Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Factors

In light of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s August 2014 Accounting Standard Update on management Going Concern Statements, research using financial ratios to predict bankruptcy is more relevant than ever. Even though numerous research articles examine factors that predict bankruptcy, few make the distinction between the factors that affect Chapter 7 versus Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This work examines the factors that affect these two bankruptcy types (7 and 11) using the Securities and Exchange Commission data on 425 firms that filed for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We tested our data using t-test, ordinary least squares (OLS), and logistic regression. Our results indicate that the asset turnover ratio and going concern statement are significant predictors of Chapter 7 versus Chapter 11 bankruptcy. We note the implications for auditors, corporate management, corporate creditors and investors, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board

The Interaction between Alcohol and Cigarette Consumption

It has long been recognized that cigarette and alcohol not only have adverse health effects, but also negative externalities imposed on third parties. If cigarette and alcohol are related in consumption, the information on the way in which they are related may allow a better coordination of the public policies concerning these goods. In this study, we use the expenditure data of a panel of US households to analyze the relation between cigarette and alcohol consumption in a rational addiction framework. We believe that individual level data would be a better tool to analyze addictive behavior as aggregate data might conceal much of micro behavior. We found that cigarettes and alcoholic beverages are substitutes. However, both cigarette and alcohol demand do not fit the rational addiction model so well.rational addiction, panel data, cigarette consumption, alcohol consumption, Demand and Price Analysis,

Rationally Addicted to Cigarettes, Alcohol and Coffee? A Pseudo Panel Approach

In this paper, using pseudo panel data we analyze the relation between cigarette, alcohol, and coffee consumption within the rational addiction framework. Our purpose in this study is twofold. First, we want to get more insights about behavioral processes concerning cigarette, alcohol and coffee consumption. Second, we hope that our attempt to generalize rational addiction model to include three addictive goods will be useful to generate further research in the related literature. We found that cross price elasticity of cigarette with respect to alcohol price is negative, while cross price elasticity of alcohol with respect to cigarette price is positive. We believe that drinking works as a trigger for smoking especially in social settings like bars while it is also possible that people who want to cut cigarette consumption might increase alcohol consumption to cope with resulting stress, which induces an asymmetry in cross price elasticities. We did not find a strong relation between coffee consumption and the consumption of cigarette and alcohol. This finding does not rule out the possibility that coffee and cigarette are complements for certain people. However there is not a significant complementarity relationship when we look at the whole population.cigarette, alcohol, coffee, rational addiction, pseudo panel, Demand and Price Analysis,

Marriage Migration: Just another case of positive assortative matching?

It is a stylized fact that marriage formation generally involves positive assortative matching (PAM) on education. We test whether this is also the case for immigrants who tend to import their spouses and potentially use education as an exchange mechanism. We find that only women match positively on education. For Turks the results robustly confirm PAM, whereas for Pakistanis there is no evidence of PAM. For men there is local support to the exchange hypothesis, since cultural assimilation or conflicts with parents, through less spouse import, increase the likelihood of marrying a highly educated spouse.assortative matching; homogamy; exchange; marriage migration; spouse import

Do stock returns lead real economic activity? Evidence from seasonal cointegration analysis

This paper investigates the causal relationship between the stock returns and real economic activity in seasonal unit roots and seasonal cointegration framework by taking into account of seasonal behaviors of the stock returns and industrial production as a proxy of real economic activity. We use seasonally unadjusted quarterly Turkish data series that covers the period from first quarter of 1987 to the third quarter of 2009. The empirical results support evidence for the existence of the causal relationship between stock returns and real economic activity. We determine unidirectional causality running from the real economic activity to the stock returns in the six-monthly term. The empirical findings support that only the real economic activity provides the forecasting ability for the stock returns and there is no feedback relationship between the stock returns and the real economic activity.Stock Returns, Real Economic Activity, Seasonal Cointegration

Alcoholic Beverages and Cigarettes: Complements or Substitutes? A Pseudo Panel Approach

In this paper, using pseudo panel data we analyze the relation between cigarette and alcoholic beverage consumption within the rational addiction framework. We believe that pseudo panel data approach has many advantages compared to aggregate and panel data models. We found that alcoholic beverages are complements for cigarettes, while it is not the same the other way around. Moreover, we found that alcohol is a gateway for cigarette which further supports our conclusion concerning the reinforcing effect of alcohol consumption on cigarette consumption. We believe that drinking works as a trigger for smoking especially in social settings like bars while it is also possible (although less likely) that people who want to cut cigarette consumption might increase alcohol consumption to cope with resulting stress, which induces an asymmetry in cross price elasticities. However we point out that the complementarity relationship is much stronger and significant. Policy implications for the results are explained and the direction for further research is addressed.cigarette, alcohol, rational addiction, pseudo panel, Demand and Price Analysis,

How do Smoking Bans in Bars/Restaurants Affect Alcohol Consumption?

In this study, we employ a rational addiction framework to analyze the effects of smoking bans on alcohol consumption in bars/restaurants. We use pseudo panel data approach which has many advantages compared to panel data. Although cigarettes and alcohol are complements in consumption, our findings suggest that smoking bans in restaurants do not have a significant effect on the restaurant alcohol consumption. It is possible that smoking bans at restaurants cause a decrease in the restaurant alcohol consumption of smokers, but lead to an increase in the restaurant alcohol consumption of nonsmokers. If this is the case, the net effect of smoking bans on overall restaurant alcohol consumption would be zero. These results are just preliminary, and further analyses are required.cigarette, alcohol, smoking ban, rational addiction, pseudo panel, Demand and Price Analysis,

The Unaccompanied Refugee Minors and the Swedish Labour Market

More unaccompanied refugee children arrive to and get a residence permit in Sweden than in any other country in Europe. The number of children who arrives is increasing fast. The Swedish experiences are therefore of great interest also for other countries. In this paper we study the labour market situation in terms of employment and income for those who have arrived as unaccompanied minors and have been registered in Sweden. We compare them with those who also arrived as minors from the same countries but who have arrived together with their parents. After controlling for demographic and migration related variables we find that young adults who arrived as unaccompanied refugee children are more likely to be employed than those children who arrived accompanied from the same countries. Another result is that labour market participation is much lower for females than for males. We also compare the labour market situation of these children with that for those who were born in Sweden and are of the same age

Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Refugee Children in Sweden: An Outlook on Demography, Education and Employment

The number of unaccompanied minors has increased over the past ten years in Sweden, the European country that receives the most children from this group. Some of them emigrate after a period of time in Sweden, but the vast majority stay. Most of the arriving children are teenage boys who have not yet turned 18. However, the largest increase over the latest years is observed for the younger age groups. Furthermore, gender composition is also age dependent, where it is quite balanced for the younger age groups unlike the oldest age group. In the years following their arrival, most of them are enrolled in schools. When it comes to those aged 20 or over, the proportion undergoing education is higher among women but a higher proportion of men are employed. The group that neither works nor studies is much larger among women than among men