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Unique Data Set (unique + data_set)
Selected AbstractsCreative Class and Regional Growth: Empirical Evidence from Seven European CountriesECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 4 2009Ron A. Boschma abstract This article analyzes the regional distribution and economic effect of the "creative class" on the basis of a unique data set that covers more than 500 regions in 7 European countries. The creative class is unevenly geographically distributed across Europe; the analyses show that a regional climate of tolerance and openness has a strong and positive effect on a region's share of these people. Regional job opportunities also have a large effect on the size of a region's population of the creative class. The findings reveal some evidence of a positive relationship among creative class occupation, employment growth, and entrepreneurship at the regional level in a number of European countries. On the basis of the analysis, however, it is not clear whether human capital, measured by creative occupation, outperforms indicators that are based on formal education, or if formal education has the stronger effect. [source] Employee choice of flexible spending account participation and health planHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 7 2008Barton H. Hamilton Abstract Despite the fact that flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are becoming an increasingly popular employer-provided health benefit, there has been very little empirical study of FSA use among employees at the individual level. This study contributes to the literature on FSAs using a unique data set that provides three years of employee-level-matched benefits data. Motivated by the theoretical model of FSA choice presented in Cardon and Showalter (J. Health Econ. 2001; 20(6):935,954), we examine the determinants of FSA participation and contribution levels using cross-sectional and random-effect two-part models. FSA participation and health plan choice are also modeled jointly in each year using conditional logit models. We find that, even after controlling for a number of other demographic characteristics, non-whites are less likely to participate in the FSA program, have lower contributions conditional on participation, and have a lower probability of switching to new lower cost share, higher premium plans when they were introduced. We also find evidence that choosing health plans with more expected out-of-pocket expenses is correlated with participation in the FSA program. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Role of Job Attributes in Understanding the Public-Private Wage DifferentialINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2002Keith A. Bender This study uses a unique data set for Great Britain to investigate the impact of differences in job attributes on the public-private wage differential. The study reveals that (1) there are substantial differences in wage structure between the two sectors, particularly finding that the public-sector wage structure is less sensitive to differences in the attributes of jobs, and (2) differences in job attributes play in a major role in accounting for pay differences across sectors. [source] Political Economy of Immigration in Germany: Attitudes and Citizenship Aspirations,INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 2 2009Martin Kahanec This paper examines resident foreigners' interest in German citizenship. We use a unique data set from a survey of foreign residents in the German states to study the roles played by factors such as attitudes towards foreigners and political interest of foreigners. We find that negative attitudes towards foreigners and generational conflict within foreigner families are significant negative factors. While interest in political participation is among the important positive factors, hostile attitudes, lack of voting rights, or uncertainty about staying in Germany mainly discourage foreigners who actively participate in the labor market, have more years of schooling, and are younger. [source] Ownership Concentration in Privatized Firms: The Role of Disclosure Standards, Auditor Choice, and Auditing InfrastructureJOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 5 2006OMRANE GUEDHAMI ABSTRACT We rely on a unique data set to estimate the impact of disclosure standards and auditor-related characteristics on ownership concentration in 190 privatized firms from 31 countries. Accounting transparency can help alleviate the agency conflict between minority investors and controlling shareholders, which is evident in the extent of ownership concentration, since the expropriation of corporate resources hinges on these private benefits remaining hidden. After controlling for other country-level and firm-level determinants, we find weak (no) evidence that extensive disclosure standards (auditor choice) reduce ownership concentration. In contrast, we report strong, robust evidence that ownership concentration is lower in countries with securities laws that specify a lower burden of proof in civil and criminal litigation against auditors, consistent with Ball's [2001] predictions. Collectively, our research implies that minority investors worldwide value legal institutions that discipline auditors in the event of financial reporting failure over both the presence of a Big 5 auditor and better disclosure standards. Re-estimating our regressions on a broad sample of western European public firms provides similar evidence on all of our predictions. [source] The implications of improved communications for participatory forest management in TanzaniaAFRICAN JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, Issue 2009Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson Abstract Following the 1998 National Forest Policy and Forest Act of 2002, participatory forest management (PFM) is being introduced in Tanzania. PFM has two key objectives: to reduce forest degradation thereby increasing ecosystem services, and to improve the livelihoods of local villagers. A unique data set collected in 2006 suggests that significant challenges remain with respect to communicating the new forest policies if the objectives of PFM are to be achieved. First, villagers as a group are much less well informed than other stakeholders, and their knowledge is often inaccurate. Second, women are less likely than men to have heard of the changes. Third, how PFM will contribute to poverty reduction (a key objective of PFM) is not always clear. Fourth, environmental degradation may not be reduced as much as anticipated , without alternatives sources, villagers often continue to cut trees for charcoal and firewood in the protected forests. Finally, several mismatches in perceptions are identified that could lead to difficulties in implementing PFM. [source] The Buyer's Option in Multi-Unit Ascending Auctions: The Case of Wine Auctions at DrouotJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 4 2005Philippe Février This paper studies multi-unit ascending (English) auctions with a buyer's option. The buyer's option gives the winner of an auction the right to purchase any number of units at the winning price. We develop a theoretical model and derive the optimal strategies for the bidders. The model predicts various behavioral implications (e.g., the winner never exercises the option, the price declines,) that are tested using a unique data set on wine auctions held at the Paris-based auction house Drouot. We also analyze why the buyer's option is used. Estimating the model in a structural econometric way, and using counterfactual comparisons, we find that the buyer's option does not affect the seller's revenue (relative to a system where the units are auctioned sequentially without the option). Drouot, however, saves a lot of time with the option and this effect represents a considerable amount of money. The time-saving effect seems thus to be the primary purpose of the buyer's option. [source] The impact of cross-sectional data aggregation on the measurement of vertical price transmission: An experiment with German food pricesAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2006Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel The impact of cross-sectional aggregation over individual retail stores on the estimation and testing of vertical price transmission between the wholesale and retail levels is investigated using a unique data set of individual retail prices in Germany. Systematic differences between the results of estimations using aggregated data on the one hand, and disaggregated data on the other, are discussed theoretically and confirmed empirically. The results suggest that estimation with aggregated data can generate misleading conclusions about price transmission behavior at the level of the individual units (i.e., retail stores) that underlie these aggregates. [JEL classifications: C22, L11, D40] © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 22: 505,522, 2006. [source] Can work alter welfare recipients' beliefs?JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005Peter Gottschalk A common argument in support of work-based welfare reform is that exposure to work will lead welfare recipients to revise their beliefs about how they will be treated in the labor market. This paper explores the analytical and empirical basis for this argument. The difficulty in testing the assumption that work leads to a change in beliefs is that there is an inherent simultaneity between work and beliefs. Welfare recipients who work may have different beliefs because they learn about the world of work once they enter the labor market. Alternatively, welfare recipients who have a more positive view of work are the ones who are more likely to work. We use a unique data set that helps solve this simultaneity problem. We find that exogenous increases in work induced by an experimental tax credit led to the predicted change in beliefs among younger workers. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management [source] Credit Risk Assessment and Relationship Lending: An Empirical Analysis of German Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,JOURNAL OF SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2007Patrick Behr We estimate a logit scoring model for the prediction of the probability of default by German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) using a unique data set on SME loans in Germany. Our scoring model helps SMEs to gain knowledge about their default risk, which can be used to approximate their risk adequate cost of debt. This knowledge is likely to lead to a detection of hold-up problems that German SMEs might be confronted with in their bank relationships. Furthermore, it allows them to monitor their bank's pricing behavior and it reduces information asymmetries between lenders and borrowers. Finally, it can influence their future financing decisions toward capital market-based financing. [source] The Impact of Technological and Organizational Changes on Labor Flows.LABOUR, Issue 2 2007Evidence on French Establishments We conduct an empirical analysis in which we make extensive use of a unique data set on a representative sample of French establishments. Working with various indicators of labor flows (gross labor flows, hiring rate, firing rate, net labor flows, and churning flows), we find that the use of new technology seems to have a positive effect on aggregate job turnover and, more specifically, turnover among manual workers. In contrast, innovative workplace organizational practices are related to lower turnover among clerical workers and intermediate professionals and have a positive effect on churning among managers. [source] Do Tax-Deferred Exchanges Impact Purchase Price?REAL ESTATE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2001Evidence from the Phoenix Apartment Market Many authors have commented on the compliance risk associated with tax-deferred exchanges. However, no published studies explicitly address whether the risks associated with the exchange process impact the price at which exchanged assets trade. Using a unique data set that documents transactions for nondirect exchanges, this study examines the price impact of tax-deferred exchanges on apartment transactions in the Phoenix, Arizona, market. Consistent with the price pressure hypothesis originally developed by Scholes (1972) and Kraus and Stoll (1972) and the tax capitalization hypothesis proposed by Oates (1969), the data show that exchange participants pay an economically significant premium to acquire replacement assets. A conventional hedonic price index is generated to investigate the rational bounds of the exchange premium. [source] Nutritional chemistry of foods eaten by gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, UgandaAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 7 2006Jessica M. Rothman Abstract Foods eaten by gorillas (Gorilla beringei) in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda, were analyzed for their nutrient content. The goal of the study was to assess the amounts of fiber, protein, and sugars in the foods eaten by the Bwindi gorillas, and to determine whether condensed tannins and cyanide are present in these foods. A total of 127 food plant parts representing 84 plant species eaten by two groups of Bwindi gorillas were collected, processed, and analyzed for their chemical contents. The Bwindi gorilla ate foods that contain 2,28% crude protein (CP), 21,88% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), 14,60% acid detergent fiber (ADF), 2,42% acid detergent lignin (ADL), and ,1,50% water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) on a dry matter (DM) basis. Moisture in these foods ranged from 7% to 96%. Approximately 35% of the foods analyzed contained condensed tannins, and two foods contained cyanogenic glycosides. This is the first detailed report regarding the nutritional chemistry of gorilla foods in Bwindi, many of which are also eaten by other primates. This unique data set adds to our knowledge about the nutritional composition of foods eaten by gorillas across habitats, is useful for understanding aspects of feeding behavior, and provides valuable comparative data for optimizing the diets of gorillas ex situ. Am. J. Primatol. 68:1,17, 2006. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] TRADER EXPLOITATION OF ORDER FLOW INFORMATION DURING THE LTCM CRISISTHE JOURNAL OF FINANCIAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2009Fang Cai Abstract By using a unique data set of audit trail transactions, I examine the trading behavior of market makers in the Treasury-bond futures market during the Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) crisis in 1998. I find strong evidence that during the crisis market makers in the aggregate engaged in anticipatory trading against customer orders from a particular clearing firm (coded PI7) that closely match various features of LTCM's trades through Bear Stearns. I also show that a significant percentage of market makers made abnormal profits during the crisis. Their aggregate abnormal profits, however, were more than offset by abnormal losses following the recapitalization of LTCM. [source] Slippage in futures markets: Evidence from the Sydney Futures ExchangeTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 12 2005Alex Frino This article examines the market-impact cost of trades executed in futures markets, which is commonly referred to as slippage. With the use of a unique data set provided by the Sydney Futures Exchange, this article documents that slippage costs incurred in executing packages of trades in stock-index and interest-rate futures markets are significantly smaller than market-impact costs documented previously for equity markets. Furthermore, in contrast to research based on equity markets, there is little evidence that trade packages executed in futures markets convey information, or that purchases and sales behave differently. In fact, the evidence presented in this article implies that slippage in futures markets is entirely a liquidity cost, and symmetrical for purchases and sales. This is consistent with previous work, which conjectures that there is an absence of private information in stock-index and interest-rate futures markets. Finally, analogously to previous research, there is some evidence that trade size and the identity of traders are determinants of slippage; however, these variables explain less than 10% of the total variation in slippage. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 25:1129,1146, 2005 [source] Which Tangible and Intangible Assets Matter for Innovation Speed in Start-Ups?,THE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007Ans Heirman The launch of the first product is an important event for start-ups, because it takes the new venture closer to growth, profitability, and financial independence. The new product development (NPD) literature mainly focuses its attention on NPD processes in large firms. In this article insights on the antecedents on innovation speed in large firms are combined with resource-based theory and insights from the entrepreneurship literature to develop hypotheses concerning the antecedents of innovation speed in start-ups. In particular, tangible assets such as starting capital and the stage of product development at founding and intangible assets such as team tenure, experience of founders, and collaborations with third parties are considered as important antecedents for innovation speed in start-ups. A unique data set on research-based start-ups (RBSUs) was collected, and event-history analyses were used to test the hypotheses. The rich qualitative data on the individual companies are used to explain the statistical findings. This article shows that RBSUs differ significantly in their starting conditions. The impact of starting conditions on innovation speed differs between software and other companies. Although intuition suggests that start-ups that are further in the product development cycle at founding launch their first product faster, our data indicate that software firms starting with a beta version experience slower product launch. The amount of initial financing has no significant effect on innovation speed. Next, it is shown that team tenure and experience of founders leads to faster product launch. Contrary to expectations, alliances with other firms do not significantly affect innovation speed, and collaborations with universities are associated with longer development times. [source] THE PURCHASING POWER PARITY PERSISTENCE PUZZLE: EVIDENCE FROM BLACK MARKET REAL EXCHANGE RATES,THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL, Issue 4 2008MARIO CERRATO In this paper we analyse the purchasing power parity (PPP) persistence puzzle using a unique data set of black market real exchange rates for 36 emerging market economies and (exact and approximate) median unbiased univariate and panel estimation methods. We construct bootstrap confidence intervals for the half-lives, as well as exact quantiles of the median function for different significance levels using Monte Carlo simulation. Even after accounting for a number of econometric issues, the PPP persistence puzzle is still a striking characteristic of the majority of emerging market countries. However, in a minority of exchange rates, the PPP puzzle is removed. [source] Long membrane helices and short loops predicted less accuratelyPROTEIN SCIENCE, Issue 12 2002Chien Peter Chen 3D, three-dimensional; DSSP, program assigning secondary structure (Kabsch and Sander 1983); HMM, hidden Markov model; PDB, Protein Data Bank of experimentally determined 3D structures of proteins (Bernstein et al. 1977; Berman et al. 2000); SWISS-PROT, database of protein sequences (Bairoch and Apweiler 2000); TM, transmembrane; TMH, transmembrane helix Abstract Low-resolution experiments suggest that most membrane helices span over 17,25 residues and that most loops between two helices are longer than 15 residues. Both constraints have been used explicitly in the development of prediction methods. Here, we compared the largest possible sequence,unique data sets from high- and low-resolution experiments. For the high-resolution data, we found that only half of the helices fall into the expected length interval and that half of the loops were shorter than 10 residues. We compared the accuracy of detecting short loops and long helices for 28 advanced and simple prediction methods: All methods predicted short loops less accurately than longer ones. In particular, loops shorter than 7 residues appeared to be very difficult to detect by current methods. Similarly, all methods tended to be more accurate for longer than for shorter helices. However, helices with more than 32 residues were predicted less accurately than all other helices. Our findings may suggest particular strategies for improving predictions of membrane helices. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||