A slacks-based inefficiency measure for a two-stage system with bad outputs

We model the performance of DMUs (decision-making units) using a two-stage network model. In the first stage of production DMUs use inputs to produce an intermediate output that becomes an input to a second stage where final outputs are produced. Previous black box DEA models allowed for non-radial scaling of outputs and inputs and accounted for slacks in the constraints that define the technology. We extend these models and build a performance measure that accounts for a network structure of production. We use our method to estimate the performance of Japanese banks, which use labor, physical capital, and financial equity capital in a first stage to produce an intermediate output of deposits. In the second stage, those deposits become an input in the production of loans and securities investments. The network estimates reveal greater bank inefficiency than do the estimates that treat the bank production process as a black box with all production taking place in a single stage.     

Liability of Foreignness and the Uses of Expatriates in Japanese Multinational Corporations in the United States

This paper examines the factors which determine the use of expatriates (parent company managers) in Japanese multinational corporations in the United States, addressing the issue of "liability of foreignness" in establishing new ventures in an international context. The paper attempts to explain theoretically the variance in the proportion of expatriates used across these United States subsidiaries, drawing on the resource dependence theory. Previous research suggests that when liabilities of foreignness are high, and when there is a need to develop organizational forms that insure reliable resource flows to coordinate activities, then Japanese multinational corporations will substitute expatriates for local personnel. Data on 3,119 corporate establishments are derived from the section on the United States of Kaigai Shinshutsu Kigyo Soran [List of Japanese-Owned Firms Abroad] (Toyokeizai 1995), seeing Japanese expatriates as agents who engage in transactions of necessary resources with surrounding corporations and with the parent companies.     

Asymptotic results in canonical discriminant analysis when the dimension is large compared to the sample size

This paper deals with the distributions of test statistics for the number of useful discriminant functions and the characteristic roots in canonical discriminant analysis. These asymptotic distributions have been extensively studied when the number p   of variables is fixed, the number q+1$q+1$ of groups is fixed, and the sample size N tends to infinity. However, these approximations become increasingly inaccurate as the value of p increases for a fixed value of N. On the other hand, we encounter to analyze high-dimensional data such that p is large compared to n. The purpose of the present paper is to derive asymptotic distributions of these statistics in a high-dimensional framework such that q   is fixed, p→∞$p\to \infty$, m=n-p+q→∞$m=n-p+q\to \infty$, and p/n→c∈(0,1)$p/n\to c\in (0,1)$, where n=N-q-1$n=N-q-1$. Numerical simulation revealed that our new asymptotic approximations are more accurate than the classical asymptotic approximations in a considerably wide range of (n,p,q)$(n,p,q)$.     

FLEXIBILITY,ADAPTABILITY, AND EFFICIENCY IN MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

There are many different approaches and conceptualizations of flexibility in the present literature. This lends itself to a lack of clarity and can result in confusion on the central concept. Here we identify shortcomings in the existing literature. To clarify some of the important concepts, we distinguish between flexibility (ability to change states), adaptability (ability to change within a state), and efficiency (resources utilized). To illustrate such distinctions, we present a capacity expansion model that takes flexibility and adaptability into consideration. Numerical examples show how the concepts of flexibility and adaptability can be used in manufacturing.     

Current State and Issues Surrounding Construction of an Independent Support Network for Child Abuse Victims Over 18 Years Old in Japan

This study aims to briefly explain the current child abuse laws as they relate to 18‐year‐old child abuse victims in Japan who are no longer minors, but not yet adults. It explains the gap in services during this transitional period and presents the results of a survey, distributed to 275 facilities, requesting information about this problem. It also examines the status of current support systems available to help these transitional abuse victims, who are on the verge of becoming adults, in establishing lives independent of their parents; and give some suggestions to improve the support system.     

TRADE IN POLARIZED AMERICA: THE BORDER EFFECT BETWEEN RED STATES AND BLUE STATES

Political and cultural polarization in the United States is widely discussed, but does it relate to any economic disconnection among states? We estimate the “border” effect between Red and Blue states using the gravity equation with a nonlinear generalized method of moments estimator to simultaneously overcome the problems associated with endogeneity, cross‐state price differences, and zero‐trade flow. The border effect is robustly confirmed for the 2000s, while not so robustly detected for the 1990s. Notably, in 2007, the border reduces trade between Red and Blue states to approximately 75% of the trade within each set of states. This estimated border effect is much smaller than the United States–Canada national border effect estimated by Anderson and van Wincoop (2003), and by Feenstra (2002), yet is comparable to the border effect that Nitsch and Wolf (2009) find for the former West and East Germanies approximately 10 years after reunification. While the border effect in Germany after reunification is decreasing, the border effect between the Red and Blue states is emerging. We also find the border effect is more significant for consumption, rather than intermediate, goods. The border effect is an important indicator for a potential dismantling of the economic connectivity in the United States. (JEL D72, F10, F15, R1)     

Estimating two-stage network Slacks-based inefficiency: An application to Bangladesh banking

This paper studies the performance of nineteen private commercial banks and two government-owned banks in Bangladesh during the period 2005–2008 using a slacks-based inefficiency measure and the directional technology distance function. Performance is measured assuming a black-box production structure and then the black-box is opened and examined using a two stage network production structure. Current period performance in maximizing desirable loans and securities investments and minimizing bad loans depends on how efficiently inputs at one stage of production are transformed into intermediate outputs which are used at a subsequent stage of production. In addition, current period production of the intermediate output is constrained by the amount of non-performing loans that were generated in an earlier period.     

Behavioral Escape Avoidance Coping in African-American Men Who Have Sex with Men

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate differences between African-American men who have sex with men (MSM) who use behavioral escape avoidance coping responses and those who do not. In particular, we investigated differences in the African-American MSM in our study on psychosocial factors such as internalized homonegativity, exploration phase sexual identity, and the importance of race/ethnicity identity to self-concept; and we investigated the association of these factors on the likelihood of the use of behavioral escape avoidance coping responses. Eighty-three African-American MSM completed our online assessment tool. Chi-square tests and modified Poisson regression were used to test our hypotheses. Our results revealed significant differences in the internalized homonegativity, exploration phase sexual identity, and in the importance of race/ethnicity identity to self-concept for the men in this study who endorsed behavioral escape avoidance coping responses compared to those who did not endorse behavioral escape avoidance coping responses.