This paper investigates the possibilities and problems of benchmarking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). After a methodological analysis of the advantages and problems of benchmarking, we develop a benchmark method that includes economic, social and environmental aspects as well as national...

This study investigates the economic validity of the diffusion of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and all-electric vehicles (EVs), employing a cost-benefit analysis from the social point of view. This research assumes the amount of NOx and tank-to-wheel CO2 emissions and gasoline use reduction as the...

Scenario Analysis (SA) plays a key role in determination of operational risk capital under Basel II Advanced Measurement Approach. However, operational risk capital based on scenario data may exhibit high sensitivity or wrong-way sensitivity to scenario inputs. In this paper, we first discuss...

Recently, microfinance has come under increasing criticism raising questions of the validity of iconic studies which have justified the microfinance phenomenon. This paper applies propensity score matching (PSM), which has become widely used for the analysis of observational data, to the study...

Over the last few decades, the prevalence of obesity among US citizens has grown rapidly, especially among low-income individuals. This has led to questions about the effectiveness of nutritional assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as...

Discounted Cash Flow techniques are the generally accepted methods for valuing firms. Such methods do not provide explicit acknowledgment of the value determinants and overlook their interrelations. This paper proposes a different method of firm valuation based on fuzzy logic and expert systems....

The Automotive Industry Crisis of 2009 is the worst the industry has ever experienced. This paper helps resolve the debate on how much and fast it should change and how it should it respond to demands for increased fuel efficiency. Looking at the actions of successful corporate turnarounds, the...

Following the Hanumanth Rao committee report Government of India initiated Watershed Development Programmes (WDPs) to improve and sustain productivity of the semiarid regions of the country at higher level. The aim of such initiatives are also to fulfill the needs of rural communities for food,...

Cellular manufacturing (CM) is an important application of group technology (GT) that can be used to enhance both flexibility and efficiency in today’s small-to-medium lot production environment. The crucial step in the design of a CM system is the cell formation (CF) problem which involves...

An important topic, in electoral studies, is the choice of the electoral system, which will be applied in parliamentary elections, because parliamentary seats distributed to political parties differ when a different system is applied. In this paper we focus on the five latest electoral systems...