Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

On The Asymptotic Effect Of Substituting Estimators For Nuisance Parameters In Inferential Statistics, Zhenlin Yang, Yiu Kuen Tse, Zhidong Bai

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies the general problem of making inferences for a set of parameters ? in the presence of another set of (nuisance) parameters λ, based on the statistic T(y; ˆλ, θ), where y = {y1, y2, · · · , yn} represents the data, ˆλ is an estimator of λ and the limiting distribution of T(y; λ, θ) is known. We provide general methods for finding the limiting distributions of T(y; ˆλ, θ) when ˆλ is either a constrained estimator (given θ) or an unconstrained estimator. The methods will facilitate hypothesis testing as well as confidence-interval construction. We also …

Asian Hedge Funds: Return Persistence, Style, And Fund Characteristics, Francis Koh, Winston T. H. Koh, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study explores the return persistence properties, styles, and fund characteristics of hedge funds that mainly invest in Asia. We examine, for the first time, a high resolution hedge fund dataset which includes monthly return information as well as detailed fund characteristics data. We find that the returns of Asian hedge funds persist most strongly at monthly horizons to quarterly horizons. This persistence weakens considerably when we lengthen the measurement period beyond a quarter, and does not appear to be due to the imputation of fees or to systematic risk as measured by a simple factor model. Further, we show …

The Shapley-Shubik Index, The Donation Paradox And Ternary Games, Vincent C. H. Chua, H. C. Huang

Research Collection School Of Economics

In this paper, we show that although the Shapley-Shubik index is immune to the donation paradox in weighted binary games, extension of the index to ternary games along the direction suggested in Felsenthal and Machover (1996, 1997) will cause it to be vulnerable to the paradox and this is the case as long as the number of players in the game exceeds three. This undermines the attractiveness of the Shapley-Shubik index as a measure of a priori voting power.

Cultural And Socioeconomic Influences On Divorce During Modernization: Southeast Asia, 1940s To 1960s, Charles Hirschman, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The conventional model of a rising divorce rate during the process of modernization is a staple element of the sociological theory of the family. This generalization is challenged, however, by traditional high-divorce societies, primarily in Islamic Southeast Asia, which have experienced a decline in divorce with modernization. In this study, based on micro-level survey data, the authors explore the social roots of marital disruption in Indonesia and Malaysia and in another Southeast Asian society, Thailand, which has not been identified as a high-divorce society. Comparable survey data from the 1970s (from the World Fertility Survey) allow for an in-depth analysis …

Responsibility For Past Injustice: How To Shift The Burden, Chandran Kukathas

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This article considers the question of the responsibility of present generations for injustices committed by previous ones. It asks whether the descendants of victims of past injustice have claims against the descendants of the perpetrators of injustice. Two modes of argument are examined: the individual responsibility approach, according to which descendants cannot have claims against other descendants, and the collective responsibility approach, according to which descendants do have strong claims. Both approaches are criticized, but for different failings. An alternative view, building on the individualist approach, is defended. This view argues that some people may have to bear responsibility for …

Providing Health Care For Older Persons In Singapore, Peggy Teo, Angelique Chan, Paulin Straughan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Health care social policy in Singapore has passed the burden of care to the individual and the family on the rationale that it would enable the state to contain the costs of long-term care by channelling some of its funds to community services and to providing essential health services to all Singaporeans and not just the older group. While a wide array of services has come into existence, there is a lack of integration between the available resources and needs of the individual/family and what has been availed at the community and state levels. Part of the problem lies in …

Transborder Industrialization And Singapore's Regionalization Strategy: Singapore's Industrial Parks In Indonesia And China - Boom, Bane Or An Ongoing Game?, Caroline Yeoh, Charmaine Jialing Cai, Julian Ching Wei Wee

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Singapore’s regionalization program is centred on a number of industrial township developments in China, India and several Southeast Asian countries. These townships are led by Singapore government-linked companies and are premised on the perception that Singapore’s positive reputation with multinational corporations, for efficient industrial infrastructure and stable, corrupt-free administration, will give the townships a marketing advantage. Their progress is a litmus test of Singapore’s ability to export its efficiency in industrial park development and management outside its borders. This paper discusses the origins and progress of the four largest and most advanced townships, two in Indonesia and two in China. …

Creating Competitive Advantage In The Global Marketplace: The Singapore Experiment In East Asia, Caroline Yeoh, Julian Ching Wei Wee, James Chan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

No abstract provided.

Smu: We Are Different [Advertisement], Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases

Cowan is different. He's chosen to study at SMU. Wah Yeow knows the difference. He sees SMU students in action. Steve knows the difference. He heads SMU's School of Information Systems. Su Phin is different. She's an SMU student.

SMU advertisment, featuring Cowan Phan, jumping student, Tan Wah Yeow (KPMG), Steven Miller, Teo Su Phin, jumping student.

Early Stopping By Using Stochastic Curtailment In A Three-Arm Sequential Trial, Denis H. Y. Leung, You-Gan Wang, David Amar

Research Collection School Of Economics

Interim analysis is important in a large clinical trial for ethical and cost considerations. Sometimes, an interim analysis needs to be performed at an earlier than planned time point. In that case, methods using stochastic curtailment are useful in examining the data for early stopping while controlling the inflation of type I and type II errors. We consider a three-arm randomized study of treatments to reduce perioperative blood loss following major surgery. Owing to slow accrual, an unplanned interim analysis was required by the study team to determine whether the study should be continued. We distinguish two different cases: when …

Factors Influencing Treatment Patterns In Breast Cancer Patients Age 75 And Over, Arti Hurria, Denis H. Y. Leung, Kathleen Trainor, Patrick Borgen, Larry Norton, Clifford Hudis

Research Collection School Of Economics

To retrospectively determine the factors influencing treatment decisions in older breast cancer patients at a single center. Experimental Design: 216 patients age > or = 75 seen in post-treatment follow-up between January, 1997 and June, 2000 were identified in the Memorial Sloan-Kettering breast cancer database. Eligible patients were > or = 75 years old at diagnosis, had a diagnosis of stage I, II, or III breast cancer, and received their follow-up care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. A retrospective chart review was performed. Patients were stratified by: (1) prognostic factors (age (75-79 or > or = 80), Charlson comorbidity score, tumor size, …

Catch-Up Growth Based On International Talent Mobility In An Idea-Based World, Yu Quan, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

We show how catch-up growth can result when immigrant ties of talented people to their home countries facilitate technology diffusion from world technological leaders to developing countries. The aspect of immigrant link we focus on is knowledge spillover through various programs of international exchange to draw upon the expertise of the individuals who have migrated—a type of externality effect on the home country. In our model, we distinguish between public technology and private technology, both of which differ across countries. The size of the talent pool in each country determines the number of skilled workers and indigenous technology levels. The …

Determinants Of Voluntary Job-To-Job Mobility, Xiaolin Xing, Zhenlin Yang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper explores both observable and unobservable variables that would affect employed workers’ decisions on job change. A survey was conducted through one-to-one interviews, and the sample consists of 965 full-time employed workers. The logistic regression models are employed to analyze the two binary measures of job-to-job mobility: i) whether an individual is considering a job change, and ii) whether an individual is actively looking for another job. We find that age, job satisfaction, satisfaction with working environment or job security, and firm size are among the major factors determining workers’ job-to-job mobility. Younger workers and workers in smaller firms …

Extracting Policy Positions From Political Texts Using Words As Data, Michael Laver, Kenneth Benoit, John Garry

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We present a new way of extracting policy positions from political texts that treats texts not as discourses to be understood and interpreted but rather, as data in the form of words. We compare this approach to previous methods of text analysis and use it to replicate published estimates of the policy positions of political parties in Britain and Ireland, on both economic and social policy dimensions. We “export” the method to a non-English-language environment, analyzing the policy positions of German parties, including the PDS as it entered the former West German party system. Finally, we extend its application beyond …

Professor David B. Montgomery Appointed Dean Of School Of Business At Singapore Management University, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases

No abstract provided.

Earnings Momentum In International Markets, Dong Hong, Charles M. C. Lee, Bhaskaran Swaminathan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper examines the profitability of earnings momentum strategies based on analyst forecast revisions in eleven international equity markets. While analyst forecast revisions exhibit persistence in all countries, the profitability of trading strategies based on these revisions varies. Specifically, earnings momentum yields significant profits in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom, but not in Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, or Taiwan. Interestingly, price momentum exists only in those countries where earnings momentum is profitable. In general, markets with high levels of corruption (low investor protection) exhibit weak momentum. Collectively, these findings suggest that the momentum phenomenon …

A Score Test For Box-Cox Functional Form, Zhenlin Yang, Tilak Abeysinghe

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper presents two score tests to determine a value for the Box-Cox transformation parameter. The test based on expected information performs better in small samples and is computationally simpler than the one based on observed information; therefore, the former is recommended.

The Evolution Of Party Systems Between Elections, Michael Laver, Kenneth Benoit

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Most existing theoretical work on party competition pays little attention to the evolution of party systems between elections as a result of defections between parties. In this article, we treat individual legislators as utility-maximizing agents tempted to defect to other parties if this would increase their expected payoffs. We model the evolution of party systems between elections in these terms and discuss this analytically, exploring unanswered questions using computational methods. Under office-seeking motivational assumptions, our results strikingly highlight the role of the largest party, especially when it is “dominant” in the technical sense, as a pole of attraction in interelectoral …

Commune-Level Poverty Estimates And Ground Truthing, Tomoki Fujii

Research Collection School Of Economics

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Cambodia, in close collaboration with various government institutions, has been conducting poverty analysis and mapping refinement. The main objectives of the refinement have been (i) to refine core poor areas in Cambodia, (ii) to identify priority areas for social sector interventions such as those targeted to adult and child education, health and nutrition interventions, and (iii) to identify priority areas for assisting variable population groups such as those in flood and drought prone areas, forest and fishing concession areas.

Market Structure And Performance: An Anti-Trust Story Of Endogenous Growth, Hing-Man Leung

Research Collection School Of Economics

Since Schumpeter, a major concern has been: what monopoly does to growth? Monopoly’s static, allocative inefficiency is well established. How much this is offset by its dynamic progressiveness is unclear. First, using the empirical literature, we argue that the presumed progressiveness of monopoly must be rejected. Second, we extend the endogenous growth model to obtain a full Pareto ranking of competition, monopoly, Cournot and Bertrand. Competition beats Cournot, which in turn beats monopoly. Growth rate is invariant with structures, which accords well with empirical evidence. Bertrand happens to share the ranking with competition. The findings have a strong anti-trust overtone.

Applicant Perceptions Of Selection Procedures: The Role Of Selection Information, Belief In Tests, And Comparative Anxiety, Filip Lievens, Wilfried De Corte, Katrien Brysse

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study addresses the effects of the provision of information on the reliability and validity of selection procedures and the effects of test-taker attitudes (i.e., belief in tests and comparative anxiety) on fairness perceptions. Prior to an actual selection process, applicants (N = 118) were given either information about the reliability and validity of various selection procedures or no information. Next, they evaluated the fairness of eight selection procedures. No significant effect of selection information was found. Belief in tests had significant effects, with applicants high on test belief giving higher fairness ratings than applicants low on test belief. In …

Business And Global Governance: The Growing Role Of Corporate Codes Of Conduct, Ann Florini

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

These are, in many ways, halcyon days for global business. In a vast ideological shift in the late 20th century, markets rather than governments came to be seen as the road to prosperity. Governments that once nationalized foreign firms now seek out the investment, technology, and managerial expertise such companies can bring. The halls of the United Nations used to ring with calls for international regulation of those dreaded evil-doers, the multinational corporations. Now the UN instead implores business to join with it in a voluntary Global Compact to ensure respect for internationally agreed environmental, labor, and human rights standards.

Markov Switching Garch Models Of Currency Crises In Southeast Asia, Celso Brunetti, Roberto S. Mariano, Chiara Scotti, Augustine H. H. Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper develops a model which is able to forecast exchange rate turmoil. Our starting point relies on the empirical evidence that exchange rate volatility is not constant. In fact, the modeling strategy adopted refers to the vast literature of the GARCH class of models, where the variance process is explicitly modeled. Further empirical evidence shows that it is possible to distinguish between two different regimes: îordinaryî versus îturbulenceî. Low exchange rate changes are associated with low volatility (ordinary regime) and high exchange rate devaluations go together with high volatility. This calls for a regime switching approach. In our model …

Experience Sampling: Promises And Pitfalls, Strengths And Weaknesses, Christie N. Scollon, Chu Kim-Prieto, Ed Diener

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Focuses on experience sampling methodology (ESM) in psychological research. History of ESM; Types of experience sampling; Pros and cons of ESM.

Confidence And The Constructive Trust, Hang Wu Tang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Almost every leading work on the law of confidence mentions the possibility ofa declaration of a constructive trust as a remedy for a claim involving an abuseof confidence. Apart from the Canadian Supreme Court, no other appellatecourt in the Commonwealth has seriously debated this issue. This paperinvestigates the legitimacy of the use of the constructive trust in this context.

The Lion And The Lamb: Demythologizing Franklin Roosevelt's Fireside Chats, Elvin T. Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

We are accustomed to a characterization of Franklin Roosevelt’s legendary Fireside Chats as intimate exchanges between the president and the people. This essay argues that the Fireside Chats were a harsher, more castigatory rhetorical genre than such a characterization would allow. A content analysis of the 27 Fireside Chats recorded in FDR’s Public Papers suggests that the Fireside Chats were, on a number of indices, far less intimate than have traditionally been supposed, and in fact among the more vitriolic and declamatory utterances of the 32nd president. The essay proceeds with a discussion of how this illusion of intimacy was …

Antifibrinolytic Therapy And Perioperative Blood Loss In Cancer Patients Undergoing Major Orthopedic Surgery, David Amar, Florence M. Grant, Hao Zhang, Patrick J. Boland, Denis H. Y. Leung, John A. Healey

Research Collection School Of Economics

Background: Aprotinin has been reported to reduce blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients having major orthopedic operations. Data on whether epsilon amino-caproic acid (EACA) is effective in this population are sparse.

Methods: Sixty-nine adults with malignancy scheduled for either pelvic, extremity or spine surgery during general anesthesia entered this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, and received either intravenous aprotinin (n = 23), bolus of 2 x 10(6) kallikrein inactivator units (KIU), followed by an infusion of 5 x 10(5) KIU/h, or EACA (n = 22), bolus of 150 mg/kg, followed by a 15 mg/kg/h infusion or saline placebo (n = …

Optimal Sequential Decision Architectures And The Robustness Of Hierarchies And Polyarchies, Winston T. H. Koh

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies collective decision making in the context of a project selection model. We derive the optimal decision architecture when marginal decision costs are present, and investigate the circumstances under which the hierarchy and polyarchy exist as optimal sequential architectures. Our analysis extends previous results on optimal committee decision-making to a sequential setting, and further demonstrates the fragility of the hierarchy and polyarchy as optimal architectures.

Service Links And Wage Inequality, Kong Weng Ho, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

In our general equilibrium model, the variety of specialized service links affects international production fragmentation in manufacturing. Decreases in cost of education or fixed cost of service links raise the relative supply of skilled workers, increase service specialization, and decrease the price of aggregate services. Consequently, the market for service- and skill-intensive component manufacturing enlarges, raising relative demand for skilled workers. Empirically, endogenous change in international outsourcing rather than skill-biased technological progress is the main reason for a modest decline in wage gap despite the rapid rise in relative supply of skilled workers in Singapore from 1978 to 2000.

Singapore Management University Report To Stakeholders 2003 - 2004, Singapore Management University

Report to Stakeholders

From what started as an idea and then became a blueprint only a few short years ago, SMU has already developed into a university highly regarded for its quality programmes, faculty and students – not only in Singapore, but in the region and beyond.

The so-called ‘SMU experiment’ in Singapore tertiary education has been looked upon with much curiosity and generated great expectations during this time. And this year the University celebrated one of its most significant and anticipated milestones: the graduation of our first batch of students. More than just graduates, these students – now SMU alumni – are …