Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Patricia Gomez-Gonzalez Author-X-Name-First: Patricia Author-X-Name-Last: Gomez-Gonzalez Author-Workplace-Name: Fordham University, Department of Economics Author-Name: Gabriel Mathy Author-X-Name-First: Gabriel Author-X-Name-Last: Mathy Author-Workplace-Name: American University Title: The World's First Global Safe Asset: British Public Debt, 1718-1913 Abstract: This paper assesses whether the British public debt featured a convenience yield during the Classical Gold Standard (1718-1913), as the US does in modern times. Our em- pirical results support this thesis. Increases in the British debt-to-GDP ratio decrease British public debt’s convenience yield between 8 and 20 basis points, qualitatively sim- ilar to the behavior of US public debt yields post-1926. Interestingly, the relationship between US yields and US public debt during the Classical Gold Standard counters previous findings for modern US times. International public debt yield spreads between other Gold Standard core countries and Britain were consistently positive and averaged 55 basis points, even though currency and sovereign risk were negligible at that time for the countries chosen. Creation-Date: 2024 File-URL: https://archive.fordham.edu/ECONOMICS_RESEARCH/PAPERS/dp2024_01_gomezgonzalez.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Classification-JEL: E42, G12, G15, H63, N21, N23 Keywords: Convenience yield, Safe asset, Liquidity, Gold Standard, Core countries Handle: RePEc:FRD:wpaper:DP2024-01er:DP2024-01 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Seth Asante Author-X-Name-First: Seth Author-X-Name-Last: Asante Author-Workplace-Name: International Food Policy Research Institute Accra, Ghana Author-Name: Kwaw Andam Author-X-Name-First: Kwaw Author-X-Name-Last: Andam Author-Workplace-Name: International Food Policy Research Institute Abuja, Nigeria Author-Name: Andrew M. Simons Author-X-Name-First: Andrew M. Author-X-Name-Last: Simons Author-Workplace-Name: Fordham University, Department of Economics Title: Perceptions, Quality, and Uncertainty in Ghanaian Fertilizer Markets Abstract: Fertilizer use among small holder farmers in Africa is often thought of as a pathway to improved agricultural productivity and reduced poverty. We examine the perceptions of fertilizer quality along the input supply chain in Ghana and also chemically test collected fertilizer samples. Our objective is to understand whether substandard quality hinders the adoption of fertilizers by farmers. We find that agricultural input dealers perceive fertilizer quality to be lower than farmers do, though both estimate the prevalence of substandard fertilizer at much higher rates than what chemical tests find. Chemical tests at an international laboratory, on average, found fertilizer had the labeled quantity of plant nutrients. Adding to the complicated learning environment farmers face, many local media outlets report on fake or substandard fertilizers and local laboratory tests reported misleading incorrect results when testing the same fertilizer samples. Creation-Date: 2024 File-URL: https://archive.fordham.edu/ECONOMICS_RESEARCH/PAPERS/dp2024_02_simons.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Keywords: Fertilizer, Technology Adoption, Asymmetric Information, Sub-Saharan Africa, Farmer Beliefs, Agricultural Supply Chains, Learning Challenges Handle: RePEc:FRD:wpaper:DP2024-02er:DP2024-02 Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Hrishikesh Vinod Author-X-Name-First: Hrishikesh Author-X-Name-Last: Vinod Author-Workplace-Name: Fordham University, Department of Economics Title: April 2024 Buy-Sell Guide for Dow Jones 30 Stocks and Modified Omega Criterion Abstract: We study recent monthly data to help long-term investors buy or sell from the 30 Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index components. The recommendations are based on six stockpicking algorithms involving comparisons of probability distributions. We use data for 30 stocks using the recent 472 months (39+ years) of monthly returns ending in March 2024. Our buy-sell recommendations also use newer "pandemic proof" out-of-sample portfolio performance comparisons from the R package 'generalCorr.' We include modified omega (gain-to-pain ratio) computation to compare stock performance. Creation-Date: 2024 File-URL: https://archive.fordham.edu/ECONOMICS_RESEARCH/PAPERS/dp2024_03_vinod.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Keywords: Dow-Jones Handle: RePEc:FRD:wpaper:DP2024-03er:DP2024-03