened, which might have led to price drops.

A typical way to investigate the relationship between spatial attention and the programming of an eye movement is with a dual-task. Here, participants simultaneously make an eye movement in 1 direction and discriminate a target at the same or a different location. Results of these tasks consistently find that performance is best at the goal of an upcoming eye movement. It is less clear, however, the extent to which spatial attention can shift independently of the programmed saccade. In this article, for the first time, we use an evidence accumulation model to examine this longstanding question. Specifically, across 2 studies, we quantify the relative contributions of spatial attention and saccade preparation in a perceptual dual-task. Our results establish that there is a unique and measurable effect of spatial attention away from the saccade goal, and, interestingly, that the relative magnitude of this effect varies by cue type. There is a larger influence of spatial attention when a peripheral rather than a central cue is employed. We suggest that these results support the claim that each form of orienting is mediated by a distinct underlying mechanism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The paper examines the economic effects of labeling food nanotechnology products using an analytical framework of heterogeneous consumers and imperfectly competitive suppliers. Labeling results in increased costs for nanofood producers (the cost effect of the labeling policy), reduced consumer uncertainty regarding the nature of the food product (certainty effect), and can affect consumer attitudes towards nanofoods by being perceived as a warning signal (stigma effect). In this context, nanofood labeling can change the perceived quality differences between nanofoods and their conventional and organic counterparts, with such changes being more salient when the stigma effect is large, when consumers have low awareness of food nanotechnology in the absence of labeling, and/or when competition among nanofood suppliers is more intense. Despite its empirical relevance, the impact of a labeling policy on consumer preferences (and the economic ramifications of such impact) has largely been ignored by the theoretical literature on the economics of labels. Our analysis shows that it matters. Specifically, our study shows that the market and welfare effects of labeling are case-specific and dependent on consumer awareness of, and attitudes towards food nanotechnology before and after the introduction of the policy as well as the relative magnitude of the cost, certainty and stigma effects of nanofood labeling. Our analytical findings also suggest that the effects of nanofood labels on consumer welfare are asymmetric with certain groups of consumers benefiting even when labeling has a stigma effect on nanofoods.

We investigate the endogenous emergence of residential and industrial areas when proximity to the centre benefits both households and firms. Households wish to locate near firms and near the centre due to costs of commuting and of visiting the centre that are proportional to distance. Firms wish to locate near households because this reduces the wage they need to pay to attract workers, and near the centre due to the iceberg cost of transporting their output to the centre. Depending on the relative magnitude of three cost parameters (commuting to work, visiting the centre, transporting output to the centre), different urban structures arise. If the cost of visiting the centre is large and the cost of commuting to work is small (relatively to the cost of transporting output), households locate in the centre and firms in the outskirts. The opposite occurs if both costs are very small. If the cost of visiting the centre is small and that of commuting to work is large, housing and industry become completely integrated. Complex urban structures emerge in intermediate cases.

A prior study identified factors that contribute to engineering design defects and assessed the relative magnitude of the impact of those factors. This paper provides 40 mitigation strategi...

Success in mathematics, both in school and out, is dependent on a strong start in early childhood. Indeed, a considerable body of research has demonstrated that children’s early numeracy competence has been found to be highly predictive of their future mathematical success in school (e.g., Mazzocco & Thompson, 2005; Romano, Babchishin, & Pagani, 2010). For example, kindergarteners’ counting skills, their knowledge of symbolic representations of number (e.g., reading and interpreting written numerals), and their judgments about the relative magnitude of quantities (e.g., knowing that 7 is larger than 5 but smaller than 10) are predictive of their achievement at the end of the first grade (Jordan, Kaplan, Locuniak, & Ramineni, 2007; Martin, Cirino, Sharp, & Barnes, 2014); other studies have shown that early numeracy skills predict achievement in the third grade (Jordan, Glutting, & Ramineni, 2010; Jordan, Kaplan, Ramineni, & Locuniak, 2009) and beyond (Duncan et al., 2007; Geary, Hoard, Nugent, & Bailey, 2013; Watts, Duncan, Siegler, & Davis-Kean, 2014).

In the study of Giffen behavior or “Giffenity”, there remains a paradox. On the one hand, the Wold-Juréen (1953) utility function has been touted as the progenitor of a multi-decade search for those two-good, particular utility functions, which exhibit Giffenity. On the other hand, there is no evidence that the Wold-Juréen (1953) utility function has ever been fully evaluated for Giffenity, with perhaps one minor exception, Weber (, 1997). But there, Weber showed that the Giffenity of Good 1 depends upon the relative magnitude of income vis-à-vis the price of Good 2. Weber’s precondition is so vague that it lacks broad appeal. This paper offers a new and a clear cut precondition for Giffen behavior under the Wold-Juréen (1953) utility function. That is, we show that if the price of Good 1 is greater than or equal to the price of Good 2, then Good 1 is a Giffen good.

We investigate the endogenous emergence of residential and industrial districts around a central shopping district (CSD). Households wish to locate near firms and near the CSD due to commuting costs proportional to distance. Firms wish to locate near households because this reduces the wage they need to pay to attract workers, and near the CSD due to the iceberg cost of transporting their output to the CSD. Depending on the relative magnitude of three cost parameters (commuting to work, commuting to shop, transporting output), different urban structures arise. If the cost of commuting to shop is large and the cost of commuting to work is small (relatively to the cost of transporting output), households locate in the centre and firms in the periphery. The opposite occurs if both costs are very small. If the cost of commuting to shop is small and that of commuting to work is large, housing and industry become integrated. Complex urban structures emerge in intermediate cases.

Code hardening is meant to fight malicious tampering with sensitive code executed on client hosts. Code splitting is a hardening technique that moves selected chunks of code from client to server. Although widely adopted, the effective benefits of code splitting are not fully understood and thoroughly assessed. The objective of this work is to compare non protected code vs. code splitting protected code, considering two levels of the chunk size parameter, in order to assess the effectiveness of the protection - in terms of both attack time and success rate - and to understand the attack strategy and process used to overcome the protection. We conducted an experiment with master students performing attack tasks on a small application hardened with different levels of protection. Students carried out their task working at the source code level. We observed a statistically significant effect of code splitting on the attack success rate that, on the average, was reduced from 89% with unprotected clear code to 52% with the most effective protection. The protection variant that moved some small-sized code chunks turned out to be more effective than the alternative moving fewer but larger chunks. Different strategies were identified yielding different success rates. Moreover we discovered that successful attacks exhibited different process w.r.t. failed ones. We found empirical evidence of the effect of code splitting, assessed the relative magnitude, and evaluated the influence of the chunk size parameter. Moreover we extracted the process used to overcome such obfuscation technique.

This study explored the impact of student loan and credit card debt on young people’s psychological distress. Targeting American young adults ages 18–28, we examined the impacts of student loan and credit card debt on psychological distress and estimated their relative magnitude using five biannual waves from the Transition into Adulthood Study. Fixed-effects models investigated whether changes in debts led to changes in psychological distress. Increases of $1000 in student loan and credit card debt resulted in 6% and 4% higher odds of distress, respectively. Comparison showed credit card debt inflicted twice as much stress. Implications on young adults’ debt reduction and distress alleviation are addressed.

This article uses the WRF-CMAQ model to systematically study the source apportionment of PM2.5 under typical meteorological conditions in the dry season (November 2010) in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). According to the geographical location and the relative magnitude of pollutant emission, Guangdong Province is divided into eight subdomains for source apportionment study. The Brute-Force Method (BFM) method was implemented to simulate the contribution from different regions to the PM2.5 pollution in the PRD. Results show that the industrial sources accounted for the largest proportion. For emission species, the total amount of NOx and VOC in Guangdong Province, and NH3 and VOC in Hunan Province are relatively larger. In Guangdong Province, the emission of SO2, NOx and VOC in the PRD are relatively larger, and the NH3 emissions are higher outside the PRD. In northerly-controlled episodes, model simulations demonstrate that local emissions are important for PM2.5 pollution in Guangzhou and Foshan. Meanwhile, emissions from Dongguan and Huizhou (DH), and out of Guangdong Province (SW) are important contributors for PM2.5 pollution in Guangzhou. For PM2.5 pollution in Foshan, emissions in Guangzhou and DH are the major contributors. In addition, high contribution ratio from DH only occurs in severe pollution periods. In southerly-controlled episode, contribution from the southern PRD increases. Local emissions and emissions from Shenzhen, DH, Zhuhai-Jiangmen-Zhongshan (ZJZ) are the major contributors. Regional contribution to the chemical compositions of PM2.5 indicates that the sources of chemical components are similar to those of PM2.5. In particular, SO42- is mainly sourced from emissions out of Guangdong Province, while the NO3- and NH4+ are more linked to agricultural emissions.

Regulatory focus theory suggests that hopes and aspirations (promotion focus) function like maximal goals, whereas duties and responsibilities (prevention focus) function like minimal goals (Brendl & Higgins, 1996). However, past research has not always reliably found such a link between regulatory focus and maximal/minimal goals or standards. In the present research, we hypothesised that this inconsistency can be explained, at least in part, by conceptual differences resulting in the use of different, specific wording. In four studies, we compared wording in terms of the relative magnitude of the goals to wording in terms of their absolute versus gradual perception. Results showed that regulatory focus (manipulated or measured) consistently relates to maximal versus minimal standards framed as goals of different magnitudes, but not to the goals framed according to an absolute/gradual perception. Implication of the results for regulatory focus research is discussed.

The pluriactivity of rural families is a subject of research already quite discussed in the international and national literature.However, some authors still raise questions about the reliability of the use of the data from the Continuous Survey ofHouseholds (in Brazil they are called National Household Sample Survey - PNAD). This article, focused on methodology,aims to verify the absolute and relative magnitude of families and pluriactivity in the Southern Region of Brazil by analyzingthe reprocessing of microdata from the 2010 Population Census(1) and microdata from the Continuous Household Surveyof 2011(2) to verify their validity. For this, the families were separated, first, according to their position in the occupation in:employers, self-employed workers, employed workers and families of the unoccupied. For each position in the occupation,the families were subdivided according to branches of activities in: agricultural, non-agricultural and pluriactive. The resultsshow that there are no significant differences between those obtained through the Population Census and those resultingfrom the Continuous Household Survey. Therefore, we concluded that both databases are valid for the continuity of thereview of rural-urban relations and for rediscussing the relevance of the bi-univocal relationship between rural and agriculturaland urban and non-agricultural. La pluriactividad de las familias rurales es un tema de investigación ya bastante discutido en la literatura internacional ynacional. Sin embargo, algunos autores todavía plantean cuestionamientos sobre la confiabilidad de la utilización de losdatos de las Encuestas Continuas de Hogares (en Brasil se denominan Pesquisas Nacionais por Amostra de Domicílios– PNADs). Este artículo, de carácter metodológico, tiene como objetivo verificar la magnitud absoluta y relativa de lasfamilias y de la pluriactividad en la Región Sur de Brasil mediante el análisis del reprocesamiento de los microdatos delCenso de Población de 2010(1) y los microdatos de la Encuesta Continua de Hogares de 2011(2) para verificar su validez.Para tal, se separaron las familias, en primer lugar, de acuerdo con su posición en la ocupación en: empleadores,trabajadores por cuenta propia, trabajadores empleados y familias de no ocupados. Para cada posición en la ocupación,se subdividieron las familias de acuerdo con ramas de actividades en: agrícolas, no agrícolas y pluriactivas. Los resultadosencontrados revelan que no hay diferencias significativas entre los que se obtienen mediante el Censo de Población y losque resultan de la Encuesta Continua de Hogares. Por lo tanto, se concluye que ambas bases de datos son válidas paraque se dé continuidad a la revisión de las relaciones rural-urbano y para que se rediscuta la pertinencia de la relaciónbiunívoca entre rural y agrícola y urbano y no agrícola.

The calculation and use of effect sizes—such as d for mean differences and r for correlations—has increased dramatically in second language (L2) research in the last decade. Interpretations of these effects, however, have been rare and, when present, have largely defaulted to Cohen's levels of small (d = .2, r = .1), medium (.5, .3), and large (.8, .5), which were never intended as prescriptions but rather as a general guide. As Cohen himself and many others have argued, effect sizes are best understood when interpreted within a particular discipline or domain. This article seeks to promote more informed and field-specific interpretations of d and r by presenting a description of L2 effects from 346 primary studies and 91 meta-analyses (N > 604,000). Results reveal that Cohen's benchmarks generally underestimate the effects obtained in L2 research. Based on our analysis, we propose a field-specific scale for interpreting effect sizes, and we outline eight key considerations for gauging relative magnitude and practical significance in primary and secondary studies, such as theoretical maturity in the domain, the degree of experimental manipulation, and the presence of publication bias.

In this article, the authors present a methodology to support sponsors of defined-contribution (DC) plans when evaluating the allocation to equity over a target-date fund’s glide path. When evaluating glide paths, sponsors must pay heed to two primary goals: The first is to generate lifetime income consistently over the course of retirement; the second is to limit the risk of capital loss near and during retirement, which is particularly important for participants who withdraw balances over short horizons. The challenge of glide path selection is striking a compromise between these competing goals. This compromise cannot be achieved via objective analysis alone and must also be informed by the subjective horizon and risk preferences of the sponsor acting as agent for the plan participants. The authors find that higher-equity glide paths offer greater efficacy for lifetime income replacement, while lower-equity glide paths offer greater efficacy for stable account balances with lower risk of capital losses. These conclusions hold over a wide range of plan characteristics and assumptions, although the relative magnitude of the trade-off depends on characteristics unique to each plan.

The relative proportion of various sources of funds used in a business is termed as financial structure. Capital structure is a part of the financial structure and refers to the proportion of the various long-term sources of financing. It is concerned with making the array of the sources of the funds in a proper manner, which is in relative magnitude and proportion. The secondary data of the companies for a period of 2011–12 to 2016–17 were taken from the annual report of the companies. The impact of various variables on profitability were measured with multiple regression technique and four variables of capital structure i.e. DER, PRopR, FAOE, SR were selected that has impact over the profitability in the Indian automobile companies.

We examine the influence of corporate governance mechanisms, namely blockholdings and board structure, on CEO pay-performance sensitivity in listed Australian firms. Results highlight blockholders' role in shaping observed pay-performance associations and their impact varying with their independence and relative magnitude of ownership. Monitoring blockholders increase the sensitivity of long-term at-risk pay to performance, better aligning manager and shareholder interests. However, consistent with a shorter investment horizon, insider blockholders increase (decrease) the responsiveness of cash bonuses (long-term at-risk pay). Finally, consistent with them affording less-effective monitoring, larger boards raise (lower) the sensitivity of known pay (long-term at-risk pay) to performance. © 2013 International Review of Finance Ltd. 2013.

Winner and loser effects, in which the outcome of an aggressive encounter influences the tendency to escalate future conflicts, have been documented in many taxa, but we have limited understanding of why they have evolved. One possibility is that individuals use previous victories and defeats to assess their fighting ability relative to others. We explored this idea by modelling a population of strong and weak individuals that do not know their own strength, but keep track of how many fights they have won. Under these conditions, adaptive behaviour generates clear winner and loser effects: individuals who win fights should escalate subsequent conflicts, whereas those who lose should retreat from aggressive opponents. But these effects depend strongly on age and experience. Young, naive individuals should show highly aggressive behaviour and pronounced loser effects. For these inexperienced individuals, fighting is especially profitable because it yields valuable information about their strength. Aggression should then decline as an individual ages and gains experience, with those who lose fights becoming more submissive. Older individuals, who have a better idea of their own strength, should be more strongly influenced by victories than losses. In conclusion, we predict that both aggressiveness and the relative magnitude of winner and loser effects should change with age, owing to changes in how individuals perceive their own strength.

A life cycle framework is developed to examine how the value of time (VOT) changes as one ages. We consider two risk-sharing schemes, the Tonti scheme under which wealth is actuarially insured, and the Robinson Crusoe scheme under which insurance institution is entirely absent. For the first time in the literature, we characterize the condition, in terms of key parameters for valuating VOT, under which VOT may increase, decline, or even display more complicated profiles, as one ages. Our analysis reveals the crucial role played by the relative magnitude of the market interest rate to other parameters (including the parameter of time preference, the age-specific mortality and the wage growth rate) in determining the age profile of VOT, and the difference in VOT that is caused by the insurance scheme.

This paper interrogates the claim made by many users of super-technologies in the field of theatre entertainment that these trappings redefine audience perception in entirely new ways. What this explosion fails to address is the relationship between technology and the spectating body and how interactivity poses questions that address the specificities of the spectator in the twenty-first century. In relative magnitude, The Bus Project described here, was low tech. Nonetheless, it illustrates the use of interactive technologies in integrating performance into our everyday lives, how new audiences may be reached and how preconceived notions of spectatorship and identity may be productively troubled through locational and site-specific practices. The Bus Project was a collaborative, media-based, public art installation undertaken by theatre and intermedia artists, computer scientists and graduate students at the University of Regina in June 2004. The central focus of the project was to open up the idea of multiculturalism and the anxieties that have grown up around the multiple coding of this term by investigating issues of immigration in the local communities (Regina and Saskatoon). As the project moved from planning to implementation, the nature of interdisciplinarity, community collaboration and assessment became central to the investigation. Resume Bien des utilisateurs de super technologies au theâtre declarent que ces « ornements » font en sorte que les spectateurs percoivent les choses tout a fait autrement. Or, l’explosion de ces moyens ne dit rien du rapport qu’entretient le public avec eux et n’interroge pas l’effet de l’interactif sur la specificite du spectateur au XXIe siecle. En termes d’importance, The Bus Project , le spectacle qui sert d’exemple ici, employait des moyens relativement rudimentaires. Et pourtant, il montre comment l’on peut user de technologies interactives pour integrer la performance a la vie quotidienne, atteindre de nouveaux spectateurs et remettre en question de facon productive nos idees preconcues sur le spectateur et l’identite au moyen de pratiques localisees. The Bus Project est une installation media a laquelle ont participe des artistes de theâtre et des artistes multimedia, des informaticiens et des etudiants de deuxieme cycle a l’Universite de Regina en juin 2004. Le projet avait pour principal objectif de presenter l’idee du multiculturalisme et les anxietes qui entourent la codification complexe du terme en examinant les enjeux lies a l’immigration dans les villes de la region (Regina et Saskatoon). Au cours de sa realisation, l’enquete s’est centree peu a peu sur l’interdisciplinarite du projet et la participation des membres de la collectivite, devenus collaborateurs et evaluateurs.

Past research on interfirm relationships typically has relied on a single informant from one side of the relationship and has estimated the constructs of interest by summing the informant's answers to several measures posited as indicators of each construct. We demonstrate analytically that two systematic sources of measurement error, informant bias and measure specificity, have opposing effects in single-informant, sum-scale representations, and also provide empirical evidence of the relative magnitude of these confounds. Using an extremely rare dataset where there are multiple informant reports from each side of the relationships studied, significant perceptual agreement between partner firms is found for firm-specific and relational properties. The results provide empirical evidence on the magnitude and direction of informant biases and measurement specificity. We conclude with implications of the findings for substantive research on interorganizational relationships.

This paper examines hourly wage payments for women who live in the rural districts of England, both in terms of variability within such districts and in terms of comparisons with non-rural districts. Drawing on the Labour Force Survey’s Local Annual Database, the paper argues that, once education, industry and occupation are taken into account, there is little to distinguish wage rates in rural and urban districts. Regionally there are important differences in wage rates, but these apply to rural as well as urban districts and are largely confined to contrasts between South East England and elsewhere. Rural–urban contrasts in wage levels are apparent in pay differences for men and women, although even here distinctions along a rural–urban divide are restricted to managerial workers, with the key distinction for professionals and technicians being between South East England and the rest of the country. For other occupations there is little to distinguish the relative magnitude of difference in men’s and women’s pay along rural–urban or regional lines. It is suggested that more attention to gender relations in wage determination practices within the workplace and within professions are worth exploring to develop a stronger understanding of division lines in wage inequalities.

Using experimental economics, we compare the efficiency and welfare effects of tournaments and fixed performance contracts. Our subjects (agents) were generally better off under fixed performance contracts, but the advantage of the fixed performance contract disappears if the relative magnitude of the standard deviation of the common shock exceeds a critical value. Efficiency wise, agents tend to exert higher effort under fixed performance contracts, on average. Additionally, an increase in the common shock standard deviation appeared to be associated with lower effort under tournaments. Our results shed light on the potential impact of legislative proposals to ban tournament contracts. Copyright 2005, Oxford University Press.

This paper examines the determinants of city growth in China. Evidence is provided that economic reforms played an important role in accelerating urban growth. The relative magnitude of the state sector has a negative impact on city growth and the city's openness to foreign direct investment has a positive impact on city growth. The results also lend support to the impact of other factors on urban growth, such as geography, industrial structure and human capital accumulation.

A series of studies has now confirmed the Filer and Hanousek’s [Economic Systems 24 (2000) 285] suggestion that inflation mismeasurement during the transition is a serious problem of the same relative magnitude (and greater absolute magnitude), as in advanced market economies. During the 1990s in the Czech Republic, inflation was overstated by more than four percentage points a year. The largest portion of this bias is due to uncaptured quality changes. In effect, Czech consumers are living considerably better after the fall of communism, but this increase in living standards is manifested through better quality, rather than greater quantities of goods consumed.

Congleton (1984) shows that a rent awardedby a committee results in smaller aggregaterent-seeking expenditures than a similarrent awarded by a single administrator.This note modifies Congleton's model byconsidering a model in which voting isprobabilistic instead of deterministic. Ishow that the relative magnitudes ofrent-seeking expenditures could go eitherway depending on the relative weightedsensitivities (to rent-seeking efforts) ofthe committee and the single administrator.I show how the distribution of votingpowers of committee members affectsrent-seeking efforts. I also examine thecase where there is some probability thatthe rent may not be awarded, if thecommittee is unable to reach a majoritydecision. My results diverge from Congleton(1984) because of the absence ofmajoritarian cycles in my model.

In France, awareness about practice variations has been growing in recent years due to the harsh economic context and changes in regional governance. This chapter provides information on variations in the use of eight specific hospital procedures and activities across departments for 2005 and 2011. It then provides an overview of the major policy instruments used in France for tackling variations in medical practice. The results confirm systematic variations between departments in the hospitalisation rates that are difficult to justify simply by the differences in local populations. The relative magnitude of the variations observed by procedure is coherent with the literature: it is highest in revascularisation and knee procedures and lowest for surgery after hip fracture. Cross-departmental variations for most procedures decreased between 2005 and 2011. Further work is called for to develop a better understanding of the causes and consequences of these variations in different types of care and to determine the margins for improvement in terms of equity, quality and efficiency.

In the energy-rich provinces of Western Canada, inequality rose over the past two decades while poverty declined, begging the question of whether the recent energy boom was a contributing factor. This study uses local labor market variation in energy extraction intensity to identify these distributional impacts. The growth in local outcomes attributable to the boom is found to be U-shaped and significant across all distributional segments, leading to somewhat increased local inequality aggregates and reduced local poverty. This pattern is preserved but varies across sectors, driving a large local inequality increase in energy extraction, with smaller rises and reductions in other industries.

We estimate the effect of household wealth on the demand for life insurance using survey data from a broad cross-section of the USA. This procedure allows us to test the Pratt-Arrow hypothesis of decreasing absolute risk aversion (DARA). Additionally, we estimate the relative magnitude of prudence, the propensity to take precautions when faced with risk. We find that life insurance purchases increase with wealth, and that on average American households exhibit about 94 per cent as much prudence as risk aversion. On the basis of this evidence, we reject the DARA hypothesis.

This study provides a comprehensive investigation of statistical discrepancies in generally accepted international trade figures published by the IMF between 1948 and 1994. We calculated export over- and underestimation for each country and all of their bilateral trading partners. By keeping totals for over- and underestimation in separate categories we avoided the cancellation effect of aggregating positive and negative discrepancies among partner countries. In general, the results show a significant improvement in the quality of trade data over time. However for many countries, relatively large discrepancies still exist that defy technical explanations, such as the CIF-FOB margins. Also, because export over- and underestimation coexist for most of the countries at varying degrees, use of the aggregate sum of the discrepancy might disguise the actual magnitude of the problem. A significant difference exists in the relative magnitude and dispersion of trade discrepancies between OECD countries and non-OEC...

When implementing a price reduction, retailers tend to favor one practice over the other. Yet how different implementations of a price promotion influence consumers' perceptions and purchase intentions has been insufficiently studied. In this study, we framed a price reduction in percentage versus dollar terms on either a high-price or a low-price product. For the high-price product, our subjects indicated that a price reduction framed in dollar terms seemed more significant than the same price reduction framed in percentage terms, and the opposite was true for the low-price product. We also offered the same savings in either coupon or discount promotions and found that coupon promotions were evaluated more favorably and were more effective in changing subjects' purchase intentions. These results provide implications for when retailers should stress the absolute versus the relative magnitude of discounts to advertise price promotions.

Visual preference is determined by what we see. This study shows the associative strength between visual preference and selected components of outdoor type scenes. Viewers were asked to assess the relative magnitude of what they saw when looking at 35 mm color slides depicting outdoor scenes. Correlation analysis was used to develop the association between the degree of viewer preference and the degree to which each scenic component was perceived. Analyses were also done for viewer groups by gender, age, ethnicity, community type, terrain type, education level, and professional expertise. Factor analysis revealed that twelve of the original eighteen components could be reduced to four, indicating that they are likely to be synonyms and may be measuring the same thing. The memories variable was consistently associated with viewing preference throughout all scenes and viewer types. Color brightness and color variety were also consistently correlated with viewing preference.

The relative susceptibility of individuals and groups to systematic judgmental biases is considered. An overview of the relevant empirical literature reveals no clear or general pattern. However, a theoretical analysis employing J. H. Davis's (1973) social decision scheme (SDS) model reveals that the relative magnitude of individual and group bias depends upon several factors, including group size, initial individual judgment, the magnitude of bias among individuals, the type of bias, and most of all, the group-judgment process. It is concluded that there can be no simple answer to the question, "Which are more biased, individuals or groups?," but the SDS model offers a framework for specifying some of the conditions under which individuals are both more and less biased than groups.

This article uses a vector autoregression (VAR) approach to identify the causes of the 1990-92 recession in the UK. The VAR approach is shown to be particularly pertinent for quantifying the relative magnitude of the different demand shocks, and in decomposing them into monetary and expectational factors. The main finding is that the recent recession was precipitated primarily by shocks to consumption, and that the prior monetary tightening and the subsequent collapse in the housing market explain just part of this contraction. Non-monetary shocks also appear to have played an important role in bringing about the recession. The VAR model also offers interesting insights on the nature of the recovery that is currently under way.

This paper briefly analyzes the state of vehicular pollution and control measures in Hong Kong. Vehicular emissions contribute largely to Hong Kong's air pollution and will become more important as the vehicle fleet expands. Hong Kong is unique in that a large fraction of its vehicles use diesel engines. The analysis here explicitly accounts for the composition of emissions and quantifies the relative magnitude of emissions by each of the five main sources: private cars, taxis, light buses, heavy buses, and lorries. The paper analyzes alternative pollution control policies with respect to effectiveness and efficiency.

The challenge hypothesis posits that acute increases in testosterone (T) during male–male competition enhance performance and survivability while limiting the physiological costs of consistently high T. Human challenge hypothesis research focuses on young men in industrial populations, who have higher baseline T levels than men in subsistence populations. We tested whether the Tsimane, pathogenically stressed forager-horticulturalists of the Bolivian Amazon, would express acute T increases in response to physical competition. Saliva was collected from 88 Tsimane men (aged 16–59 years) before and after a competitive soccer match. Tsimane men had significantly lower baseline levels of T ( β = −0.41, p < 0.001) when compared with age-matched United States (US) males. Linear mixed-effects models were used to establish that T increased significantly immediately following competition ( β = 0.23, p < 0.001), remaining high 1 h later ( β = 0.09, p = 0.007); equivalent to 30.1 and 15.5 per cent increases in T, respectively. We did not find larger increases in T among winners ( p = 0.412), although T increases were positively associated with self-rated performance ( β = 9.07, p = 0.004). These results suggest that despite lower levels of T than US males, Tsimane males exhibit acute increases in T at the same relative magnitude reported by studies in industrialized settings, with larger increases in T for those who report better individual performance.

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of adult aging upon the legibility of simulated symbol highway signs. Each experiment employed a different set of lighting conditions: (1) daytime luminance, (2) nighttime luminance, and (3) nighttime luminance with glare. Young (ages 18-25) and middle-aged (ages 40-55) observers demonstrated small reductions in legibility when luminance was reduced from daytime to nighttime levels. However, older (ages 65-79) observers demonstrated marked losses in legibility distance with reductions in sign luminance. The introduction of a glare source (equivalent to approaching automobile headlights at 30 m) reduced sign legibility distance for the older observers but had no deleterious effects upon their young and middle-aged counterparts. The relative magnitude of the observed age, luminance and glare effects appeared to be equivalent across all signs examined.

Variations in regional institutional factors lead to differences among regional production structures. This implies that manufacturers' response to input price changes will vary from region to region. This paper quantifies these responses by estimating Marshallian input demand functions using a non-homothetic indirect production function. The model allows us to incorporate both the substitution effect and output effect of an input price change. Previous studies quantify the comparative-static effect of a change in input prices on regional input demand by estimating output-constant demand functions which indicate only the substitution effect. Our estimated model is used to simulate the effect of a change in the interest rate and the unionization rate on the relative magnitude of regional input utilization. The study concludes that a given change in an input price will have a greater impact on southern manufacturers than on the northern manufacturers. We also find that the output effect in the North accounts for a larger fraction of the total effect of an input price change. The simulations show that capital formation in the South is more sensitive to changes in the interest rate.

A substantial body of empirical accounting, finance, management, and marketing research utilizes single equation models with discrete dependent variables. Generally, the interpretation of the coefficients of the exogenous variables is limited to the sign and relative magnitude. This paper presents three methods of interpreting the coefficients in these models. The first method interprets the coefficients as marginal probabilities and the second method interprets the coefficients as elasticities of probability. The third method utilizes sensitivity analysis and examines the effect of hypothetical changes in exogenous variables on the probability of choice. This paper applies these methods to a published research study.

This paper examines the relative magnitude of financial versus real frictions by looking at how firms react to quasi-exogenous cash shortfalls to pension assets. To answer the question theoretically, we examine a dynamic model of financing and exogenous cash shortfalls. We find that when financing costs are high, firms adjust on real margins and vice versa. We find that firms optimally avoid costly cash shortfalls, only experiencing these events after serious negative shocks to profits. We also find that commonly used regression tests for the presence of finance constraints can produce false positives. In contrast, regression discontinuity techniques can provide an accurate method for uncovering the existence and magnitudes of finance constraints.

Loss aversion is an economic assumption about utility—people value giving up a good more than they value getting it. It also has hedonic meaning—the pain of a loss is greater in magnitude than the pleasure of a comparable gain. But value and pleasure are not necessarily identical. We test the hedonic interpretation of loss aversion in experimental markets. With hedonic forecasts, sellers imagine the pain of losing their endowment, and buyers imagine the pleasure of being endowed. With hedonic experiences, sellers rate the pleasure of having the endowment, and buyers rate the pain of being without it. Contrary to loss aversion, predicted pleasure is greater in magnitude than predicted pain, and experienced pleasure surpasses experienced pain. We show that the relative magnitude of pleasure and pain depends on beliefs about the likelihood of outcomes, as well as utilities. Surprise makes gains more pleasurable and losses more painful. With surprising gains and expected losses, pleasure can surpass pain. But when gains and losses are equally likely (or losses are surprising and gains are expected), the opposite pattern can occur. Finally, within-group and between-group prices are significantly correlated with hedonic experiences. Sellers who feel better with their endowments assign higher selling prices, and buyers who feel worse about the absence of endowment assign higher buying prices. Despite the fact that hedonic experiences deviate from loss aversion, these emotions predict the endowment effect. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A computational methodology is presented for the problem of mixed convection melting of a pure metal from an isothermal vertical sliding wall. The influence of the flow, driven by combined inertia and buoyancy forces, on the melting process is studied. Results for 0.01 ⩽ Gr/Re2 ⩽ 100 show the effect of the relative magnitude and orientation of inertia and buoyancy forces on the heat transfer rates and the shape and the advance of the solid-liquid interface. In spite of the fact that the highest melting rates are obtained when the inertia forces are parallel to buoyancy forces and the ratio Gr/Re2 is small, buoyancy forces play a key role for Gr/Re2 ⩾ 0.2 in the melting process.

Sixty-three subjects (31 dextrals and 32 sinistrals) were given two visual half-field laterality tasks (recognition of words and faces). Subjects were classified as having typical or atypical hemispheric specialization on the basis of the relative magnitude of their asymmetry scores on the two laterality tasks. Those subjects whose word asymmetry scores were larger than their face asymmetry scores (asymmetry scores computed as RVF-LVF for both tasks) were classified into Group Typical and those subjects whose word asymmetry scores were smaller than their face asymmetry scores were classified into Group Atypical. For both dextrals and sinistrals, the proportion of subjects classified into Groups Typical and Atypical was consistent with estimates of the incidence of typical and atypical hemispheric asymmetry patterns based on sodium amytal testing. These results support the hypothesis that the relative magnitude of asymmetry scores on left and right hemisphere specialized tasks index individual differences in patterns of hemispheric specialization.

An unusual [Mn(IV)Gd(III)(2)(mu(3)-O(2-))](8+) triangular complex has been prepared from the initial use of 2,6-diacetylpyridine dioxime (dapdoH(2)) in 3d/4f cluster chemistry. The complex has an S = (13)/(2) ground state, with exchange parameters J = +0.49 cm(-1) and J' = -0.12 cm(-1) [H = -2J(S(i) x S(j)) convention] for the Gd(III)...Mn(IV) and Gd(III)...Gd(III) interactions, respectively. The origin of this ground state has been rationalized by consideration of the spin frustration occurring within the complex as a function of the relative magnitude of the competing interactions.

This paper examines the relative magnitude of financial versus real frictions by looking at how firms react to cash shortfalls. We use a regression discontinuity design in which the discontinuity is the point of violation of underfunding of corporate defined benefit pension plans. We reexamine the puzzling evidence in Rauh (2006) that mandatory pension contributions cause investment declines, finding that these results are likely due to the endogeneity that this study is trying to avoid. We also compare firm-year observations in which the firm's pension assets are just barely less than its pension liabilities to observations in which assets are just greater than liabilities. In this quasi-experimental setting, we find little evidence that firms cut back on investment. Instead, they mostly use a variety of financial tools, such as receivables factoring and payout cuts, to fund their pension liabilities.

We study star formation in a sample of 1204 galaxies in minor (| \Delta m_z | \geq 2) pairs and compact groups, drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 (SDSS DR5). We analyze an analogous sample of 2409 galaxies in major (| \Delta m_z | < 2$) pairs and compact groups to ensure that our selection reproduces previous results, and we use a ``field'' sample of 65,570 galaxies for comparison. Our major and minor pairs samples include only galaxies in spectroscopically confirmed pairs, where the recessional velocity separation $\Delta V < 500$ km/s and the projected spatial separation $\Delta D < 50$ kpc/h. The relative magnitude (a proxy for the mass ratio) of the pair is an important parameter in the effectiveness of the tidally triggered star formation in minor interactions. As expected, the secondary galaxies in minor pairs show evidence for tidally triggered star formation, whereas the primary galaxies in the minor pairs do not. The galaxy color is also an important parameter in the effectiveness of triggered star formation in the major galaxy pairs. In the major pairs sample, there is a correlation between the specific H$\alpha$ star formation rate (SSFR) and $\Delta D$ in the blue primary and blue secondary galaxies; for the red primary and red secondary galaxies, there is none. Galaxies in pairs have a higher mean SSFR at every absolute magnitude compared to matched sets of field galaxies, and the relative increase in mean SSFR becomes larger with decreasing intrinsic luminosity. We also detect a significantly increased AGN fraction in the pair galaxies compared to matched sets of field galaxies., Comment: 29 pages, 31 figures, submitted to AJ

Key Take-Away Points: 1. Both GMAC and FMC receive rate and residual value support from their parents (GM and Ford, respectively), which significantly increases the interconnectedness of their respective credit profiles. 2. Any decision made by GM and Ford to not continue these support programs at their current levels, or to change their nature, could have a negative impact on GMAC and FMC originations and penetration, and in turn on their profitability. This is especially acute for GM as it seeks to sell a controlling stake in GMAC. 3. The GM/GMAC program provides an upfront payment for rate support. In contrast, the Ford/FMC program provides installment payments. Moody's believes the GM/GMAC program benefits GMAC, as it results in GMAC having less credit exposure to its parent and enhances its liquidity position, in comparison to FMC. 4. FMC discloses the dollar amount of the rate support it receives from Ford, but GMAC does not disclose the dollar amount of rate support it receives from GM (GMAC does disclose the dollar amount of its other subvention programs). This difference makes GMAC's disclosures significantly less useful than FMC's and results in the appearance of the FMC program being significantly greater than the GMAC program. However, Moody's believes the programs are most likely similar in terms of their relative magnitude. 5. Moody's believes there is some confusion among investors regarding the nature of these programs and hope this Comment serves as a succinct primer on the subject.

When judging the relative magnitude of the left and right sides of a stimulus, normal participants overestimate the leftward features (pseudoneglect). Although pseudoneglect and clinical neglect operate in opposite directions, the two phenomena may have a common cognitive and neural basis. For neglect, two strategies may be employed when inspecting horizontally aligned stimuli: (1) A global strategy where the stimuli are treated as a gestalt and asymmetries are detected or, (2) a comparison strategy where the qualities on the left and right sides of the stimuli are explicitly compared. To investigate the effect of these strategies on pseudoneglect, normal dextrals (n = 25 and 17) made two-alternative, forced-choice luminance discriminations between two mirror-reversed luminance gradients (greyscales). In an unseparated form, the stimuli are amenable to a global strategy. A comparison strategy was imposed by separating the stimuli into halves (Experiment 1) or quarters (Experiment 2). Despite the fact that the stimuli were equiluminant, participants predominantly chose the stimulus that was dark on the left as being darker overall in the unseparated condition. Response times were also faster for leftward responses. When the stimuli were separated into halves or quarters, the leftward bias was reduced, but not eliminated. The results demonstrate that both strategies contribute to pseudoneglect--though the global strategy may produce stronger pseudoneglect.

This paper compares two market structures, namely auction and dealership markets defined respectively as centralized order-driven and fragmented quote-driven markets. Our approach departs from previous works comparing these market mechanisms by considering both the timing of order submission (quote versus order-driven) and trading concentration (centralized versus fragmented) as dimensions differentiating these trading structures. We compare markets using measures of market viability, informational efficiency, price variance, informed trading aggressiveness and market liquidity. We find that this approach changes dramatically the results of previous works comparing these trading structures. Indeed, we prove that auction markets are less sensitive to asymmetric information problem and they exhibit higher level or informational efficiency than dealership markets. Moreovre, we find that the relative magnitude of price variance, informed trading aggressiveness and market depth in both structures depend on the market thickness.