2 1 The innovative transport systems and the CityMobil project 10 1.1 The research questions 10 2 The state of art in the field of automatic transport systems 12 2.1 Case studies and demand studies for innovative transport systems 12 3 The design and implementation of surveys 14 3.1 Definition of experimental design 14 3.2 Questionnaire design and delivery 16 3.3 First analyses on the collected sample 18 4 Calibration of Logit Multionomial demand models 21 4.1 Methodology 21 4.2 Calibration of the “full” model. 22 4.3 Calibration of the “final” model 24 4.4 The demand analysis through the final Multinomial Logit model 25 5 The analysis of interaction between the demand and socioeconomic attributes 31 5.1 Methodology 31 5.2 Application of Mixed Logit models to the demand 31 5.3 Analysis of the interactions between demand and socioeconomic attributes through Mixed Logit models 32 5.4 Mixed Logit model and interaction between age and the demand for the CTS 38 5.5 Demand analysis with Mixed Logit model 39 6 Final analyses and conclusions 45 6.1 Comparison between the results of the analyses 45 6.2 Conclusions 48 6.3 Answers to the research questions and future developments 52

The European commission

Offering a unifying theoretical perspective not readily available in any other text, this innovative guide to econometrics uses simple geometrical arguments to develop students' intuitive understanding of basic and advanced topics, emphasizing throughout the practical applications of modern theory and nonlinear techniques of estimation. One theme of the text is the use of artificial regressions for estimation, reference, and specification testing of nonlinear models, including diagnostic tests for parameter constancy, serial correlation, heteroscedasticity, and other types of mis-specification. Explaining how estimates can be obtained and tests can be carried out, the authors go beyond a mere algebraic description to one that can be easily translated into the commands of a standard econometric software package. Covering an unprecedented range of problems with a consistent emphasis on those that arise in applied work, this accessible and coherent guide to the most vital topics in econometrics today is indispensable for advanced students of econometrics and students of statistics interested in regression and related topics. It will also suit practising econometricians who want to update their skills. Flexibly designed to accommodate a variety of course levels, it offers both complete coverage of the basic material and separate chapters on areas of specialized interest.

Estimation and Inference in Econometrics

Earnings Management and Investor Protection: An International Comparison

This article utilises up-to-date financial panel data, and investigates the capital structure of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK Different capital structure theories are reviewed in order to formulate testable propositions concerning the levels of debt in small businesses, and a number of regression models are developed to test the hypotheses

Financial Policy and Capital Structure Choice in U.K. SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Company Panel Data

This paper examines the impact of corporate board's characteristics on the voluntary disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the form of a Carbon Disclosure Project report. Using both univariate and regression models with a sample of the 329 largest companies in the United Kingdom, we find a significant positive association between gender diversity (measured as the percentage of female directors on the board) and the propensity to disclose GHG information as well as the extensiveness of that disclosure. In addition, a board with more independent directors or environmental committee show a higher tendency to be ecologic transparent. However, if the committee is not sufficiently large, independent or active, its effect seems insignificant. The results are consistent with stakeholder theory, suggesting that a diversified and independent board and the existence of a board-level environmental committee may balance a firm's financial and non-financial goals with limited resources and moderate the possible conflicting expectations of stakeholders who have disparate interests. The findings should be useful for top managers and regulators who are interested in improving corporate governance practices and climate-change strategies.

Gender diversity, board independence, environmental committee and greenhouse gas disclosure

Manuscript Type: Empirical

Research Question/Issue: This is a cross-sectional study of the relation between corporate governance and voluntary disclosure in Ireland.

Research Findings/Results: We report clear evidence that voluntary disclosure increases with the number of nonexecutive directors on the board. Firms that have a nonexecutive chairman make greater voluntary disclosures than other firms. This finding is not robust to the inclusion of other explanatory variables. We find no evidence that ownership structure is related to voluntary disclosure.

Theoretical Implications: The results regarding nonexecutive directors are interpreted as independent boards facilitating a reduction in information asymmetry between owners and managers. While this supports the predictions of agency theory, the absence of evidence that ownership structure influences voluntary disclosure does not. It is posited that sociological and organizational factors (e.g., informal networking) that pervade the Irish market mitigate against our disclosure measure capturing all aspects of voluntary disclosure. Furthermore, indirect evidence is provided that there are other costs and benefits to disclosure that vary across firms and may outweigh agency costs in many situations. We conclude that while agency theory has some explanatory power for voluntary disclosure, it cannot explain all the cross-sectional differences in voluntary disclosure by Irish public limited companies.

Practical Implications: The results support the attention paid by regulators to the proportion of nonexecutive directors on the board. However, the costs and benefits to disclosure vary across firms. Regardless of agency considerations and regulatory guidelines, firms will ultimately formulate their disclosure policy with reference to overall marginal costs and marginal benefits.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/corg_692.pdf?abstractid=1285250&mirid=2

Board Structure, Ownership, and Voluntary Disclosure in Ireland

In this study we attempt to explain the cross-sectional variation in the capital structures of non-financial UK companies using proxy variables for characteristics suggested by capital structure theories. We find that non-debt tax shields, asset structure, size and past profitability are related to capital structure in the manner suggested by theory. Earnings volatility is found to be positively related to leverage. This finding, though counter intuitive, is consistent with the hypothesis of Myers (1977) that risky firms may borrow more than safer ones. In addition, we find evidence that capital structures vary across industrial classification.

The Determinants Of Capital Structure: Some UK Evidence

Contrary to prior research, this U.K.-based study finds a contemporaneous relation between the foreign exchange rate and the market value of large exporters. We also find a weak lagged relationship which suggests that the stock market takes time to incorporate all of the implications of foreign currency movements into share prices. Evidence that the nature of this relationship changed when sterling was in the ERM is also provided.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.jibs.8490130.pdf

The Share Price Reaction of U.K. Exporters to Exchange Rate Movements: An Empirical Study

This paper provides evidence that in the UK, a firm's ownership structure is related to the informativeness of its accounting earnings for price. Evidence is reported that concentrated outside ownership is negatively related to the contemporaneous price-earnings association. This is interpreted as indicative of more non-accounting information being collected and disseminated for firms whose ownership includes large outside (non-managerial) blocks and a consequential loss of informativeness of contemporaneous accounting earnings. Having controlled for the information environment, we provide evidence that the overall relation between return and earnings is attenuated for firms with diffuse outside ownership. This is interpreted as evidence of the market anticipating opportunistic managerial manipulation of earnings when outside ownership is diffuse.

Ray Donnelly

Papers

Board Structure, Ownership, and Voluntary Disclosure in Ireland

The Determinants Of Capital Structure: Some UK Evidence

The Share Price Reaction of U.K. Exporters to Exchange Rate Movements: An Empirical Study

The ownership structure of UK firms and the informativeness of accounting earnings

Share price anticipation of earnings and the effect of earnings persistence and firm size