Matthew Q. McPherson

The Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Public Health: A Note on Parallel Analysis as a Factor Retention Criterion

Purpose. Exploratory factor analysis is used to identify latent factors for public health interventions. The most popular factor retention criterion, the eigenvalue greater than one (EVG1) rule, leads to the retention of more factors than warranted. The use of parallel analysis (PA) as a factor retention criterion is recommended. Design. Environmental factors that are likely to affect the propensity of individuals to walk are identified. Results from PA are compared with those obtained by using the EVG1 rule. Setting. Telephone survey data were collected from three communities (spanning 12 counties) in the Appalachian region. Participants. The sample was composed of adults between the ages of 40 and 65 years. There were 1019 completed surveys. Measures. The data on 14 variables, including measures of neighborhood safety, beauty, and access to walking facilities were collected. Analysis. A principal components analysis was performed. The factors retained after using the EVG1 rule were compared with the factors retained after using PA. Varimax rotation was used to aid factor interpretation. Results. The EVG1 rule led to the retention of nearly twice the number of latent factors as did the PA criterion. Conclusion. The use of the EVG1 rule in research may mislead policy makers to focus on trivial interventions. They are urged to use PA to obtain more parsimonious and externally valid interventions.

Rescuing Observed Fixed Effects: Using the Hausman-Taylor Method for Out-of-Sample Trade Projections

In this analysis, we propose the Hausman-Taylor (1981) method as an alternative estimation technique for estimating the gravity model of trade. We use an application to highlight the benefits of this technique for panel data estimation in general. Specifically, we compare the Hausman-Taylor method for estimating the unrealized US-Cuban trade potential to the OLS, fixed-effects, and random-effects methods using the out-of-sample approach. The Hausman-Taylor method is ideal because it allows for the inclusion of time-invariant variables in trade projections and circumvents the problem of an ad hoc estimation of the country-specific dummy variable needed for a projection based on the fixed-effects estimator. In addition, it removes the correlation between the error term and included variables which often plagues random-effects estimation.

Are hospitals seasonally inefficient? Evidence from Washington State

Efficiency measurement has been one of the most extensively explored areas of health services research over the past two decades. Despite this attention, few studies have examined whether a providers efficiency varies on a monthly, quarterly or other, sub-annual basis. This article presents an empirical study that looks for evidence of seasonal inefficiency. Using a quarterly panel of general, acute-care hospitals from Washington State, we find that hospital efficiency does vary over time; however, the nature of this dynamic inefficiency depends on the type of efficiency being measured. Our results suggest that technical and cost efficiency vary by quarter. Allocative and scale efficiency also vary on a quarterly basis, but only if the data are jointly disaggregated by quarter and another, firm-specific factor such as size or operating status. Thus, future research, corporate decisions and government policies designed to improve the efficiency of hospital care need to account for seasonal trends in hospital efficiency.

Key determinants of repatriated earnings by US multinational enterprises

Purpose – In 2004, as the economy lay in stagnation, Congress searched for ways to stimulate job growth. Many members of Congress believed that high US taxes on repatriated earnings discouraged US-based multinational enterprises (MNEs) from bringing cash (in the form of dividends) home and investing those monies in the USA. As a result, Congress passed, and President Bush signed into law, the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act (AJCA), which reduced tax rates to a maximum 5.25 percent on cash repatriations to the USA over the course of a single tax year, i.e. a “tax holiday”. The purpose of this paper is to explore key determinants of repatriated earnings by US multinational enterprises. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses data collected from IRS documents between 2004 and 2008 to explore the drivers of MNE repatriations, including the AJCA tax holiday, from various countries to the USA. The paper applies a Lintner equation within a gravity model framework to estimate international liquidity flows. ...

Measuring Shared Inefficiency Between Hospital Cost Centers

In this article, a combination of data envelopment analysis, spreadsheet modeling and regression techniques is applied to a panel of nonprofit Washington State hospitals in an effort to determine whether (and if so, to what extent) inefficiency in one hospital cost center is shared with inefficiency in other cost centers. The findings suggest that a significant amount of inefficiency is shared across hospital cost centers. The authors further determine that certain cost centers contribute more to the overall performance of a given hospital than others. As such, managerial decisions and government policies designed to enhance hospital efficiency should be implemented differently, depending on the characteristics of the hospital in question.

Nibbling, Sniping, and the Role of Uncertainty in Second-Price, Hard-Close Internet Auctions: Empirical Evidence from eBay

Internet auctions have gained widespread appeal as an efficient and effective means of buying and selling goods and services. This study examines buyer behavior on eBay, one of the most well-known Internet auction Web sites. eBay’s auction format is similar to that of a second-price, hard-close auction, which gives a rational participant an incentive to submit a bid that is equal to his or her maximum willingness to pay. But while traditional second-price, hard-close auctions assume that participants have reliable information about their own and other bidders’ reservation prices, eBay participants usually do not. This raises the possibility that eBay participants may adapt their bidding strategies and not actually bid their reservation prices because of increased uncertainty. In this article, we empirically examine the bidding patterns of online auction participants and compare our findings to the behavior of bidders in more conventional auction settings.

Is There a Link Between Foreign Exchange Market Stability and Stock Market Correlations? Evidence from Canada.

The link between foreign exchange and stock markets has numerous practical business implications. If international diversification strategies are to be successful, these markets should display low levels of correlation. In addition, understanding the determinants of asset volatilities, as well as their international correlations, are important parameters for the day to day risk management of financial institutions, the risk management of firms operating internationally, and the pricing of contingent claims. This paper examines whether there is a link between exchange rate stability and stock market volatility and correlations. I find that the connection between exchange rates and stock market correlations and volatilities extends beyond periods of extreme crisis.

Intangible and tangible value: brand equity benefits associated with collegiate athletics

This paper presents a simple methodological framework to characterise the tangible and intangible benefits of a university athletics department. The methodology is applied to the athletics department at Gonzaga University (GU) in Spokane, Washington USA. The brand equity associated with this department is estimated at approximately US

Regional Differences in Chapter 13 Filings: Southern Legal Culture or Religion?

5.8 million in 2006. Of this, between

Brand Equity Effects on Bidding Strategies in an Online Environment: Evidence from eBay Coin Auctions

617,000 and