This study analyses a production-management model that considers the possibility of implementing a reverse-logistics system for remanufacturing end-of-life products in a lean production environment (as opposed to models that use EOQ approaches). Decision variables are identified (including manufacturing and remanufacturing capacities and return rates and use rates for end-oflife products) and o...

Employment creation has dropped off the direct agenda of most central banks. Th e so-called “global best practice” approach to central banking has not focused on economic growth or employment generation but rather on keeping infl ation in the low single digits. However, the policy record shows that employment generation and economic growth are often not by-products of infl ation focused central...

De Finetti’s Theorem asserts that a sequence of exchangeable variables are conditionally independent, that is, dependence under exchangeability is nothing but conditionally independence. However, de Finetti’s theorem is valid only with a infinite number of random variables, which makes this result unsuitable for application in many economic models. In this paper, we prove that dependence is con...

Because poorly developed financial markets block economic growth, it is argued that modern intermediaries (banks) have to replace traditional intermediaries. The claim is that the traditional intermediaries are inefficient. We test that claim using an original panel data set from nineteenthcentury France that is the first to provide quantitative evidence about traditional intermediaries (notari...

Concern has been rising about the health of the U.S. commercial real estate market and any impact it may have on financial markets and institutions. It is too early to judge the full extent of any problems, but commercial real estate financing has been shaken by the financial market turmoil associated with recent residential mortgage defaults. The spreads of commercial mortgage-backed securitie...

Integrated supply chains are one of the most powerful competitive tools in today's globalizing business economy. For agricultural products, successful supply chain development projects reduce not only the transaction costs but also the institutional barriers that decouple individual links in traditional distribution channels. They allow participants to achieve higher levels of service and to ca...

The core objective of this project is to analyze the impact of interest rates changes on the profitability of commercial banks being operated in Pakistan by examining the financial statements of four major banks during 2008 to 2012. Like the efficiency of banking sector is considered most important for economic growth, monetary policy implementation and macro-economic stability. From the past f...

Over the past decade, Asia-Pacific economies have made significant progress in developing private housing markets and market-based systems for financing home purchases. However, development has been uneven across countries due to the heterogeneity in market infrastructure and economic development. This special feature documents structural characteristics of national housing markets in Asia, foc...