Browsing by Subject "Economics"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 38
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A comparison of views on profit maximization(Texas Tech University, 1966-08) Scott, Loren CharlesNot availableItem A critical analysis of the Pigouvian theorem(Texas Tech University, 1965-08) Shortt, Charles ENot availableItem An analysis of the impact of selected economic theories on principles of economic textbooks, 1928-1948(Texas Tech University, 1965-05) Key, Euell DwayneThis thesis will consider the introducrtion and acceptance of monopolistic competition and Keynesian analysis into principles of economics textbooks. This study will attempt to unravel the possible reasons for the relatively rapid acceptance of monopolistic competition as contrasted to the relatively slow acceptance of Keynes's theory into the body of elementary economics. This thesis is limited to a comparison Of these two major contributions to economic principles: that of monopolistic competition, and that of Keynesian analysis. Why were these two theories selected? If one surveyed all the principles books today, he would find that the major portion of these books are devoted to some phase of price theory and income analysis. Both have their roots in the theories which this thesis will examine.Item An economic exploration of prevention versus response in animal related bioterrorism decision making(Texas A&M University, 2006-04-12) Elbakidze, LevanAnimal disease outbreaks either through deliberate terroristic act or accidental introductions present a serious economic problem. This work concentrates on the economics of choosing strategies to mitigate possible agricultural terrorism and accidental introduction events largely in the animal disease management setting. General economic issues and the economic literature related to agricultural terrorism broadly and animal disease concerns specifically are reviewed. Basic economic aspects, such as the economic consequences of outbreaks, costs and benefits of various mitigation strategies, and stochastic characteristics of the problem are discussed. A conceptual economic model is formulated to depict the animal disease outbreak related decision making process. The key element of this framework is the choice between ex ante versus ex post mitigation strategies. The decision of investing in preventative and/or responsive strategies prior to the occurrence of an event versus relying on response and recovery actions after an outbreak event needs careful consideration. Comparative statics investigations reveal that factors that affect this decision are event probability, and severity, as well as costs, benefits, and effectiveness of various mitigation strategies. A relatively simplified empirical case study is done analyzing the economic tradeoffs between and optimum levels of ex ante detection, as a form of prevention, and ex post slaughter, as a form of response. The setting chosen involves Foot and Mouth Disease management. Empirical investigation is done on the conditions under which it is economically more advantageous to invest in ex ante detection as opposed to relying just on ex post response. Results show that investment in ex ante activities becomes more advantageous as the probability and severity of an agricultural terrorism event increases, response effectiveness decreases, and costs of surveillance decrease. Also spread rate is found to play a key role in determining optimal combination of ex ante and ex post strategies with more done ex ante the faster the disease spread. Finally, an economic framework is posed for future work given availability of a more detailed epidemiologic model. Access to such a model will allow for incorporation of wider spectrum of strategies including numerous possibilities for prevention, detection, response and market recovery facilitation. The framework allows more localized options, multiple possible events and incorporation of risk aversion among other features.Item Behind the Linguistic Landscape of Israel/Palestine : exploring the visual implications of expansionist policies(2014-05) Carey, Shaylyn Theresa; Brustad, KristenThe concept of the Linguistic Landscape (LL) is a relatively new and developing field, but it is already proving to illuminate significant trends in sociocultural boundaries and linguistic identities within heterogeneous areas. By examining types of signage displayed in public urban spaces such as street signs, billboards, advertisements, scholars have gained insight into the inter and intra-group relations that have manifested as a result of the present top-down and bottom-up language ideologies. This paper will apply LL theory to the current situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories through a discussion of the various policies that have shaped the Linguistic Landscape. It will begin by examining the Hebraicization of the toponymy after the creation of Israel, then discuss the conflict over the linguistic landscape, which can be seen in several photographs where the Arabic script has been marked out or covered. Moving forward, this work will address the grammatical errors on Arabic language signs, which reflect the low priority of Arabic education in Israel. Finally, this project will expand upon the LL framework by looking at the economic relationship between Israel and the Palestinian territories and how it is reflected in public places, such as supermarkets, which display an overwhelming presence of Hebrew. Through the use of photographic evidence of the LL from the region, which shows the prevalence of Hebrew place names, Israeli economic goods, and negative attitudes towards the use of Arabic on signage, this paper will take a multidisciplinary approach at examining the history and policies that shape the language used in public urban spaces. The relationship between the state and the Linguistic Landscape sheds light on the power dynamics of a multilingual space. As Hebrew is given preferential treatment, despite the official status of both Arabic and Hebrew, Israel continues to dominate the social space with the use of Hebrew in order to assert their claims to the land. In addition to investigating the power dynamics that are reflected on visual displays of language in this region, this work serves as a meaningful contribution to the Linguistic Landscape by expanding its methodology and units of analysis.Item Bridging the WTA-WTP gap : ownership, bargaining, and the endowment effect(2007-08) Coren, Amy Elizabeth, 1979-; Diehl, Randy L.Numerous studies have shown a discrepancy between how much an individual will accept to give up an object and how much an individual will pay to acquire the same good. This discrepancy is more commonly known as the endowment effect. Although scholars have generated a vast literature demonstrating the existence of the endowment effect, the underlying psychological mechanisms that account for this phenomenon remain a source of controversy. In the following dissertation, two different psychological processes are proposed to account for the WTP/WTA discrepancy: the use of a bargaining script and cognitive engagement through object interaction. Experiment 1 explores how the use of a bargaining schema affects buyers' and sellers' valuations of a mug. Experiment 2 examines the role object interaction plays in an individual's decisions about an object's value. Each of these studies presents new data that provide novel insights into the potential psychological processes that underlie the endowment effect.Item Commitment and conflict(2013-12) Krainin, Colin Henry; Wiseman, Thomas E., 1974-War is an inefficient outcome and therefore states ought to prefer to bargain over areas of conflict instead of fighting. However, in the anarchy of international relations there is no actor with a monopoly of power to enforce contracts between states. States then face a commitment problem when bargaining to prevent war. This dissertation explores three models where this commitment problem can lead to war. The first chapter presents a model that allows for shifts in the distribution of power which play out over an arbitrary number of time periods. This leads to a sufficient condition that implies war under a broader set of conditions than previously shown in the literature. This condition implies that preventive war may be caused by relatively slow, but persistent shifts in the distribution of power. As theorized in power transition theory, differential rates of economic growth can potentially cause war under this mechanism. Relaxing the unitary actor assumption of the first chapter, the second chapter analyzes how the domestic institutional structure of countries affects the likelihood of war. We model institutional divergence by comparing an infinitely lived dictatorship to a democracy with a replaceable leader and allow a range of leader incentives within these institutional frameworks. We show that dictators, even welfare maximizing ones, may lead to war if the initial distribution of resources is highly imbalanced whereas a democracy with a forward looking electorate is always peaceful. Yet when a democratic electorate is myopic, preventive war may result. Political parties act as a mechanism to prevent this outcome. In the third chapter, I investigate adding a third actor to the bargaining model of war. In a static setting, the model uses a notion of cooperative stability to predict balancing and bandwagoning behavior in alliance formation. When extended to a dynamic setting, changes to the system that result in alliance shifting may cause war. Additionally, alliance formation need not correspond to the static solutions, suggesting that the dynamics of power are as important as the distribution of power in alliance formation.Item Contributions of games theory in entry deterrence literature and an application of evolutionary games theory(Texas Tech University, 2001-05) Soytas, UgurIn this study we are interested in the contribution of game theory to the entry deterrence literature in the field of Industrial Organization. In the first part of this dissertation, we would like to assess the theoretical development achieved in entry deterrence after the introduction of game theory into the field. Our approach will be to summarize the game theoretic entry deterrence models that contributed to theoretical development. Since we discuss the diverse entry deterrence models in a condensed fashion, economists interested in the topic of entry deterrence may find this first part a valuable source of reference.Item Developing a Vaca Muerta shale play : an economic assessment approach(2016-05) Sierra, Diego Ernesto; Ikonnikova, Svetlana; Fisher, W. L. (William Lawrence), 1932-A total of 450 production wells are in operation in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation as of February 2016, of which 90% were drilled since 2013. In order to assess the economic value of the vertical, directional, and horizontal wells and understand the potential future shale play development, a data-driven approach is developed. First, historical production data are used to derive a 10-year production forecast, using decline curve analysis. Then, well profitability is assessed applying a discounted cash flow model for a sample of vertical, directional, and horizontal wells in the Loma Campana field. Initial oil and gas production rates reached 172.56 BBL/day and 309.42 Mcf/day for the median vertical well, 392.81 BBL/day and 587.76 Mcf/day for the median directional well, and 456.75 BBL/day and 571.46 Mcf/day for the median horizontal well. Based on the production histories, 10-year cumulative oil and gas production is expected to reach 76,389 BBL and 97,772 Mcf for the median vertical well, 174,701 BBL and 261,402 Mcf for the median directional well, and 203,134 BBL and 254,154 Mcf for the median horizontal well. The median vertical well is found to have a negative net present value (NPV) for any possible discount rate, while median directional and horizontal wells can be expected to give NPV (10%) values of $0.41 and $1.14 million, respectively, under the current fiscal and contractual conditions in the country. Internal rates of return for the median directional and horizontal wells were found to be 15.15% and 26%, respectively, while their break-even oil prices at a 10% discount rate were found to be $54.65 and $47.23 per BBL, respectively. Thus, the production profiles and well economics assessment allows to suggest that directional and horizontal wells could be economically viable under the country’s current economic environment, including oil and gas price subsidies.Item The economic cost of mental illness(2011-12) Thompkins, Albert Livingston; Davis, King E.In the current geopolitical environment, in which funding has dramatically diminished for many social service programs, policymakers and social workers have a significant challenge to advocate for social welfare policies, interventions, and treatments that are both cost effective and have the best outcomes. In order to advocate effectively, it is crucial to understand the components that contribute to the cost of mental illness. Information regarding these costs, although they greatly affect policies and public mental health, are not readily represented in the social sciences. The objective of this dissertation is to describe methodological approaches, identify concepts within mental health economics, and address constructs in an attempt to introduce them to the social work field. This dissertation sought to explore and contribute new information to the literature on the direct and indirect economic cost of mental illness and the implications for the field of social work. It will consist of three publishable quality articles that examine issues associated with the economic cost of mental illness. A conceptual paper examining various elements that contextualize the range of economic costs is first utilized. It identifies, defines, and describes the economic cost of mental illness, discusses the history and factors that influence this cost, examine the current state of research including theories and methodological approaches and limitations. Next, an analysis on the range of information technology surrounding mental health and related economic cost is presented. This dissertation article will identify, describe and analyze database sets utilized in economic evaluation. There are four database sets that are the focus of this article. This article will compare, contrast, and critique the datasets on their various components; applicability; and reliability in terms of the usage for economic valuation for planning and evaluation within social work research. Finally, a quantitative study is undertaken that examines how the economy can influence how patients with mental episodes are handled. This study aimed to examine the relationship between State Mental Health Agency expenditures and revenues and its impact on three types of psychiatric admissions: Voluntarily Admitted, Involuntarily Civilly Committed, and Involuntarily Criminally Committed.Item Economic Essays on Water Resources Management of the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley(2012-07-16) Leidner, AndrewThe study area for this dissertation is the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley (Valley). The overarching theme is water and includes regional water management, water management institutions, and water supply decision-making as it relates to community well-being and public health. The first essay provides a description of a control model developed for the management of a municipal water supply system in the context of public health and waterborne illnesses issues. The most beneficial disease-management strategy is found to depend on the community's levels of infected population, water services, and budget. The model is numerically parameterized using data drawn from Hidalgo County in the Valley. Greater capital depreciation rates and shorter planning horizons contribute to lower levels of community well-being, which is measured as the present value of damages from disease infection levels. Reductions in community well-being are greatest when greater capital depreciation rates are combined with shorter planning horizons. The second essay provides an overview of the organizations, institutions, policies, and geographic particulars of the region's water management system and the region's water market. Demand growth for potable water and a relatively-fixed supply of raw water are reflected in increasing prices for domestic, municipal, and industrial (DMI) water rights. The market is characterized by rising prices and the transfer of water from lower-value to higher-value uses. Some reasons for the market's functionality are due to minimal return flows to the Rio Grande (River) occurring throughout the Valley, and the monitoring and enforcement efforts of the Rio Grande Watermaster Program. The final essay is a presentation of a hydroeconomic model to study regional allocation of water resources across the municipal and agricultural sectors of several counties in the Valley. Results indicate that anticipated population growth will increase demand for municipal water and will motivate the transfer of water from the agricultural sector to the municipal sector and the further development of brackish desalination of groundwater. Population density scenarios indicate greater population density is associated with a greater level of agricultural production and reduced revenue to agriculture from land and water-right sales. On balance, climate change scenarios with population increases to 2060 are associated with fewer acres farmed, cropping pattern shifts to higher-value crops, and increasing irrigation requirements. Since the study area for this dissertation is encountering a variety of challenges that are related to environmental conditions, institutions, demographics, and health, this dissertation may provide guidance to the broader water-management community and to other locations, where these challenges are also occurring.Item Engineering and economics of enhanced oil recovery in the Canadian oil sands(2014-05) Hester, Stephen Albert, III; Fisher, W. L. (William Lawrence), 1932-Canada and Venezuela contain massive unconventional oil deposits accounting for over two thirds of newly discovered proven oil reserves since 2002. Canada, primarily in northern Alberta province, has between 1.75 and 1.84 trillion barrels of hydrocarbon resources that as of 2013 are obtained approximately equally through surface extraction or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) (World Energy Council, 2010). Due to their depth and viscosity, thermal based EOR will increasingly be responsible for producing the vast quantities of bitumen residing in Canada’s Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River formations. Although the internationally accepted 174-180 billion barrels recoverable ranks Canada third globally in oil reserves, it represents only a 9-10% average recovery factor of its very high viscosity deposits (World Energy Council, 2010). As thermal techniques are refined and improved, in conjunction with methods under development and integrating elements of existing but currently separate processes, engineers and geoscientists aim to improve recovery rates and add tens of billions of barrels of oil to Canada’s reserves (Cenovus Energy, 2013). The Government of Canada estimates 315 billion barrels recoverable with the right combination of technological improvements and sustained high oil prices (Government of Canada, 2013). Much uncertainty and skepticism surrounds how this 75% increase is to be accomplished. This document entails a thorough analysis of standard and advanced EOR techniques and their potential incremental impact in Canada’s bitumen deposits. Due to the extraordinary volume of hydrocarbon resources in Canada, a small percentage growth in ultimate recovery satisfies years of increased petroleum demand from the developing world, affects the geopolitics within North America and between it and the rest of the world, and provides material benefits to project economics. This paper details the enhanced oil recovery methods used in the oil sands deposits while exploring new developments and their potential technical and economic effect. CMG Stars reservoir simulation is leveraged to test both the feasible recoveries of and validate the physics behind select advanced techniques. These technological and operational improvements are aggregated and an assessment produced on Canada’s total recoverable petroleum reserves. Canada has, by far, the largest bitumen recovery operation in the world (World Energy Council, 2010). Due to its resource base and political environment, the nation is likely to continue as the focus point for new developments in thermal EOR. Reservoir characteristics and project analysis are thus framed using Canada and its reserves.Item Essays on competition under asymmetric information(2014-05) Hollenbeck, Brett William; Miravete, E. J. (Eugenio J.)This dissertation presents research on issues of competition and market structure in economics, and in particular considers the role of asymmetric information in firm competition. This includes asymmetric information among firms, between firms and regulators and between consumers and firms. In the course of this I adapt and expand on recently developed methods for solving, estimating and simulating dynamic models of firm behavior. Finally, this dissertation focuses attention on firms' motivations for and the consequences of horizontal expansion, both in the form of horizontal mergers in a differentiated goods market and in the form of horizontal chain affiliation. This research proceeds in three steps. In Chapter 2 I explore and document consumers growing ability to use new online reputation mechanisms to both share their experiences with a wide variety of firms and gain information from other consumers' shared experiences. In Chapter 3 I present a theoretical model of horizontal mergers in a dynamic industry setting. I use this model to answer a question that increasingly interests antitrust policymakers concerned with innovation: In a concentrated industry, does allowing rival firms to merge increase or decrease total investment? This model has two important features. First, the environment is fully dynamic, and second, I allow mergers to occur endogenously. In Chapter 4, I combine many of the concepts from Chapters 2 and 3 into on piece of research to address the question: why do firms organize into chains? I use of combination of reduced form and structural dynamic methods to examine possible answers to this question in the context of the hotel industry. In particular, I take advantage of recent advances in estimating dynamic industry models to show that there is no evidence in favor of the traditional explanation for horizontal expansion, economies of scale or cost efficiencies. Instead, using a detailed examination of hotel revenue along with firm and market data, I show that chain firms have a substantial demand side advantage resulting from the fact that consumers frequently have little information on firm quality. In this industry, then, asymmetric information seems to not only matter for chain affiliation, it is the only factor that matters.Item Essays on health insurance and the family(2013-05) Dillender, Marcus Owen; Black, Sandra E.The three chapters of this dissertation explore the ties among health insurance, changing cultural institution, and labor economics. The first chapter focuses on the relationship between health insurance and wages by taking advantage of states that extended health insurance dependent coverage to young adults before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Using American Community Survey and Census data, I find evidence that extending health insurance to young adults raises their wages, both while they are eligible for insurance through their parents' employers and afterwards. The increases in wages can be explained by increases in human capital and increased flexibility in the labor market that comes from people no longer having to rely on their own employers for health insurance. The second chapter focuses on understanding the impact of allowing coverage of spouses through employer-sponsored health insurance. The fact that people choose to enter into marriage makes comparing the differences between married and unmarried couples uninformative. To get around this, I examine how shocks to access to insurance through a spouse's employer brought on by extensions in legal recognition have influenced health insurance and labor force decisions for same-sex couples. I find extending legal recognition to same-sex couples results in female same-sex couples being more likely to have one member not in the labor force. The third chapter examines what extending legal recognition to same-sex couples has done to marriage rates in the United States using a strategy that compares how marriage rates change after legal recognition in states that alter legal recognition versus states that do not. Despite claims that allowing same-sex couples to marry will reduce the marriage rate for opposite-sex couples, I find no evidence that allowing same-sex couples to marry reduces the opposite-sex marriage rate. The opposite-sex marriage rate does decrease, however, when domestic partnerships are available to opposite-sex couples.Item Essays on regulatory impact in electricity and internet markets(2014-05) Roderick, Thomas Edward; Ryan, Stephen (Stephen P.)This dissertation details regulation's impact in networked markets, notably in deregulated electricity and internet service markets. These markets represent basic infrastructure in the modern economy; their innate networked structures make for rich fields of economic research on regulatory impact. The first chapter models deregulated electricity industries with a focus on the Texas market. Optimal economic benchmarks are considered for markets with regulated delivery and interrelated network costs. Using a model of regulator, consumer, and firm interaction, I determine the efficiency of the current rate formalization compared to Ramsey-Boiteux prices and two-part tariffs. I find within Texas's market increases to generator surplus up to 55% of subsidies could be achieved under Ramsey-Boiteux pricing or two-part tariffs, respectively. The second chapter presents a framework to analyze dynamic processes and long-run outcomes in two-sided markets, specifically dynamic platform and firm investment incentives within the internet-service platform/content provision market. I use the Ericson-Pakes framework applied within a platform that chooses fees on either side of its two-sided market. This chapter determines the impact of network neutrality on platform investment incentives, specifically whether to improve the platform. I use a parameterized calibration from engineering reports and current ISP literature to determine welfare outcomes and industry behavior under network neutral and non-neutral regimes. My final chapter explores retail firm failure within the deregulated Texas retail electricity market. This chapter investigates determinants of retail electric firm failures using duration analysis frameworks. In particular, this chapter investigates the impact of these determinants on firms with extant experience versus unsophisticated entrants. Understanding these determinants is an important component in evaluating whether deregulation achieves the impetus of competitive electricity market restructuring. Knowing which economic events decrease a market's competitiveness helps regulators to effectively evaluate policy implementations. I find that experience does benefit a firm's duration, but generally that benefit assists firm duration in an adverse macroeconomic environment rather than in response to adverse market conditions such as higher wholesale prices or increased transmission congestion. Additionally, I find evidence that within the Texas market entering earlier results in a longer likelihood of duration.Item Essays on the economics of education and human capital(2015-05) Polson, Chester William; Black, Sandra E.; Linden, Leigh L; Trejo, Stephen J; Kline, Brendan A; Lincove, Jane AThis dissertation examines several facets of the current educational landscape in the United States and the impacts these characteristics have on individual outcomes. The first chapter examines high stakes exit exams, which are pervasive in the American education system and have the ability to impact students far beyond their earned scores. This chapter considers how exit exams in Texas impact student behavior and human capital formation before the end of high school. Employing a regression discontinuity framework, I examine the impact of failing the exam the first time it is administered for students within a small window of scores around the passing threshold. Considering behavioral responses to the administration of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS), I study the impact on students' courses taken, attendance, and a set of disciplinary actions after the exam in the final year of high school. I find that, in line with a model of motivation with heterogeneous effects, students who fail do respond through an increase in the number of courses taken in their senior year, and find a smaller increase in disciplinary infractions. I then consider heterogeneity among student subgroups to discern whether the TAKS exam has differential impacts across different portions of the high school population in Texas. The second chapter quantifies the extent to which test scores and demographic variables account for the differing high school graduation rates between minority and white students in Texas. There are persistent, well documented gaps in both achievement on standardized tests and high school diploma receipt between minority students and their white peers. I employ a set of linear probability models to estimate the graduation gap for students who were eighth graders in Texas from 2003-2009 and examine specific sub-populations to try to disentangle some of the factors that could be contributing to these gaps. I find that student observable characteristics, especially test scores, can account for a substantial portion of this gap, which supports estimates in the previous literature. The third chapter of my dissertation examines how merit-based scholarships, instead of need-based financial aid, impact the decisions students make when enrolling in post-secondary education. Using the 2000 US Census data and American Community Survey data from 2001-2010, I evaluate the effect of merit scholarships in Tennessee on current college enrollment using difference-in-difference estimation. In contrast to the estimated effects of merit scholarships in Georgia, the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship does not seem to impact student behavior; estimates are mildly negative but not statistically different from zero considering the whole population of youth ages 16-26, traditional college enrollees ages 18-19, or older students aged 20-22. I argue these estimates are in line with many more recent findings examining merit scholarship programs. Finally, I employ a synthetic control method to compare these estimates with more traditional estimation strategies.Item Essays on the economics of electronic commerce(2003) Geng, Xianjun; Whinston, Andrew B.This research explores three frontier issues in electronic commerce using economics methods. First, we study bundling of large number of digital goods as a method for price discrimination. We show that prior literature has not properly considered the case where discounting effect exists, and give out examples where bundling is not the optimal choice for a seller. Second, we analyze the impact of resale on advance selling of single-time consumption goods. We point out that a resale market is often divisible, and a seller can often selectively allow or preclude part of the resale market. It turns out that partially allowing/precluding resale activities are sometimes beneficial to both sellers and buyers. Third, we propose a new market mechanism, Capacity Provision Networks, for Web caching trading. We then demonstrate the practical business viability of a cooperative CPN market.Item Essays on the Market for Corporate Control(2011-02-22) Kim, HyunjungThis dissertation examines the relative importance of the information effect on corporate takeover in total takeover gains. It develops the measure of information effect based on the residual income valuation model with I/B/E/S analysts' abnormal earnings forecast revisions. Empirical results show that the information effect and the synergy are estimated to be around 4 percent and 22 percent respectively in the 1,372 US samples during 1980- 2006. Furthermore, almost all of the synergy gains disappear as the deal is expected to be failed while the measured information effect remains afterwards. The evidence suggests that the information effect is more evident in the disciplinary (failed & high Tobin's-q for bidders) or acquisitional (small capitalization & high book-to-market ratio for targets) takeovers while the synergy is greater in the successful tender-offer. Overall, the corporate takeover bid generates information gains up to 15 percent of total takeover gains. It also develops a theoretical model on the market for corporate control using the assumption that there exists management slack which does not contribute to shareholder wealth. This model provides explanations to several questions about corporate takeovers, which include the following: Why do managers prefer takeovers to other investment alternatives? When are they likely to occur? What are the sources of takeover gains? Do takeovers create value? Why are stock offers more common? Who gains from such transactions both in the long and short runs? Why do they occur in massive waves? Why is diversification often attractive to bidder managers? How does corporate governance play its role during this process? And why do managers often resist takeovers? The agency model this paper develops is compatible with existing theories on takeovers including neoclassical, inefficient stock market, and the free cash flow approach. Furthermore, it is consistent with most of the empirical evidence available.Item Evaluation of economic alternatives under inflation(Texas Tech University, 1966-05) Cape, Bobby LeeNot availableItem Financing smallholder agribusiness in Zambia: an economic analysis of the ZATAC model(2009-05-15) Mwanamambo, Brian NamushiThis study investigates the case of a Zambian institution providing credit for smallholder agribusiness commercialization and compares this lender?s model with the major microfinance institutions, to identify specific mechanisms employed by the lender and how these have been adapted to suit seasonal agricultural production credit requirements. Econometric models are developed to examine the influence of key economic factors such as nominal and real interest rates, loan fees, and loan term on the supply of credit by the lender. Other important factors considered relevant in the lender?s market include availability of contract markets for financed production and the type of borrower (cooperative or investor-owned agribusinesses). The study uses loan-level and firm-level loan data aggregated from an electronic loan database of individual loan files kept by the lender. Cross sectional data over three years (2005 ? 2007) are used in the study. The study finds that loan fees, loan term and availability of contract markets to borrowers are the key determinants of credit supply. In addition, the study finds that interest rates do not significantly influence the lender?s credit supply decisions, a finding that is consistent with literature on credit rationing in markets with asymmetric information. The study finds no evidence of economies of scale benefit to the lender being passed along to borrowers through lower loan fees. The study contributes to the literature and development needs of agricultural lenders and smallholder agribusinesses in Zambia through the analysis of different factors that influence the lender?s credit supply decisions.