For decades, the academic literature has focused on three survey measures of expected inflation: the Livingston Survey, the Survey of Professional Forecasters, and the Michigan Survey. While these measures have been useful in developing models of forecasting inflation, the data are low frequency...

Tests for causality and rationality in the coffee futures market were carried out using data from the New York Market. Tests of causality indicated that futures prices strongly influence variations in spot price eight weeks or more to maturity. However, beginning seven weeks to maturity there...

Data drain and data uncertainties for rival units affect the reliability and effectiveness of strategic plans for individual operational units. This study introduces a stochastic, multi-stage, optimization technique for short-term forecasting that intends to assist policy makers in developing...

The Two-Stage Least Squares (2-SLS) is a well known econometric technique used to estimate the parameters of a multi-equation (or simultaneous equations) econometric model when errors across the equations are not correlated and the equation(s) concerned is (are) over-identified or exactly...

This study uses stochastic frontier analysis for estimating efficiencies of railways systems in European countries. We consider railways as a system which uses its infrastructure (length of lines worked, numbers of cars and wagons, staff strength) and a scale of market (number of habitants and...

Gordon Tullock is recognized for being the first to recognize the true costs of rent-seeking as including not only the Harberger triangle but also the Tullock rectangle. This rectangle does not constitute merely a lossless transfer of wealth, but it causes a misallocation of resources as...

The study examined the productivity growth in food crop production in Imo State with emphasis on the decomposition of total factor productivity into technical progress, changes in technical and allocative efficiency and scale effects. A panel data set comprising 210 observations drawn over 2001...

This paper proposes, by way of a theoretical model, that public subsidies for the arts act as a spur to the consumption of the arts which, in turn, increases the level of human capital, leading to increased economic growth. It points out that some recent studies in brain research deliver...

This paper proposes, by way of a theoretical model, that public subsidies for the arts act as a spur to the consumption of the arts which, in turn, increases the level of human capital, leading to increased economic growth. It points out that some recent studies in brain research deliver...

The Romanian financial market has passed in the last years through a large “maturating” and consolidation process which has created an unfinished architecture, harmonising step by step with the capital markets from European Union. One possible way to analyse the empirical characteristics of...