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Unique Database (unique + database)
Selected AbstractsAn experimental evaluation of ice cover effects on the dynamic behaviour of a concrete gravity damEARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS, Issue 12 2002Patrick Paultre Abstract An extensive forced-vibration testing programme has been carried out on an 84-m concrete gravity dam located in northeastern Québec, Canada. The dam was subjected to a harmonic load on the crest in summer and severe winter conditions with temperatures ranging from ,10°C to ,15°C and a 1.0,1.5m ice cover. Acceleration and hydrodynamic frequency responses were obtained in different locations on the dam and in the reservoir. The main objective of the repeated tests was to investigate the effects of the ice cover on the dynamic behaviour of the dam,reservoir,foundation system, by comparing summer and winter results. Modifications in damping and resonance frequencies were observed, as well as an additional resonance that was attributed to an interaction of the dam with the ice cover. These findings provided a reliable and unique database for the investigations of dam,reservoir,foundation interaction and, in particular, the ice-cover effects for dams located in northern regions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Entrepreneurial Geographies: Support Networks in Three High-Technology IndustriesECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2005Martin Kenney Abstract: Using a unique database derived from prospectuses for U.S. initial public stock offerings, we examine the location of four actors (the firm's lawyers, the venture capitalists on the board of directors, the other members of the board of directors, and the lead investment banker) of the entrepreneurial support network for startup firms in three high-technology industries: semiconductors, telecommunications equipment, and biotechnology. We demonstrate that the economic geography of the biotechnology support network differs significantly from the networks in semiconductors and telecommunications equipment. Biotechnology has a far-more-dispersed entrepreneurial support network structure than do the two electronics-related industries. The case of biotechnology indicates that if the source of seeds for new firms is highly dispersed, then an industry may not experience the path-dependent clustering suggested by geographers. We argue that contrary to common belief, biotechnology and its support network do not exhibit as great a clustering as do semiconductors and telecommunications equipment and their support networks. This argument leads to an epistemological issue, namely, the lack of interindustry comparative work. This is an odd omission, since nearly all authors agree that industries are based on particular knowledge bases, yet few consider that the knowledge and the sources of it may have an impact on spatial distributions. [source] Credit Risk Models , Do They Deliver Their Promises?ECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 2 2003A Quantitative Assessment We develop a framework to assess the statistical significance of expected default frequency calculated by credit risk models. This framework is then used to analyse the quality of two commercially available models that have become popular among practitioners: KMV Credit Monitor and RiskCalc from Moody's. Using a unique database of expected default probability from both vendors, we study both the consistency of the prediction and its timeliness. We introduce the concept of cumulative accuracy profile (CAP) that allows to see in one curve the percentage of defaulting companies captured by the models one year in advance. We also use the Miller's information test to see if the models add information to the S&P rating. The result of the analysis indicates that these models indeed add relevant information not accounted for by rating alone. Moreover, with respect to rating agencies, the models predict defaults more than ten months in advance on average. (J.E.L.: C52). [source] Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and European integrationECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 57 2009Nicolas Coeurdacier SUMMARY Cross-border M&A Cross-border mergers and acquisitions activities (M&As) sharply increased over the last two decades, partly as a result of financial liberalization policies, government policies and regional agreements. In this paper, we identify some of the main forces driving M&As, using a unique database on bilateral cross-border M&As at the sectoral level (in manufacturing and services) over the period 1985,2004. The key empirical findings are: (1) EMU helped the restructuring of capital within the same sector of manufacturing activity among euro area firms; (2) joining the EU favoured both horizontal and vertical mergers; (3) policy-makers can help attract capital by reducing the corporate tax rates and the degree of product market regulations and by improving the country's financial systems; (4) the service industry has not yet fully benefited from European integration because the level of protection and barriers to entry in the services sector act as a strong deterrent to cross-border M&As in services. , Nicolas Coeurdacier, Roberto A. De Santis and Antonin Aviat [source] The Anticipated Capitalisation Effect of a New Metro Line on Housing Prices,FISCAL STUDIES, Issue 2 2008Claudio A. Agostini H54; R21; R53 Abstract Housing units with closer access to public transportation enjoy a higher market value than those with similar characteristics but poorer access. This difference can be explained by the lower cost of transport to the main workplaces and shopping areas in town. For this reason, investments in public transport infrastructure, such as building a new metro line, are capitalised totally or partially into land and housing prices. This work empirically analyses the degree of capitalisation into housing prices of the benefits of the new Line 4 of the Santiago metro system, which began operating in December 2005. We focus on anticipated capitalisation into housing prices at the moment construction of Line 4 was announced and at the moment information on the basic engineering project was unveiled, identifying the location of the future stations. We use a unique database containing all home buying and selling transactions in the Greater Santiago area between December 2000 and March 2004. The results show that the average apartment price rose by between 4.2 per cent and 7.9 per cent after construction was announced and by between 3.1 per cent and 5.5 per cent after the location of the stations was identified. These increases were not distributed evenly, but depended on the distance from the apartment to the nearest station. An indirect effect of this kind of capitalization is that property tax collections will increase if property is reappraised following the price rise. This effect is not negligible in magnitude and could represent 11 to 17 per cent of investment in the new metro line. This raises and interesting discussion on how the metro network extension is financed. [source] OH concentration time histories in n -alkane oxidationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL KINETICS, Issue 12 2001D. F. Davidson OH radical concentration time histories were measured behind reflected shocks in the oxidation of four n -alkanes: propane, n -butane, n -heptane, and n -decane. Initial reflected shock conditions of these measurements were 1357,1784 K, 2.02,3.80 atm, with fuel concentrations of 300,2000 ppm, and equivalence ratios from 0.8 to 1.2. OH concentrations were measured using narrow-linewidth ring-dye laser absorption of the R1(5) line of the A,X (0,0) transition at 306.5 nm. These concentration time-history measurements were compared to the modeled predictions of eight large n -alkane oxidation mechanisms currently available in the literature and the kinetic implications of these measurements are discussed. These data, in conjunction with recent measurements of n -alkane ignition times and ethylene yields in n -alkane pyrolysis experiments, also performed in this laboratory, provide a unique database of species concentration time histories for n -alkane mechanism validation. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 33: 775,783, 2001 [source] Home Bias, Foreign Mutual Fund Holdings, and the Voluntary Adoption of International Accounting StandardsJOURNAL OF ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 1 2007VICENTIU M. COVRIG ABSTRACT We test the assertion that a consequence of voluntarily adopting International Accounting Standards (IAS) is the enhanced ability to attract foreign capital. Using a unique database that reports firm-level holdings of over 25,000 mutual funds from around the world, our multivariate tests find that average foreign mutual fund ownership is significantly higher among IAS adopters. We also find that IAS adopters in poorer information environments and with lower visibility have higher levels of foreign investment, consistent with firms using IAS adoption to provide more information and/or information in a more familiar form to foreign investors. Taken together, our findings are consistent with voluntary IAS adoption reducing home bias among foreign investors and thereby improving capital allocation efficiency. [source] Seasonality in Fund Performance: An Examination of the Portfolio Holdings and Trades of Investment ManagersJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 7-8 2006David R. Gallagher Abstract:, This study examines the extent to which seasonal variation arises across calendar months in the performance of active Australian equity managers. While it is well documented that there is seasonality in equity market returns, it is unknown whether calendar month variation in managed fund performance exists. Employing a unique database of monthly stock holdings, we find evidence consistent with systematic variation in the risk-adjusted performance of active investment managers over the calendar year. Specifically, we find fund performance is higher in the months when corporate earnings are announced. We also document that the performance of fund managers is lower in the months preceding the tax year-end. Finally, we report evidence that investment manager performance is greater than normal in December, possibly due to both window dressing and the Christmas holiday effect. These findings have important implications for investors attempting to exploit anomalies in fund returns by timing their entry and exit points from active equity funds. [source] Testing for Quasi-Market Forces in Secondary EducationOXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS & STATISTICS, Issue 3 2000Steve Bradley This paper investigates the effect of introducing quasi-market forces into secondary education on the allocation of pupils between schools and on the exam performance of pupils. A unique database is used which covers all publicly-funded secondary schools in England over the period 1992,98. We find several effects consistent with the operation of a quasi-market. Firstly, new admissions are found to be positively related to a school's own exam performance and negatively related to the exam performance of competing schools. Secondly, a school's growth in pupil numbers is positively related to its exam performance compared to its immediate competitors. Thirdly, there is strong evidence that schools experiencing an excess demand for places have responded by increasing their physical capacity. Fourthly, there is some evidence of an increase in the concentration of pupils from poor family backgrounds in those schools with the poorest exam performance of schools during 1992,98 can be attributed to the introduction of quasi-market forces. [source] Exchange traded contracts for difference: Design, pricing, and effects,THE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 12 2010Christine Brown Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are a significant financial innovation in the design of futures contracts. Over-the-counter trading in the UK is significant and has created controversy, but there is no published academic research into the design, pricing, and effects of CFDs. This study analyzes CFD contract design and pricing. It uses a unique database of trades and quotes on exchange traded equity CFDs introduced by the Australian Securities Exchange to test theoretical pricing relationships, and draws out implications for successful design and trading arrangements for the introduction of new derivative contracts. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark [source] The disposition effect and investment performance in the futures marketTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 6 2009Hyuk Choe This study examines whether the disposition effect (DE), i.e., the tendency of investors to ride losses and realize gains, exists in the Korean stock index futures market. Using a unique database, we find strong evidence for the DE and explain this in terms of investor characteristics. We also investigate the effect that the disposition bias has on investment performance. There are four main findings. First, individual investors are much more susceptible to the DE than institutional and foreign investors. Second, sophistication and trading experience tend to reduce the DE. Third, the DE is stronger in long positions than in short positions. Finally, there is a negative relationship between the DE and investment performance. This result is consistent with Odean (1998, Journal of Finance, 53, 1775,1798), but contrasts with Locke and Mann (2005, Journal of Financial Economics, 76, 401,444) who find no evidence of any contemporaneous measurable costs associated with the DE. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 29:496,522, 2009 [source] The global market for OTC derivatives: An analysis of dealer holdingsTHE JOURNAL OF FUTURES MARKETS, Issue 1 2005Ekaterina E. Emm We provide a descriptive examination of the trading activities of one of the most important intermediaries in global financial markets,the OTC derivatives dealer. These dealers play a central role in the provision of derivative products and in the intermediation of market risks faced by financial and nonfinancial firms alike. Utilizing a unique database, we analyze the derivatives holdings of 264 dealers spanning 34 countries over the period 1995,2001. We document the geographic composition of dealers on both country and regional levels as well as analyze trends in dealer holdings on an aggregate and individual product level. We further analyze the extent of global merger activity among dealers and resulting consolidation effects. Finally, we investigate at the individual dealer level the extent and evolution of their array of product offerings. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 25:39,77, 2005 [source] | ||||||||||