... regarded as negligible. For instance, deposit rates and OIS (EONIA) rates for the same maturity would chase each other, but keeping a ... and then discounted by another curve, which we term “discount curve”. Assuming different curves for different rate lengths, ...
Story - wulan - 01/05/2010 - 02:19 - 0 comments - 0 attachments
On-the-job training of employed workers is important because a high-skilled labor force stimulates economic growth and facilitates sectoral adjustment of the economic structure. To the extent that investments in training of workers are good for labor market performance and economic growth, it is relevant to understand the main determinants of these investments. Firm-specific characteristics will influence training investments as firms may differ in their propensity to hire less skilled workers and invest in training of these workers or to hire more skilled workers and provide less training. And, there are also common determinants of firm-sponsored training related to market imperfections. An increase in competitiveness of the product market may affect training investments while more flexible labor market will also reduce investments in training.
Our paper focuses on the effects of labor market imperfections and product market competition on training. From a theoretical point of view the effect of market imperfections can go either way. More competition in the product market may reduce training because profits and investment funds go down, but it may also increase training if a better skilled workforce makes the firm more able to compete with other firms. Similarly, the effect of labor market competition can go either way. A higher labor mobility may increase the need for training but may at the same time reduce the willingness of firms to make the investment in training because with a shorter job tenure the pay-back period is reduced. If market imperfections influence firm-sponsored training, training subsidies or regulation may be justified on the basis of well founded arguments. Firm-sponsored training stimulates human capital accumulation and thus has a positive impact on productivity.
Following the rapid demise of socialism, Eastern European countries have been grappling with the question of what kind of market economy is best suited to their future needs. Should they incorporate capitalism whole sale, and, If so, which kind: American, European, Japanese, or some new version? How should problems of the transition be handled? What kinds of institutional structures and laws are most appropriate for their situation?
This paper is concerned with an aspect of this last question: the choice of bankruptcy law. The decision facing Eastern European countries on this question is both important and far from straightforward. It is generally recognized by economists and lawyers in the West that bankruptcy law has an important role to play in ensuring a timely resolution of the problems of insolvent or financially distressed firms and a socially efficient disposition of such firms' assets. Yet both practitioners and academics are dissatisfied with current Western procedures, which are regarded either as favoring the piece-meal liquidation of healthy firms (in the case of Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, or the receivership system in the U.K.) or as being administratively very inefficient and costly (in the case of Chapter 11 reorganizations in the U.S.).
The yearly production capacity of ethanol in the United States is expected to be more than 6 billion gallons by the end of 2006 (Loy et al., 2005). Up to 80% of the byproducts of this production are fed to ruminant animals (Lardy, 2003). One of these byproducts, sorghum wet distiller’s grains plus solubles (SWDG) provides a source of both energy and crude protein, in finishing diets for beef cattle. Sorghum wet distiller’s grains plus solubles contain large portions of undegraded intake protein (UIP) compared with other feedstuffs (50% UIP; Tjardes and Wright, 2002).
The most frequently fed processed grain in feedlot diets in the High Plains region is steam-flaked corn (SFC). Because SFC is such a readily available source of starch, it is quickly and comprehensively fermented in the rumen. This process results in high microbial protein production, resulting in an increased supply of degraded intake protein (DIP) being needed to maintain microbial synthesis. Thus, in diets containing SWDG substituted for SFC, UIP is increased at the expense of DIP. This exchange of UIP for DIP might result in decreased performance of the animal. The objective of this research was to determine whether additional DIP, added in the form of urea, would compensate for the potentially negative effects of increasing levels of SWDG in the diet on animal performance.
