Advances in Cross-Section Data Methods in Applied Economic Research

Numerous expert studies have been conducted looking into the factors affecting the financial performance of businesses. Similarly, the issues of corporate governance and its individual determinants have been addressed in detail. The contribution of our paper is to link the aforementioned issues and their application specifically to companies providing insurance services whose products have a trust-based characteristic. Therefore, the control and management of insurance companies and their administration of entrusted resources are under strict control and are regulated by the Solvency II Directive in European Union law. The Czech and Slovak insurance markets have a common history. Currently, both markets are part of the European Union’s single insurance market. This research compares these two markets in terms of this sector development, financial performance and selected determinants of corporate governance in insurance companies. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of corporate governance on the financial performance of insurance companies. Using correlation and multiple regression analysis, we modelled the impact of selected financial and non-financial determinants of corporate governance on the aggregate performance indicator ROA.

Positive contributions of females to economic growth cannot be denied and they can contribute more effectively to economic development if they get a better education. Thus, it is essential to explore the different ways of enhancing female education and reducing the gender gap. Such actions can be even more crucial in low-income countries where the need for higher economic growth is more pressing. The important point for these countries is that the scope and quality of education are highly dependent on foreign aid on education. This paper empirically investigates the link between schooling of female students and the volatility of foreign aid on education to better understand the impact of aid on female education and the ways of improving it. The results show that the share of female students increases with declining volatility of foreign aid in low-income countries. Another interesting finding is that the volatility of education aid also affects total students, but this effect is relatively weak when compared to female students only. The dataset covers the years 2002–2016 and 27 low-income countries from Africa and Asia.

This study deals with the quality of feta cheese as perceived by 534 individuals 18–35 years of age. Additionally, differences were explored based on the area of residence (urban, semi-urban, and rural area) and gender. Data analysis included basic descriptive statistics, factor analysis, independent samples Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA test and Mann–Whitney U test. Results revealed that the strongest quality indicators for consumers are taste, odor, color, and texture of feta cheese. Factor analysis provided with four quality dimensions treated as new variables used in hypothesis testing, namely quality assurance, core product characteristics, price and packaging, and marketing communication. The Mann–Whitney U test revealed that for all quality dimensions gender differences exist. As to the independent samples Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA test, it indicated differences regarding consumers’ area of residence and perceptions of quality, as regards the dimensions of quality assurance and marketing communication of feta cheese.

In this paper, weLevendis, Alexis consider two well-known interpolation schemes for the construction of the JSE Shareholder Weighted Top 40 implied volatility surface. We extend the Breeden and Litzenberger formula to the derivative pricing frameworkVenter, Pierre developed by Piterbarg post the 2007 financial crisis. Our results show that the statistical moments of the constructed risk-neutral densities are highly dependent on the choice of interpolation scheme. We show how the risk-neutral density surface can be used to price options and briefly describe how the statistical moments can be used to inform trading strategies.

The purpose of thisLabuschagne, Coenraad C.A. study is to make use of time-varying volatility models to estimate expected shortfall (ES) for the CARBS indices and a globalOberholzer, Niel minimum variance portfolio (GMVP) constructed using the CARBS indices. The GARCH, GJR-GARCH and EGARCH models are considered. Furthermore, six different distributional assumptions are made regarding the error distribution. The evidence suggests that skewness and kurtosis are important factors to consider when modelling financial returns. Furthermore, it is also important to take leverage into account; asymmetric GARCH modelsVenter, Pierre J. produce the most reliable estimate for four out of six of the variables considered in this study. This is consistent with other findings in the literature.

In this study, an effect of the social benefits on monetary and multidimensional poverty in Poland is examined. The effect is evaluated by means of comparisons between actual and simulated poverty indices. The latter ones are based on incomes diminished by sums of the benefits. One of the main problems in research utilizing incomes derived from household surveys is the data quality, especially in extreme ranges of distributions. To cope this problems, the declared incomes are supplemented by imputed ones, estimated using the so-called hierarchical correlation reconstruction (HCR). This method allows estimation of the entire conditional income distribution on household welfare correlates. The poverty indices using both types of incomes differ substantially, especially for poverty depth, and those using imputed incomes seem to be more reliable. Supplementary, a strong demotivation effect of the benefits is obtained.

The objective of this research is to investigate the impact of R&D cooperation between firms on industry cartel formation. We consider process R&D investments aimed at reduction of the unit costs of manufacturing. These investments create positive externalities for the competitors. We assume that the competition between rival firms in the industry takes place according to the Stackelberg (quantity) leadership model. For simplicity, we focus on the duopoly symmetric case. Numerical analysis shows that closer cooperation between rivals at the R&D stage strengthens the incentives to create a cartel in the final product market, thus serious public policy concerns occur.

The financial crisis has significantly affected the Greek economy for a decade, and, consequently, it has had a great impact on Greek households. The impacts of the crisis, ten years later, seemed to have shaped the Greek family environment, which has been directly affected by wider changes. To investigate the impact of the 10-year financial crisis and recession on Greek households, and the changes they have taken place in family lives, a survey was carried out, on subjects living in various Greek areas. The research is conclusive—descriptive and attempts to identify real facts in the daily lives and quality of life of Greek households. The survey demonstrated that, after the ten-year crisis, household incomes are not satisfactory for family members. Thus, a number of households, in view of price increase and purchasing power decline, have been forced to cut back on entertainment and travel spending. A great number of Greek people, particularly young, on account of financial problems and high unemployment rates, combined with the shrinking number of new job opportunities, have been forced to emigrate. In terms of the impact of crisis on psychological state, it is very disappointing that most people have been seriously affected, and, thus, are pessimist about prospects of future improvements. Remarkably, the research demonstrated a close relationship and correlation (dependent variables) between wage/pension cuts and spending cuts in various aspects of everyday life, and also highlighted people’s inability to meet their obligations or basic needs.

Cooperation between competing firms called coopetition has increasing relevance to business practice. However, firms and their managers who want to enjoy the benefits of coopetition are also aware of the risks that it entails. The key questions need to be answered: under which circumstances firms are willing to coopete and to keep the arrangement, what factors are decisive, and when benefits are most significant. In the paper, we are looking for answers to these questions on the basis of coopetitive real options games. We consider the case of two firms that can establish a coopetition arrangement to implement an investment project (each firm possesses a shared investment option). In the paper, we point out conditions under which coopetition between companies is easy, tough or impossible. The key factors are the project risk and the size of market shares. In particular, it is worth noting that for high-risk projects, the area of tough coopetition is larger than for low-risk projects. A large disproportion in market shares makes coopetition rather impossible.

The purpose of this work is to examine the association between corporate governance and the financial decision-making process in the areas of tax planning and tax optimization. Specifically, the paper aims at analyzing the impact of moving the Slovak companies’ registered office to a tax haven on their future financial position. We have performed statistical testing of selected bankruptcy indicators in Slovak companies. We have compared Altman Z´ score and Index IN05 between Slovak companies with ownership links to selected tax havens (2314) and Slovak companies with no ownership links to tax havens (157,480). For a deeper analysis we have divided tax havens into three categories, onshore, midshore and offshore jurisdictions and performed statistical testing between companies in each of these categories and companies with no ownership links to a tax haven. We have obtained the financial data of all Slovak companies from financial statements provided by Finstat and we have matched this data with the Bisnode database, which lists Slovak companies in tax havens. The results of our analysis showed statistically significant differences in the Altman Z-score as well as in the Index IN05 among the surveyed groups of enterprises. Specifically, businesses with no links to tax havens achieve an average of 55.3% better than the median values of the Altman Z-score and 32.8% higher than the median values of the Index IN05, which means that businesses with no links are on average in the so-called gray zone, whereas companies with tax haven links are on average in a zone where bankruptcy is more likely.

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the impact of legislative changes in the area of sickness insurance on temporary incapacity for work in the Czech Republic. Temporary incapacity for work is presented by their indicators (number of new cases of TIW per 100 insured persons, average duration of one case of TIW and average percentage of TIW). Using regression analysis, the development of individual indicators in the following years based on knowledge of the development of indicators in the years 2000–2017 is estimated. The research results are captured using trend line which displays the possible development in the Czech Republic in the following years. Regression equation presents an approximation of the entered values where the coefficients are determined by the method of least squares, so that the sum of squared deviations of the original values from obtained model would be minimum. The R2 index expresses the degree of reliability of the calculated estimate of the development. There was a rapid decline in the number of cases of incapacity for work, which stopped in 2013, when the values of this indicator slowly pick up an increasing trend. The average percentage of temporary incapacity for work was similar in the same course. On the other hand, the average duration of one case of TIW gradually increased from 28 days to 42.6 days.

Brands are a contemporary phenomenon, and their significance goes far beyond the mere effort of a manufacturer to distinguish himself from a competing product or service. Over the last decades, brands have become a symbol of quality and value they represent. Among other things, they managed to gain considerable control over the consumer behaviour of many people. That is why companies realize that it is important to create a brand equity and continue to build the created value in today’s competition. Different aspects are involved in the measurement of brand value and its financial valuation. In this paper, we focused only on the composed valuation methods, where the total brand value consists of gross financial value and the quantification of soft marketing factors as well. The aim of this contribution is to answer the research question if there are some website metrics, which affect the brand value determined in this way. For answering this issue, hypotheses expressing the existence of a statistical dependence of basic website metrics on the brand value have been identified. Based on statistical testing of established hypotheses, we have confirmed the existence of website metric with greater impact on brand value.

We analyze the multistage modelWisnicki, Bartlomiej of a duopoly in which firms decide on the level of product differentiation, R&D investment and production. The decision of differentiation is strongly related to the cost-reducing technology spillover. We find that there is a positive relationship between the level of substitution and R&D investment, which transfers into higher production and lower market price. The critical aspect of the paper is the welfare analysis of the cartelization in the market. We show that cooperation in R&D investment coordinates high investment with closer substitution, and it increases both firms profits and consumer welfare. Moreover, from the consumers’ perspective, the total monopolization of the market is more efficient scenario than a fully competitive one. Hence, the gains from coordinated joint research far outlast the possible loss from monopolization of the market.

Currently, there are many luxury brands on the market. Many brands have found that luxury contributes to their competitiveness, and most consumers have a positive attitude towards luxury brands. Along with the growing interest in luxury brands, luxury company managers strive to increase brand value in accordance with the key characteristics of exclusivity and uniqueness, which are a prerequisite for luxury. The aim of this article is to define the theoretical basis of online communication and brand value from the viewpoint of domestic (Slovak) and foreign authors. This includes a regression and correlation analyses focused on investigating the dependence between the online popularity (represented by website traffic, social media audience and social media engagement) and brand value of luxury goods. The basic sources of research were secondary data obtained from worldwide surveys in the form of rankings published by Interbrand, annual reports of companies and published professional publications. General scientific methods were applied for the processing of the data, as well as mathematical–statistical methods to evaluate the data collated from the results of regression and correlation analyses and test the linear independence. The results of analyses show that the web traffic and brand value are linearly dependent; specifically, it is medium-strong direct linear dependence. Therefore, the web traffic has a direct effect on brand value of luxury goods. Conversely, the brand value of luxury brands is not primarily dependent on the level of social media audience and social media engagement.

Independent foundations are grant-makers whose aim is to engage citizens and communities and develop and improve their quality of life according to the vision of the founder. The founder can be an individual, a family, a patron whose legacy is matched with needs of a community and a territory… when alive and/or when dead. The founder can be an artist and the artist, as philanthropist, is a very recent topic and issue in the economics of American foundations and not-for-profit organizations (Aspen Institute, 2018). Though a small portion of all US foundations, these endowments are growing in number and grant-making and they represent a potential force shaping cultural philanthropy, old and contemporary art heritage, creative industries and education. With a strong advocacy for community betterment, they can be both operating and grant-making. The aim of this paper is to highlight the role of American artist-endowed foundations, trusts and associations in contemporary times, both of them supporting community development and, foremost, culture: from education to heritage, from visual arts to performing ones and above all, music education. The methodology includes the analysis of mission statements, Web sites and 990 Forms, and a cluster analysis of 2016s accounting data of a sample of the biggest USA artists-endowed foundations. Thanks to cluster analysis, economic performances, fundraising and fund-giving are highlighted together with a ‘concentration ratio’ for their being involved either in the education of specific arts (music, visual, performing, etc.) or in arts next to community welfare and other not-for-profit issues.

Tax simplification always has been on the agenda of policymakers to increase the efficiency of tax systems. Less complex taxes can contribute to higher tax revenues with minimum negative distortions to economies. Therefore, the link between tax simplification and tax efficiency is even more relevant now for policymakers in the era of high government budget deficits. The aim of this paper is to explain the empirical study of this important link in a panel setting, which is considerably limited in the literature. The findings of the paper place numerical values on the impact of tax simplification on the effectiveness of tax collection systems. Tax efficiency is measured by tax efforts which are introduced through two alternative measures: a traditional regression approach and a stochastic frontier analysis. Tax simplification is measured by Time to Comply and Number of Payments from the “Doing Business Database”. The paper investigates both direct and indirect links between tax simplification and efforts. The indirect link, introducing a kind of transmission mechanism, works through changing values of tax corruption associated with adjustments in tax complexity. The tax corruption indicator is generated from the Enterprise Surveys Database. The panel dataset includes 104 developed and developing countries and covers the years from 2002 to 2016.

This study analyzes the effect of public investment on monetary poverty in the department of Puno, Peru, during the period 2004–2015. According to the results obtained from the econometric estimations, it has been shown that public investment has positive effects in the reduction of monetary poverty; since on average for every 100 million soles executed in the previous period in investment projects public in the department of Puno, the poverty indicator will be reduced by 4.45%; evidence has also been found that public social investment has contributed the most to reducing poverty. On the other hand, it was found that public investment projects in sanitation, transportation, agriculture and energy were those that have contributed the most in reducing poverty.

We conduct a VAR model to analyze the effectiveness of transmission of monetary policy aftermath the implementation of the new policy rate in Indonesia. We include variables that proxy five channels of the monetary policy transmission, i.e., the inflation, the exchange rate, the asset price, and the credit channel. The result of the study shows that the change of the monetary policy regime does make an impact through the transmission channels. Furthermore, the impulse of the intertemporal gap of policy rate would increase the government bond yield, expected inflation, and investment credit rate in the short term. On the opposite, it will depreciate the stock index and the domestic exchange rates. However, the response of the impulse will be diminished over the long-term period; except for investment credit rate, the impulse will persist for the long term.

Although national economies are more and more interdependent due to the accelerating globalization, contemporary managerial practice indicates the trend of localization and adaptation to intercultural specifics of markets. Thus, the incorporation of sociological theories into the traditional managerial patterns is going to be an imperative of optimal market performance. This statement is valid also for the practice of brand management. In accordance with previously mentioned, the aim of this paper is to identify specifics in brand value sources across markets on the case study of Slovak Republic creating so a platform for future research of relevant disparities in cross-cultural brand value sources. The data used in the presented study were obtained by our own survey carried out on the sample of 2000 respondents (Slovak citizens older than 15 years). The given data have been statistically evaluated by the factor analysis supported by implementation of KMO test, Barlett’s test of sphericity and calculation of Cronbach’s Alpha for brand value sources in general as well as for the example of brands characterized by habitual buying behaviour. It has been found that (1) there are four groups of brand value sources in general as well as in case of selected product category but (2) the ranking of these groups in scope of their perception as brand value sources is different. Therefore, we state that the issue of cross-cultural specifics in perceived brand value sources is relevant for effective brand management in times of finding ways to brand’s long life.

The purpose of this article is to measure the efficiency of regional innovation systems (RIS) of the European Union (EU-14) between 2000 and 2010 based on the Data Envelopment Analysis. To measure the efficiency, we used 29 input variables synthesized in 5 factors or composite indicators. The output is reflected by patents and scientific publications. The results obtained highlight that only a few European RIS are situated on or near the efficiency frontier and most regions present very low efficiency levels. We detected a broad dispersion in terms of efficiency, although the tendency over time is a reduction of the dispersion reflecting a process of convergence. Moreover, the results reveal that an important possible cause of the inefficiencies is a problem of scale rather than technical inefficiency.

In this study, the effectOberholzer, Niel and significance of new information on the volatility of different markets (developed vs. emerging) are considered. The effect of newVenter, Chalté information on volatility is tested in a GARCH framework. Data for four commodity-based equity markets is used for the analysis. The Akaike and Schwarz information criterion are used to the fitted univariate GARCH models, and the root-mean-square error and mean absolute error are used to compare the forecasting performance. Empirical results show that new information (trading volume) does improve forward-looking estimates of volatility. There is not a significant difference in terms of the effect of new information in volatility modelling when developed and emerging markets are considered.

The main goal of this paper is to analyze the relationship between competitive strategies and market performance for Polish small and medium-sized international new ventures (INVs). Three dimensions used for classification of strategies are: standardization–adaptation of products, differentiated versus nondifferentiated products and selling products to the whole market, to selected segments, or to a niche only. The applied research method is statistical analysis (SPSS) of data obtained from questionnaire distributed in 2018 (mixed mode: CATI + CAWI method) to respondents from representative sample of 297 Polish INVs. The relationship between variables related to strategies and market performance measures shows weak correlations in line with the hypotheses: positive correlations with increasing adaptation, positive correlations with increasing differentiation, positive correlations with broadening vision of the market. Cluster analysis made it possible to identify a disadvantageous mix of strategies: The strongest product standardization combined with the weakest product differentiation together with addressing commercial efforts to niche markets led to the lowest results on all market performance measures. A non-segmentation approach led to the best results in 3 out of 4 market performance measures.

This research explores the various factors that affect customers’ choice of fast food consumption in the era of economic crisis by conducting field research in the wider Thessaloniki area of Greece. The sample consisted of 236 participants, of which, 195 were fast food customers. Data was collected with a questionnaire and selected via the mall intercept personal interview technique. Respondents reported that easy and quick solution, saturation with tasty food at low cost, and variety of food are the most critical factors for their choice. Factor analysis decreased the 19 variables to three dimensions used for customer segmentation, producing three clusters, i.e., the out of necessity, the fast food lovers, and the rational customers.

Determining the financial stability of a business is a fundamental starting point for deciding on the evaluation of business strategies. A financially sound business is able to generate added value regularly during its business. Conversely, businesses in financial distress can negatively affect the country’s economic development. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the predictive ability of selected bankruptcy models in the period of structural changes between 2004 and 2016 in the Visegrad countries. Bankruptcy prediction models such as Altman’s bankruptcy model, Index IN05, and Taffler’s bankruptcy model were used to meet the objective of the paper. Furthermore, econometric-statistical methods. The predictive capability results show that the Altman’s model achieved the highest average abilities, which proved more than 70% of businesses to rank the company financially weak. On the other hand, the sensitivity analysis showed that the IN05 index was the most stable model. Taffler’s model has proved to be the least suitable for practical use on businesses in the Visegrad countries.

The stability of money demand is a crucial issue for the effectiveness of monetary policy in each country and is being threatened when important changes are taking place in its monetary policy. Applying ARDL technique and error correction model (ECM) developed by Pesaran et al. (2001), this paper aims to examine the factors that influence money demand in Italy for the period 1960–2017. The results of ARDL technique and ECM show that there is both a long-run and short-run relationship among variables used. Real income, long-run interest rate, and inflation comply with the expectations of monetary theory. Finally, the results of CUSUM and CUSUMSQ stability tests and unit circle confirm the long-run relationship among variables and also that the stability condition is satisfied when money demand for Italy is estimated with M1 variable for the examined period.

This article aims at studying and implementing the latest and most modern version of activity-based costing, known as time-driven activity-based costing (TD-ABC). Product and service costing is a process of major importance for enterprises to be able to form their pricing policy, but also to control the cost of the produced products or services provided, both partly and totally. Pricing types vary and are determined by different criteria for each case, taking into account the mode of operation and the strategy followed by each business. This costing method was applied to a service provider, in particular show cave organization, providing extremely useful conclusions to the show cave management regarding its operation, being a reliable tool for assessing both its existing and future operations plans.

The aim of the chapter is to evaluate elements of managerial decision making on the profitability of corporate performances in the Czech Republic. In order to achieve the aim, we investigate the relationship between profitability of corporate performance (measured through gross operating profit) and the elements that are the subject of managerial decision making in the production process and which can impact on the profitability of corporate performance. This is mainly the cash conversion cycle (including accounts receivables, accounts payables and inventory), financial assets and financial debt. The correlation analysis, the Granger causality test and the generalized method of moments (GMM) will be used in the assessment of the elements of managerial decision making on the profitability of corporate performances in the Czech Republic. The data sample will include data for the period 2007–2017. The analysis will include companies operating according to the CZ-NACE classification in the manufacturing industry in the Czech Republic. In this research, we used a sample of 3645 manufacturing companies. Using the correlation analysis, the Granger causality test and the GMM showed a statistically significant relationship between the elements of the managerial decision making (such as cash conversion cycle, financial assets, and financial debt) and the gross operating profit in manufacturing companies in the Czech Republic.

The phenomenon of corruption and the investigation of methods, institutions, and mechanisms for the control of public officials in carrying out their statutory duties and fight of cases of corruption in the relationship between state—citizen, through any socioeconomic and historical frame. It was and remains a key issue for analysis and discussion, especially in modern democratic societies. The aim of this research is initially through a short bibliographical review to present the definition of corruption, especially corruption in the public sector, the types of corruption, the causes which create this phenomenon and of course the consequences on society and the economy and also to analyze the main mechanisms for combating this phenomenon. On the issue of corruption, an empirical research was carried out. The survey was based on questionnaires in order to record the opinions and estimates of participants on issues such as the degree of corruption perception. After the statistical analysis and the findings presentation, some conclusions show that despite the legislation and measures that have been implemented, Greece is still at the top of the world rankings and is among the most corrupt countries. Also, the existing control mechanisms are not effective and there is a lack of ethics and rules mainly in public administration.

The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and different predictors is very important aspect from the point of view of the whole society because the costs of preventing and fighting the overweight and obesity are borne by everyone. This study investigates the relationship important from the point of view of economists, i.e., between BMI and income household. This relationship was examined against other relationships. Linear multilevel models were fitted, with 18,534 adult Polish individuals nested in 9786 households and 66 subregions (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 3—NUTS 3). We used data from the Social Diagnosis project (individual and household level) and from Statistics Poland (subregion level). We found that BMI was significantly associated with individual and household characteristics. Individuals in households from higher income categories (middle- and high-income) had higher values of BMI compared to low-income households. Two variables from subregion level (green areas and length of bicycle tracks) were related statistically insignificant with BMI. Just less than 0.5% of the unexplained variance was located on the subregion level. The study highlighted the importance of the household environment (household characteristics explain 14–18% of variance) which confirms that treating individuals as a part of households in which attitudes and behavior are shaped is a correct approach.

This article is tested for the hypothesis regarding the causality relationships between a macroeconomic gap, especially the investment–domestic savings’ gap, and the inflation rate. For empirical purposes, Dumitrescu and Hurlin (Econ Modell 29:1450–1460, 2012) method for Granger causality in panel data was applied to the annual series from 1995 to 2014, covering a group of 50 emerging and developing countries. The empirical findings indicated a corroboration of the tested hypothesis, according to which an increase in the macroeconomic gap is accompanied by a rise in inflation rates.

Central banks are producing traditional paper currencies within controls and under a corresponding inventory of metals or a basket of currencies, but digital currencies are not subject to any controls of any kind which may create a fertile environment of economic instability. The purpose of this paper is to explore the macroeconomics implications of digital currencies, in addition to examine the extent to which digital currencies are currently used as a form of money, and also to determine whether digital currencies pose a material risk to monetary or financial stability. In order to achieve the objectives of this paper, the study examined the digital currencies currently in use, and it analyzed its performance, and expectations, and finally, the study provides its point of view about possible risk associated with digital currencies in use and its effect to our economy.

Since the 1990s, many countries encountering trade liberalization and rapid technological progress have experienced rising within-country income inequality. This paper investigates relationships between trade openness and income inequality in both cross-country and country-specific framework. Using a panel of 61 countries over a period from 1975 to 2005, this study estimates a threshold regression model to identify an inverted-U relationship between openness and inequality with threshold effects of technological progress. On the one hand, income inequality among individuals in countries with less advanced technologies might be getting worse when their trade becomes more opened. On the other hand, for countries with a higher degree of technology advancement, trade openness tends to improve their income inequality.

The stock market crash of 1987 proved to be a major turning point in financial markets as the Black–Scholes model assumption of constantLevendis, Alexis volatility was violated. A new phenomena known as the “volatility smile” were observed post the crisis, and this has been one focus area of quantitative finance researchers over the past coupleVenter, Pierre of decades. Almost 20 years after the crash now known as “Black Monday”, the 2007 global financial crisis occurred which showed that numerous other factors need to be considered when pricing derivatives. Collateral, for instance, is considered by Piterbarg. In this paper, we present a local volatility model used to price arithmetic Asian call options in the Piterbarg framework.

The paper provides an empirical analysis of box office performances for a sample of top 10 and top 50 grossing movies from 2014 to 2018. We use data of box office revenues to calculate the distribution of total box office revenues on the movies considered in the sample. Descriptive evidence documents a concentration of revenues on a small number of movies. Moreover, we try to understand whether the variables domestic box office revenues and number of copies distributed of a movie have a relation to the total box office revenues.

Despite the importance of second-tier stock markets in supporting SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprise) development and innovation, the dynamic impacts of second-tier stock markets development and innovation on macroeconomic indicators remain under-explored. This study aims to bridge the gap both theoretically and empirically. Accordingly, the theoretical model of Kaleckian–Post-Keynesian macroeconomics is extended and an empirical model is specified and estimated for the case of Hong Kong. A Structural Vector Error Correction (SVEC) estimation technique and impulse response function are adopted for empirical analysis. The results determine that Hong Kong’s macroeconomic indicators exhibit small but positive feedback to shocks in the second-tier market development and innovation in the short run. Specifically, various channels of growth including private investment, domestic savings, and productivity growth are found to be responsive to shocks in the second-tier market development indicators. Meanwhile, shocks to innovation indicators effectively induce responses of the following growth channels: private investment, domestic savings, productivity growth, and employment.

According to literature, the following three dimensions of market liquidity as special liquidity characteristics are usually distinguished: (1) market depth, (2) market tightness, and (3) market resiliency. The purpose of this study is to explore market tightness as one of dimensions of market liquidity on seven small Central and Eastern European (CEE) emerging stock markets in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia, in the context of serious problems with stock illiquidity. The number of companies that reveal a substantial non-trading problem is large. In the study, daily percentage relative spread is employed as a proxy of market tightness on the investigated stock exchanges. The research sample covers the period from January 2, 2012 to December 30, 2016. Furthermore, to verify the stability of the obtained results, tests based on the time rolling-window approach are provided. In general, the average daily market tightness is quantitatively similar to the investigated markets, taken separately. However, the market tightness significantly differs among stocks and the results are not homogenous in sub-periods. Moreover, the influence of the non-trading effect on daily value of a stock tightness on the CEE stock exchanges is crucial.

Corporate governance creates important signals that the company sends to its surroundings. It affects the performance of the company and consequently the satisfaction of owners and employees, the trust of creditors, clients, and all other interest groups. There are several ways to gain their trust and satisfaction. One of them is to present information on financial support for activities that are called corporate social responsibility (CSR). The application of the CSR in practice is all the more important in companies providing insurance services, which are often referred to in the literature as trust-based products. There is only little attention paid to the research of corporate governance in relation to corporate social responsibility in insurance companies. Therefore, in our contribution, we examine the impact of selected determinants of corporate governance on corporate social responsibility information disclosure in insurance companies based in Slovakia. We use the basic methods of regression and correlation analysis to quantify this relationship. The selection of explanatory determinants of CG is carried out in accordance with the assumption of shareholders’ and stakeholders’ theories of management. The goal is to find out which set of variables will better explain the impact of corporate governance on CSR reporting. The results of the analysis showed that the model based on stakeholder’s theory assumptions explains the changes in reporting CSR information better.

The purpose of thisOberholzer, Niel study is to make use of the Heston Nandi model to approximate option price surfaces for the CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt and South Africa) countries’ equity indices. Daily dataVenter, Pierre J. from 2010 to 2018 was used. The statistical properties of the return series show signs of leptokurtosis and volatility clustering, which is consistent with the stylised facts of financial returns. The approximated call option price surface is consistent with what is found in the market. The approximated option prices for Egypt and Turkey are slightly higher due to greater historical volatility, and a higher risk-free rate.

Due to Nielsen cross-channel report, there is overall growing media consumption. Driving, that is, a growth in digital consumption. There is assumption that consumers replace TV screens to spend more time on social media. Another marketer’s assumption said that while TV is a great place to run big international marketing campaigns, digital video and display ads can be targeted to reach specific local markets, making them more efficient for small and midsize business budgets. This paper deals with these myths, we have collected, facts and real data to refute these hypotheses. The main purpose is to investigate the relationship between brand credibility and brand presence in TV commercials. What is more, paper describes advertising effectiveness measurements to assess brand credibility. Case study shows results before and after TV advertising on brand credibility of the chosen company. A meta-analysis was performed on three months observation. The findings indicated a positive linear relationship between brand presence in TV and brand credibility. As a conclusion, paper offers suggestion for cross-media strategy.

This paper examines the relationship between the performance of the firm and ownership structure in the telecommunication companies of Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region. More specifically we focus on the ownership percentage the large shareholder of the company owns and its effect on profitability measures of performance (ROA and ROE) of the firms. A balanced panel is used for 14 telecommunication companies from 11 countries of the region is used for the period 2012–2015. Our results indicate the existence of a non-linear relationship between large shareholder ownership and performance, suggesting the existence of agency problems.

Computational biologyMonovasilis, Th. models of the Volterra–Lotka family, known as competingKalogiratou, Z. species models, are used for modeling an oligopoly market. More specifically, a duopoly market is considered. Equilibrium of theTsounis, N. two companies is derived under different assumptionsBertsatos, G. about sectoral demand and cost functions. More specifically, at first, linear demand functions areMoustakli, S. considered, and then two cases of isoelastic demand function are used.

The objective of this study is the analysis of the current state of the EU food and beverage industry’s competitiveness. The present study aims to derive a composite indicator (Industrial Competitiveness Index, ICI) for food and beverage competitiveness using data for 28 EU countries for the period 2008–2016 and to present and discuss the results for each of 10 food and beverage subsectors for each of 28 EU countries. Also, the analysis focuses on the comparison of the relevant results for the two periods 2008–2016 and 2003–2007 (from our earlier research) in order to draw conclusions about the effects of both enlargement of EU on the competitiveness index of food and beverage industry and the effects of economic crisis on competitiveness. Our results suggest that despite the substantial decrease of the indices, the “old” EU countries are the competitive leaders in the food and beverage industry.

Computational biologyKalogiratou, Z. models of the Volterra–Lotka family, known as competing species models, are used for modeling anMonovasilis, Th. oligopoly market, with applicationTsounis, N. to the brewery sector in Greece. Parameter estimation with nonlinear least squaresBertsatos, G. is performed. The findings show the company with the larger market share is experiencing a strong competitionMoustakli, S. from all the other companies of the sector; the coefficient is negative and its value is −0.59. However, the coefficient for the “rest of the companies” in the sector has a positive sign although its value is small, about 0.07. This indicates that smaller companies of the sector benefited by the increase of sales of the first company maybe because they are targeting consumers with different tastes offering a completely differentiated product.

In this article, we proposeKhenoussi, Assia to set out some avenues to adapt the Algerian industrial risk index to national data. Firstly, we evaluate the methods used in Algeria to calculateKherchi Medjden, Hanya this index while conducting an econometric and statistical study. This study improves that the Algerian index (RI) is explained to more than 96 of various anomalies in these methods who have reached their limits and we will propose a new approach to calculate this index, this last consists in the correction of the weights of all coefficients in the French formula by the method of the weighting of the gross domestic product (GDP), Algerian and French, respectively, as first place to stop our index at its base 1000 in January 2009, and from this date this last one will take half-yearly values readjusted by the values of the other indices that they compose it namely: ICC (construction cost index) of CNAT (national technical assistance center), IPPI (industrial producer price index), IPI (industrial production index) source national statistics office (N.O.S). By validating the transitivity property of our new index, we will establish exclusively a direct application on an insurance portfolio. The results provided by this new approach show an incorrect reclassification of the risks obtained, over the same period, by the two old approaches and the new index, which shows a risk management of insurance contracts problem for the insurer.

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of tourism demand on tax revenues and the bank loans granted to the tourism sector in Turkey. The data covers the period 2007Q1–2018Q3. The methods used included the tests of normality, heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation, CUSUM stability, unit root, Johansen cointegration, VECM error correction model and Quantile Regression. As a result, the hypothesis that the increase in tourism demand will increase the tax revenues and use of loans is supported. The findings may serve as a guide for tourism and fiscal policies. The tourism sector should be supported by public policies to obtain higher tax revenues.

The aim of the study is to calculate one-day forecasts of the Bayesian value-at-risk (VaR) and expected shortfall (ES) for two kinds of bivariate portfolios and two kinds of datasets. The Bayesian inference for VAR(1)-tCopula-GARCH(1,1), VAR(1)-tBEKK(1,1), and VAR(1)-tDCC(1,1) models and the predictive distribution of ordinary return rates of portfolio are used. The Bayesian VaR and ES fully take into account uncertainty of parameters of model. Moreover, the study also presents the one-day forecasts of VaR with using conditional autoregressive value at risk (CAViaR) with asymmetric slope and ES with employing conditional autoregressive expectiles (CARE) also with asymmetric slope. In order to compare the forecasts of VaR and ES obtained from different models, we use non-Bayesian criteria. The research shows that the calculation of VaR and ES with using tCopula-GARCH model and tBEKK model (or tDCC model for the second dataset) gives similar values of one-day forecasts, taking into account correlation coefficients between predictions from different methods. Moreover the model, which has the highest explanatory power (the highest marginal data density), not in all cases gives the best prediction the VaR and ES considering the non-Bayesian criteria.

Differentiation of services means the inclusion of new services that represent variations to those services that are already part of a range of services. Differentiation of services exists on the basis of service with a real or perceived, rational or emotional value and occupying a place in the mind of the customer. The extent to which these values are important to the customer determines whether they have differentiated themselves. The contribution deals with the so-called virtual value chains in the digital environment e.g. in the two worlds: in physical and in virtual world of information. The comparison of selected social network based on the value chain is included too. This virtual world provides an opportunity to penetrate into the world of electronic business as a new centre of value formation. In buying electronic services with the use of market place in the form of virtual sphere, there are services in the form of digital information which are provided through information channels. Building a virtual value chain through which a company integrates information that is necessary for ensuring processes in the value chain provide managers with an ability to “see” these information flows in the value chain from the beginning to the end as the basis for differentiation as well as for success on the market.

This study examines the effects and relationships between Malaysia’s economic growth and selected variables which are oil price volatility, stock price, real exchange rate and real interest rate. Using time-series data methodology, the study employs unit root test using Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) and Phillips–Perron (PP), Auto-Regressive Distribution Lag (ARDL) model supplemented by Bounds F-Testing, Johansen-Julius Co-integration test and Granger causality test. The long-run equation derived from ARDL shows that there are positive relationships for stock price and real exchange rate whilst there are negative relationships between oil price volatility and real interest rate. Furthermore, Granger causality test shows that only stock price and real interest rates have an impact on Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the short run. Finally, sound policy recommendations are suggested, in particular, to address oil price volatility in a forward-looking manner as well as monetary-friendly measures to further support Malaysia’s economic growth.