Determinants of capital structure of A-REITS and the global financial crisis

This paper contributes to the capital structure literature by investigating the determinants of capital structure of Australian Real Estate Investment Trusts (A-REITs) over the period 2006-2009. By using a panel approach and a Global Financial Crisis (GFC) dummy variable, our analysis incorporates the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) shock which appears to have affected the market after December 2007. We find that A-REIT size, profitability, tangibility, operating risk and number of growth opportunities impact similarly to many previous studies of international entities upon the degree of leverage. We also find mixed support for prevailing capital structure theories of Pecking Order, Trade-off and Agency Theory, but find that Market Timing Theory can be rejected over our sample period. With specific focus after onset of the GFC, we find that the relationship between capital structure and our independent variables is somewhat distorted. Consequently, the postulations of theory also become distorted whereby changes to capital structure come about because of the primary goal to survive, rather than managerial opportunism.

The role of capital-labour substitution in economic growth

Purpose – Although the importance of the elasticity of substitution between capital and labour (s) has been recognized in many areas in economics, this parameter has not received enough attention in economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to review the recent development in the importance of s in economic growth.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper specifically reviews the possibility of perpetual growth and slowdown, and the asymptotic behaviour of the balanced growth path for different values of s. It also reviews the determinants of the aggregate s.

Findings – Based on the empirical evidence that the value of s significantly departs from the Cobb-Douglas value of unity, the paper recommends employing the constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function in both theoretical and empirical growth research.

Originality/value – This paper offers a new perspective on the elasticity of substitution between capital and labour due to its evaluation of various factors, methods and approaches.

Clarification and concentration of sugar cane juice through ultra, nano and reverse osmosis membranes

The performance of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes with molecular weight cut off (MWCO) of 1000 and 3500 Da in clarifying sugar cane juice was investigated, as well as the performance of a nanofiltration (NF) membrane with MWCO of 200 Da and a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane in concentrating sugar cane juice. For both cases the sugar cane juice had been limed and partially clarified. The UF membranes were found to be effective at clarifying the sugar cane juice in terms of purity rise and reduction in turbidity, colour, starch and protein. A purity rise of approximately 6 was achieved by both UF membranes at trans-membrane pressures (TMP) from 15 to 25 bar. However, Brix reduction in the permeate was between 14.5 and 41.85% and 12.11 and 26.52% for 1000 Da and 3500 Da membranes respectively. For the 200 Da and RO membranes the Brix in the concentrate was increased from 7.65 to 12.3 after 3 hours of operation for the 200 Da membrane at a TMP of 10 bar, whilst the Brix in the concentrate was increased from 15.65 to 27.6 after 3 hours of operation for the RO membrane at a TMP of 35 bar. Overall, UF membranes were found to be unsuitable for clarification of sugar cane juice since significant amount of Brix is reduced in the permeate, whilst RO membranes were found to be effective for concentration of sugar cane juice.

Characterisation and lipase concentration of omega-3 rich oils

This thesis focused on the use of enzyme "lipase" rather than chemicals to produce concentrates of omega-3 fatty acids. These enzymatic techniques are cheaper, greener and environmentally friendly.

Nanofiltration for the concentration of heat stable salts prior to MEA reclamation

While monethanolamine has shown great potential as a solvent for the capture of carbon dioxide, impurities can build within the solution over time, leading to increased viscosity and corrosivity. Classically, these impurities are removed by a combination of neutralization and either thermal reclamation, ion exchange or electrodialysis. In this work, we evaluate the use of nanofiltration to concentrate the heat stable salts within the solution prior to such reclamation. This allows the recirculating solvent to operate with low concentrations of these impurities, while providing a low volume, concentrated solution for reclamation. Results show that nanofiltration can reject greater than 80% of the heat stable anions, while allowing the monoethanolamine to permeate through the membrane, for return to the process. Rejection of the MEA itself is less than 7%. The nanofiltration operation is only effective on lean solvent with CO2 loadings of less than 0.2 and neutralization would be required upstream to deprotonate the amine. The two membranes tested (Koch MPF-34 and MPF-36) appeared stable to exposure to the solvent for over four months.

Peripheral injected cholecystokinin-8S modulates the concentration of serotonin in nerve fibers of the rat brainstem

Serotonin and cholecystokinin (CCK) play a role in the short-term inhibition of food intake. It is known that peripheral injection of CCK increases c-Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-IR) in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) in rats, and injection of the serotonin antagonist ondansetron decreases the number of c-Fos-IR cells in the NTS. This supports the idea of serotonin contributing to the effects of CCK. The aim of the present study was to elucidate whether peripherally injected CCK-8S modulates the concentration of serotonin in brain feeding-regulatory nuclei. Ad libitum fed male Sprague-Dawley rats received 5.2 and 8.7 nmol/kg CCK-8S (n = 3/group) or 0.15 M NaCl (n = 3-5/group) injected intraperitoneally (ip). The number of c-Fos-IR neurons, and the fluorescence intensity of serotonin in nerve fibers were assessed in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), arcuate nucleus (ARC), NTS and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV). CCK-8S increased the number of c-Fos-ir neurons in the NTS (mean ± SEM: 72 ± 4, and 112 ± 5 neurons/section, respectively) compared to vehicle-treated rats (7 ± 2 neurons/section, P < 0.05), but did not modulate c-Fos expression in the DMV or ARC. Additionally, CCK-8S dose-dependently increased the number of c-Fos-positive neurons in the PVN (218 ± 15 and 128 ± 14, respectively vs. 19 ± 5, P < 0.05). In the NTS and DMV we observed a decrease of serotonin-immunoreactivity 90 min after injection of CCK-8S (46 ± 2 and 49 ± 8 pixel/section, respectively) compared to vehicle (81 ± 8 pixel/section, P < 0.05). No changes of serotonin-immunoreactivity were observed in the PVN and ARC. Our results suggest that serotonin is involved in the mediation of CCK-8's effects in the brainstem. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

Association between serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and the risk of hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis: result from a prospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES: There is ongoing debate regarding the optimal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D for musculoskeletal health, including osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of this prospective cohort study was to determine whether serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentrations were associated with the risk of hip arthroplasty for OA. DESIGN: This study examined 9135 participants from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study who had serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D measured in 1999-2000 and were aged ≥40 years at the commencement of arthroplasty data collection. The incidence of hip arthroplasty for OA during 2002-2011 was determined by linking cohort records to the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry. RESULTS: Over an average 9.1 (standard deviation (SD) 2.7) years of follow-up, 201 hip arthroplasties for OA were identified (males n = 90; females n = 111). In males, a one-standard-deviation increase in 25-hydroxy-vitamin D was associated with a 25% increased incidence (HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.02-1.56), with a dose response relationship evident by quartiles of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentration (P for trend 0.04). These results were independent of age, body mass index (BMI), ethnicity, smoking status, physical activity, season of blood collection, latitude, hypertension and diabetes, area level disadvantage or after excluding those with extreme low 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentrations. No significant association was observed in women (HR 1.10, 95% CI 0.87, 1.39). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentrations were associated with an increased risk of hip arthroplasty for OA in males, while no significant association was observed in females. The mechanism for the association warrants further investigation.

An explanation of capital structure of China's listed property firms

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of the capital structure of listed property firms in China.Design/methodology/approach– The study is based on quantitative methods such as dynamic panel data models and a panel data set containing financial and accounting data for all listed property companies from 2006 to 2010 in China.Findings– The findings confirm that the state-own shares, the fixed asset values, the total size of assets and profitability have a positive and significant impact on the leverage ratio of listed property firms in China. The negative impact of the tax shields and the currency ratio, and significant impact of state-own shares on capital structure cannot be explained by existing capital structure theory but the unique property market regulation environment and market conditions in China.Research limitations/implications– The findings confirm the applicability of trade-off theory (except for the correlation between leverage and the tax shield) on property companies in China. They also highlight the importance of government policies and special market conditions in explaining the financing behaviour of property companies in transaction countries like China.Practical implications– Complimentary policies should be established along with property market restriction policies to offset their unequal negative effect on property companies with less state-owned shares. Furthermore, government should invest efforts to eliminate the discrimination credit treatment of banks against property companies with non-existent or few state-owned shares.Originality/value– The special financial behaviour of China's property firms and the unique financial and property market conditions highlight the necessity of researching the capital structure of listed property firms in China. However, most of the existing literature focuses on the company financial behaviour in developed countries, and very few studies have been done concerning property firms’ financing behaviour in emerging economies such as China, and this research prospects to fill this blank.

Applicability of financial theories of capital structure to the Chinese cultural context: a study of privately owned SMEs

Using a new dataset of 1539 Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises this article investigates the firm-level determinants of capital structure and tests them against the predictions of financial theory. Firm size and profitability are both found to be related to leverage as posited by pecking-order theory. In contrast little support is found for the predicted relationship between asset structure and leverage. These findings are discussed in relationship to their Chinese cultural context. The managerial and policy implications of the research are then explored.

A model of capital accumulation and rent-seeking

A simple model incorporating rent-seeking into the standard neoclassical model of capital accumulation is presented. It embodies the idea that the performance of an economy depends on the efficiency of its institutions. It is shown that welfare is positively affected by the institutional efficiency, although output is not necessarily so. It is also shown that an economy with a monopolistic rent-seeker performs better than one with a competitive rent-seeking industry.

Country factors and the dynamic modeling of capital structure : an empirical study of latin american firms

Desenvolvemos modelos de ajuste parcial e de duration para testar a relevância de fatores específicos de países na determinação da estrutura de capital de empresas listadas nas bolsas de valores brasileira, chilena e mexicana. Utilizamos dados em painel, em um período que se estende do quarto trimestre de 1996 ao segundo trimestre de 2010, abrangendo 4403 observações relacionadas a 139 empresas diferentes. Os resultados obtidos sugerem que a dinâmica da estrutura de capital varia por país e que idiossincrasias locais são determinantes-chave dos níveis de alavancagem das empresas. Não detectamos comportamento explicado pela Teoria de Trade Off entre as empresas brasileiras, chilenas e mexicanas, o que indica que teorias alternativas possam comandar os processos de decisão de financiamento dos gestores latino americanos.