Enterprises continuously seek decision support tools that can help automate and codify business decisions. This is particularly true in the business of consumer electronics manufacturing where components are often interchangeable and several manufacturers can supply the same component over the life of a product. In this kind of dynamic environment, businesses are faced with the choice of signin...

This paper studies asymmetric price responses of individual firms, via daily retail prices of almost all gasoline stations in the Netherlands and suggested prices of the five largest oil companies over more than two years. I find that 38% of the stations respond asymmetrically to changes in the spot market price. Hence, asymmetric pricing is not a feature of the market as a whole, but of indivi...

In this paper we consider several parametric assumptions for the instantaneous covariance structure of the Libor market model. We examine the impact of each different parameterization on the evolution of the term structure of volatilities in time, on terminal correlations and on the joint calibration to the caps and swaptions markets. We present a number of cases of calibration in the Euro mark...

This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF. The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate. This paper develops a simple methodology to test for asset in...

Chapter 1 introduced the foundations for the neoliberal interpretation of international institutions’ advocacy of liberalized trade. A critical assumption behind the neoliberal perspective is that free markets are in the collective interest – that is, that liberalized trade maximizes the gains to world as a whole, without regard to how those gains might be distributed. The economic theory under...

Microstructure models of foreign exchange markets emphasize two different channels of pressure in pricing dynamics; these are inventory and asymmetric information effects. Past empirical studies for foreign exchange markets have found evidence supporting the existence of both effects in the Dollar/DM market. This paper tests for the presence of within sample variation in the intensity of these ...

In this paper we consider several parametric assumptions for the instantaneous covariance structure of the Libor market model. We examine the impact of each different parameterization on the evolution of the term structure of volatilities in time, on terminal correlations and on the joint calibration to the caps and swaptions markets. We present a number of cases of calibration in the Euro mark...

Do credit market conditions affect corporate capital structures? In an attempt to answer this question, I study two natural experiments that affect corporate access to bank credit: the 1961 expansion of bank credit due to the emergence of the market for CDs, and the contraction associated with the 1966 credit crunch. I document several capital structure reactions to these changes in credit mark...

The stock markets from Post Communist East-European Countries are still considered highly speculative. For this reason, the previously performed tests often infirmed the efficient market hypothesis. However, especially in the past years, different studies revealed an improvement in the level of efficiency. In this context, our paper has tested the predictability of returns based on past records...

The purpose of this study is to develop market segmentation of the USA fixed-line and wireless phone service sectors. In order to better understand user perceptions and behaviors when using these services, market segmentation techniques serve as an essential tool that may be utilized by marketers, strategists, managers, and other decision makers. In this paper, two datasets based on survey resu...