We model 1927-1997 U.S. business failure rates using a time series approach based on unobserved components. Clear evidence is found of cyclical behavior in default rates. The cycle has a period of around 10 years. We also detect longer term movements in default probabilities and default...

This paper explains the early U.S. Department of Commerce estimates of national income and product during the 1930s and 1940s, focusing on how both economic theory and the needs of policymakers influenced the methods and concepts used. The paper explores the debate between Simon Kuznets, author...

Determination of structure and correct calculation of a company’s capital value is an essential; theoretical and practical problem for corporate finance. The proportion between the company’s equity and borrowed capital determines the risk and profitability of the company and, consequently,...

The objective of fight against poverty was at the origin of the creation of the institutions of microfinance (IMF) which thus drained public financings and created strong waitings, as well for their customers as at the macro-economic level. Today, certain authors underline the limits of the...

Multiple choice exams are frequently used as an efficient and objective instrument to evaluate knowledge. Nevertheless, they are more vulnerable to answer-copying than tests based on open questions. Several statistical tests (known as indices) have been proposed to detect cheating but to the...

The book "Mathematics and Archaeology", consisting of 25 chapters by a range of international scholars in archaeology, will be published by Chapman & Hall in 2014. The present document, written as an invited Epilogue to the book, recounts the rediscovery of the book 275 years later by an...

Food quality is made up of a set of both intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics, including how these characteristics are guaranteed and communicated to end consumers. As a result, purchase choices are affected not only by elements such as taste and price, but also by the level of food safety,...

Resumen: El objetivo de este estudio es analizar la diferencia en la disposición a pagar de usuarios y no usuarios de leña, por un mejoramiento en la calidad del aire para los habitantes de la Florida, Talca. Se utilizó el método de valoración contingente en su formato dicotómico doble,...

The objects of study of the humanities and social sciences are intrinsically complex. Because it is philosophically attractive, and because it helps in practice to manage such complexity, one of the most influential central ideas throughout the history and present of these disciplines is the...