Introduction This commentary explores modern agronomy concepts aimed at enhancing public health through sustainable and nutrient-rich agricultural practices. We explore various innovative approaches, ...including precision agriculture, sustainable farming, efficient nutrient management, crop diversity, biofortification, climate-resilient farming, vertical farming and urban agriculture, digital agriculture, and agroecology (see Figure 1). Our commentary delves into each of these modern agronomy practices, unveiling their intricate web and profound implications for public health. We aim to demonstrate the potential of modern agronomy as a catalyst for improving public health and the quality of life for individuals and communities worldwide. These concepts collectively strive to elevate public health by improving food quality, enhancing nutrition, and safeguarding the well-being of individuals and communities. By harnessing these cutting-edge agronomic concepts, we aspire to transform agriculture into a powerful force for improving public health and enhancing overall quality of life. . . .
The application of biofertilizers (beneficial microbes) represents a transformative paradigm in modern agriculture. This paper delves into the multifaceted benefits of biofertilizers in the context ...of crop production. It examines how biofertilizers work their magic in enhancing crop growth, yield, and quality, underpinning their pivotal role in sustainable agriculture. Beyond these primary advantages, the paper explores the ripple effects of biofertilizer utilization, where it emerges as a linchpin in the global quest for food security. Biofertilizers not only reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture but also contribute to improving human health. This paper synthesizes current knowledge, revealing that biofertilizers have emerged as a potent tool in addressing the challenges of modern agriculture, from crop enhancement to environmental conservation and public health. It serves as a call to action for their wider adoption, heralding the era of biofertilizers as a cornerstone of sustainable agricultural practices.
Abstract This review focused on the use of plant‐based foods for enhancing the immunity of all aged groups against COVID‐19. In humans, coronaviruses are included in the spectrum of viruses that ...cause the common cold and, recently, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Emerging infectious diseases, such as SARS present a major threat to public health. The novel coronavirus has spread rapidly to multiple countries and has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID‐19 is usually caused a virus to which most probably the people with low immunity response are being affected. Plant‐based foods increased the intestinal beneficial bacteria which are helpful and make up of 85% of the immune system. By the use of plenty of water, minerals like magnesium and Zinc, micronutrients, herbs, food rich in vitamins C, D and E, and better life style one can promote the health and can overcome this infection. Various studies investigated that a powerful antioxidant glutathione and a bioflavonoid quercetin may prevent various infections including COVID‐19. In conclusion, the plant‐based foods play a vital role to enhance the immunity of people to control of COVID‐19.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
We investigate the relation between corporate performance and overall economic growth in the United States. In particular, we focus on the impact of the U.S. corporate tax regime on this relation. ...Exploiting time-series variation and a tax shock, we document that the relatively higher corporate income tax rate and the tax treatment of foreign earnings of U.S. corporations have contributed to a disconnect between the performance of the corporate sector and the overall economy. Specifically, the growth of domestic (national) corporate profits, on average, has outpaced the growth of the domestic (national) economy, and this disconnect increases as the difference between the U.S. corporate income tax rate and the average tax rate of the other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries increases. The underlying mechanism is fewer corporate profits being channeled into subsequent domestic investments when the U.S. tax rate is relatively higher, leading to lower economic growth. Our findings have implications for policy setters.
This paper was accepted by Brian Bushee, accounting.
ABSTRACT We study how proprietary information flows in strategic alliances facilitate banks’ information collection in private debt markets. We argue that lenders that have previously worked with a ...borrower’s alliance partners have an information advantage and show that firms entering a strategic alliance receive a lower interest spread on loans from banks that have previously lent to their strategic partners than loans from other banks. Cross-sectional tests on alliances’ economic importance and participants’ information environment support our hypothesis that the loan price effect is driven by reduced information asymmetry between borrowers and their partners’ relationship banks. Last, we find borrowers are more likely to obtain debt financing from alliance-related banks than from other banks. Overall, our findings are consistent with lenders that have previously worked with an alliance counterparty possessing debt contracting-relevant information about the soft nature of alliance value and the partners’ commitment to alliances. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: G10; G21; G32.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
ABSTRACT
Prior research finds that unrealized gains/losses on cash flow hedges are negatively associated with future earnings, and that investors and analysts fail to anticipate this association. ...These studies speculate that this mispricing is due to either poor derivatives disclosures or the accounting model for cash flow hedges. We examine whether enhanced mandatory derivatives disclosures set forth in FAS 161 improve users' understanding of firms' hedging activities and offer three main findings. First, we find that this mispricing does not persist after FAS 161. Second, we find that the correction of mispricing is greatest when disclosure might help investors most. Finally, we find that analyst forecast accuracy improves after FAS 161. Overall, our results suggest that the enhanced mandatory derivative disclosures required by FAS 161 improved users' understanding of the effects of derivative and hedging activities on future firm performance and firm value—and consequently mitigated investor mispricing.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Six years after the passage of the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program, commonly known as TARP, it remains hard to measure the total social costs and benefits of the assistance to banks provided under ...TARP programs. TARP was not a single approach to assisting weak banks but rather a variety of changing solutions to a set of evolving problems. TARP's passage was associated with significant improvements in financial markets and the health of financial intermediaries, as well as an increase in the supply of lending by recipients. However, a full evaluation must also take into account other factors, including the risks borne by taxpayers in the course of the bailouts; moral-hazard costs that could result in more risk-taking in the future; and social costs related to perceived unfairness. Our evaluation is organized in five parts: 1) What did policymakers do? 2) What are the proper objectives of interventions like TARP assistance to financial institutions? 3) Did TARP succeed in those economic objectives? 4) Were TARP funds allocated purely on an economic basis, or did political favoritism play a role? 5) Would alternative policies, either alongside or instead of TARP, and alternative design features of TARP, have worked better?
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BFBNIB, CEKLJ, INZLJ, IZUM, KILJ, NMLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK, ZRSKP
We examine the cost-effectiveness, from the shareholders' perspective, of the accounting standards issued by the FASB during 1973–2009. We evaluate (1) the stock market reactions of firms affected by ...the standards surrounding events that changed the standard's probability of issuance; and (2) whether the market reactions are related, in the cross-section, to agency problems, information asymmetry, proprietary costs, contracting costs, and changes in estimation risk. The average standard is a non-event from the investors' perspective because 104 of the 138 standards examined are associated with no change in shareholder value. Nineteen (15) standards are associated with a decrease (increase) in shareholder value. Surprisingly, 25 standards are associated with an increase in estimation risk. In the cross-section, firms with higher levels of information asymmetry, lower contracting costs, and a decrease in estimation risk experience most positive returns.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Bank lending standards vary over time. Periods in which firms find it relatively easy to borrow are followed by periods in which banks scrutinize borrowers more and tighten lending. We predict that ...changes in lending standards affect the accounting conservatism of bank-dependent firms. Using (i) a natural experiment that leads to certain banks tightening lending standards for plausibly exogenous reasons and (ii) time series variation in economy-wide bank lending standards, we find that borrowers increase their asymmetric timely loss recognition in response to the tightening of lending standards. Further, riskier borrowers, borrowers less likely to violate loan covenants, and borrowers whose banks tighten lending standards to a greater extent display larger increases in conservatism following the tightening of lending standards. These results suggest that borrowers internalize the costs and benefits of increasing conservatism. Finally, borrowers do not seem to decrease conservatism immediately after the lending standards are loosened. Overall, our results illuminate a commonly observed banking phenomenon that can influence firms’ incentives to recognize losses, suggesting that developments in the banking sector can shape the information produced by firms in the real sector.
This paper was accepted by Suraj Srinivasan, accounting.
Estimating expected credit losses on banks' portfolios is difficult. The issue has become of increasing interest to academics and regulators with the FASB and IASB issuing new regulations for loan ...impairment. We develop a measure of the one-year-ahead expected rate of credit losses (ExpectedRCL) that combines various measures of credit risk disclosed by banks. It uses cross-sectional analyses to obtain coefficients for estimating each period's measure of expected credit losses. ExpectedRCL substantially outperforms net charge-offs in predicting one-year-ahead realized credit losses, and reflects nearly all the credit loss-related information in the charge-offs. ExpectedRCL also contains incremental information about one-year-ahead realized credit losses relative to the allowance and provision for loan losses and the fair value of loans. It is a better predictor of the provision for loan losses than analyst provision forecasts, and is incrementally useful beyond other credit risk metrics in predicting bank failure up to one year ahead.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
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