Cash Margin Research Articles

Anglo–Dutch financial connections and contrasts in the late eighteenth century: The Amsterdam phase of the 1772–3 credit crisis

AbstractWe examine the Amsterdam phase of the 1772–3 financial crisis using the British experience in the same episode as comparative context. We conclude that, notwithstanding some direct exposures by Amsterdam institutions to the principals of the London crisis, the main linkage between the two outbreaks was the requirement for cash margin on loans backed by British East India Company shares. No significant contagion via the bills of exchange network spread from London to Amsterdam in the period separating the two outbreaks, but some feeding back of distress to London is noticeable after the Dutch outbreak. The crisis was rooted in credit expansion, a deterioration in asset risk profiles, and speculation in West Indian mortgage securities and British equity markets. Speculators were enabled by information inefficiencies in the specialized and layered Amsterdam markets, and by the absence of a gatekeeper who could have regulated the provision of credit to them. To contain the outbreak, the Dutch drew on the cohesion of an informal club of insiders who led business and civic affairs. Though the credit markets resumed normal operations relatively quickly, the incurred losses were transformative for their long term prospects by devastating some of their most important firms.

What it means to be poor: dimensions of economic hardship among older people living in poverty across Europe

Abstract There is a lack of comparative and quantitative research on how poverty manifests itself in the economic wellbeing of older people across European countries. In this study, we focus in on two central dimensions of economic wellbeing: the ability to pay for usual expenses and unexpected expenses. Our aim is to find out how often older people living at risk of poverty experience hardship on these dimensions, how these dimensions overlap, and whether the incidence of hardship differs between the poor and the non-poor. The study is based on the cross-sectional component of the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) 2018 survey, involving 29 countries and 148,432 respondents aged 65+ years. The analysis builds on both descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression, which takes into account differences in household characteristics between the poor and the non-poor. The results reveal that for the poor, meeting unexpected expenses is a more common problem than meeting usual expenses, although they typically experience hardship on both dimensions. Hardship among the poor is more frequent in Central Eastern and some Southern European countries, while poor people living in Continental and Nordic countries tend to fare better, even though relatively large numbers in these countries lack cash margin. The non-poor do also experience hardship, but to a lesser extent. The poor experience combined hardship relatively often in Continental European countries. Based on the results, we conclude that studies should pay closer attention to the different dimensions of economic wellbeing in old age.

Quality of Life of People with Mobility-Related Disabilities in Sweden: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.

Little is known about the Quality of Life (QoL) and how QoL is related to the social and economic situation of people with mobility-related disabilities in Sweden. QoL and well-being do not only relate to the absence of impairments but also to the level of social inclusion and the economic situation. The objective of this study was to explore if there were differences in QoL between a group with and a group without mobility-related disabilities in Sweden. Cross-sectional data were collected through self-reported questionnaires. WHOQOL-BREF was used to assess QoL. Recruitment was conducted through social media platforms. Comparisons were made between and within groups using the Welch t-test. Generalized linear models were used to predict score change for the WHOQOL-BREF items and domains accounting for sex, age, education, social inclusion, economic situation, and presence of additional or other disability. Included in the analysis was data from 381 participants, 143 with mobility-related disabilities and 238 without. Participants in the mobility-related disability group scored significantly lower than those without on General Health, General QoL, Health Satisfaction, and the four WHOQOL-BREF domains. The group with mobility-related disabilities also reported a lower Social Inclusion Score (SIS) and a higher proportion of people without a cash margin. An increased SIS indicated higher QoL in the generalized linear model, whereas the absence of cash margin and mobility-related disability negatively influenced the QoL scores. This study indicated that a person with mobility-related disabilities has lower QoL than those without mobility-related disabilities. A lower QoL was also related to a lack of cash margin, a lower social inclusion score, and whether there were additional or other disabilities present.

Selling one’s future: over-indebtedness and the risk of poor mental health and the role of precarious employment – results from the Scania Public Health Cohort, Sweden

ObjectivesThe credit market has expanded rapidly, increasing the risk of over-indebtedness among those who lack secure employment or adequate income, an issue of concern in the COVID-19 aftermath. We investigated...

Trust and emotional difficulties in adolescence: findings from a Swedish cohort study

Abstract Background Trust is a key component of a socially sustainable society, and is typically divided into general trust (referring to trust in other people) and institutional trust (referring to trust in the public institutions of society). Trust tends to be developed and formed early in life. While a plethora of research has reported positive links between trust and health in adults, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between general and institutional trust and emotional difficulties in mid and late adolescence. Methods Data were derived from the Swedish cohort study Futura01, using information collected amongst 3622 grade 9 students (∼15-16 years, t1) who were followed-up two years later (∼17-18 years, t2). General and institutional trust was measured by indices based on five items each at both t1 and at t2 (range 1-4). Emotional difficulties were measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) subscale at both t1 and at t2 (range 0-10). Control variables included family type and cash margin at t1 and upper secondary school program (academic vs. vocational) at t2. Linear regressions were performed using the first difference (FD) approach, analysing the change in emotional difficulties (t2-t1) regressed on the change in general and in institutional trust (t2-t1), respectively. Results Analyses simultaneously adjusting for change in both dimensions of trust showed inverse associations between the change in general trust and the change in emotional difficulties (b=-0.21, 95% CI -0.39, -0.04) and between the change in institutional trust and the change in emotional difficulties (b=-0.22, 95% CI -0.35, -0.09). Conclusions Increases in general and in institutional trust between ages 15-16 and 17-18 years were associated with a corresponding decrease in emotional difficulties. The findings suggest that trust is a social determinant of emotional difficulties in adolescents. Endeavours to enhance trust in this age group are relevant. Key messages • Changes in trust were inversely associated with changes in emotional difficulties in adolescents. • The findings indicate that efforts to reinforce trust in adolescents are relevant.

Self-rated health and associated factors among the oldest-old: results from a cross-sectional study in Sweden

BackgroundVery few population-based studies have investigated self-rated health and related factors in the increasing age group 85 years or older. The aim of this study was to examine self-rated health and its association with living conditions, lifestyle factors, physical and mental health problems and functional ability among the oldest-old in the general population in Sweden.MethodsThe study is cross-sectional and based on 1360 persons, 85 years of age or older, who answered a survey questionnaire sent to a random population sample in 2012 (participation rate 47%). Multivariate logistic regression was used as the statistical method.ResultsThe prevalence of good self-rated health was 39% in men and 30% in women. Physical inactivity, impaired physical mobility, pain, anxiety/depression and longstanding illness were independently associated with poorer than good self-rated health, while factors such as gender, age, educational level, cash margin, living alone, social support, smoking, alcohol use, obesity, accidents and impaired vision/hearing were not.ConclusionsWhile a considerable part of the oldest-old assess their health as good, not being physically active and having common health problems such as pain and depression as well as impaired physical mobility are associated with poorer than good self-rated health. This should be considered when planning how to improve and maintain health in the growing population of persons 85 years and older.

Performance of Kotak Mahindra Bank after Merger

The paper is an attempt to analyse the performance of Kotak Mahindra bank for pre and post-period. The approach is Based on comparison of ratios in pre and post period. The period taken for pre-merger is two years and post-merger is three years. Performance is evaluated on the basis of, current ratio, quick ratio, Credit Deposit Ratio, debt equity ratio, Investment Deposit Ratio, Cash Deposit Ratio, Financial Charges Coverage, Capital Adequacy Ratio, Net Profit Margin Ratio, Return on Long Term Fund Ratio, Return on Net Worth Ratio, Operating margin Ratio, Gross profit margin Ratio, Adjusted cash margin Ratio for pre and post merger period. The final conclusion is that Merger is a useful strategy for Banks to expand their operations, serve larger customer base, increases profitability, liquidity and efficiency but the overall growth and financial illness of the bank can't be solved from mergers.

Health inequalities between employed and unemployed in northern Sweden: a decomposition analysis of social determinants for mental health

BackgroundEven though population health is strongly influenced by employment and working conditions, public health research has to a lesser extent explored the social determinants of health inequalities between people in different positions on the labour market, and whether these social determinants vary across the life course. This study analyses mental health inequalities between unemployed and employed in three age groups (youth, adulthood and mid-life), and identifies the extent to which social determinants explain the mental health gap between employed and unemployed in northern Sweden.MethodsThe Health on Equal Terms survey of 2014 was used, with self-reported employment (unemployed or employed) as exposure and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) as mental health outcome. The social determinants of health inequalities were grouped into four dimensions: socioeconomic status, economic resources, social network and trust in institutional systems. The non-linear Oaxaca decomposition analysis was applied, stratified by gender and age groups.ResultsMental health inequality was found in all age groups among women and men (difference in GHQ varying between 0.12 and 0.20). The decomposition analysis showed that the social determinants included in the model accounted for 43–51% of the inequalities among youths, 42–98% of the inequalities among adults and 60–65% among middle-aged. The main contributing factors were shown to vary between age groups: cash margin (among youths and middle-aged men), financial strain (among adults and middle-aged women), income (among men in adulthood), along with trust in others (all age groups), practical support (young women) and social support (middle-aged men); stressing how the social determinants of health inequalities vary across the life course.ConclusionsThe health gap between employed and unemployed was explained by the difference in access to economic and social resources, and to a smaller extent in the trust in the institutional systems. Findings from this study corroborate that much of the mental health inequality in the Swedish labour market is socially and politically produced and potentially avoidable. Greater attention from researchers, policy makers on unemployment and public health should be devoted to the social and economic deprivation of unemployment from a life course perspective to prevent mental health inequality.

Too much or too little? A short-term longitudinal study of youth's own economic resources and risk behaviour

This study examined socioeconomic differences in risk behaviours according to youth-oriented measures of economic resources. Using a representative sample of Swedish adolescents (n = 3,939, 51% females), the associations that youth's own economy shared with smoking, drinking and conduct problems were examined. Data was based on population register and self-report information when participants were in grades 8 (T1 aged 14–15) and 9 (T2 aged 15–16). Missing activities due to financial constraints and having a cash margin were each positively associated with concurrent risk behaviours. However, longitudinal analyses showed that missing activities only increased the likelihood of conduct problems and having a cash margin only increased the likelihood of drinking one-year later. The results demonstrate that youth-oriented conceptualisations of economic resources identify gradients in drinking, smoking and conduct problems that are distinct from family socioeconomic status. However, adolescents' absolute and relative economic resources are associated with risk behaviours in opposite directions.

National data study showed that adolescents living in poorer households and with one parent were more likely to be bullied.

AimThe aim of this study was to assess whether sociodemographic household characteristics were associated with which Swedish adolescents were more likely to be bullied.MethodsThe data were derived from the Swedish Living Conditions Survey and its child supplements from the survey years 2008–2011. The analyses included information on 3951 adolescents aged 10–18 years. Exposure to bullying was reported by adolescents, and information on sociodemographic household characteristics was reported by parents and obtained from official registers. Binary logistic regression was used to analyse the data.ResultsAdolescents were more likely to be bullied if they lived in households with no cash margin, defined as the ability to pay an unexpected bill of 8000 Swedish Kronor or about 800 Euros, and if they lived with just one custodial parent. In the unadjusted analyses, elevated risks were identified if adolescents lived in working class households and had unemployed and foreign‐born parents. However, these associations were at least partly accounted for by other sociodemographic household characteristics, in particular the lack of a cash margin.ConclusionThis study showed that Swedish adolescents living in households with more limited financial resources had an increased risk of being bullied, supporting results from previous international research.

Explaining mental health inequalities in Northern Sweden: a decomposition analysis

ABSTRACT Background: There has been a substantial increase of income inequalities in Sweden over the last 20 years, which also could be reflected in health inequalities, including mental health inequalities. Despite the growing body of literature focusing on health inequalities in Sweden, income-related inequalities in mental health have received little attention. Particularly scarce are research from Northern Sweden and examinations of the social determinants of health inequalities. Objectives: The present study seeks to provide evidence regarding inequalities in mental health in Northern Sweden. The specific aims were to (1) quantify the income-related inequality in mental health in Northern Sweden, and (2) determine the contribution of social determinants to the inequality. Methods: The study population comprised 25,646 participants of the 2014 Health on Equal Terms survey in the four northernmost counties of Sweden, aged 16 to 84 years old. Income-related inequalities in mental health were quantified by the concentration index and further decomposed by applying Wagstaff-type decomposition analysis. Results: The overall concentration index of mental health in Northern Sweden was −0.15 (95% CI: −0.17 to −0.13), indicating income inequalities in mental health disfavoring the less affluent population. The decomposition analysis results revealed that socio-economic conditions, including employment status (31%), income (22.6%), and cash margin (14%), made the largest contribution to the pro-rich inequalities in mental health. The second-largest contribution came from demographic factors, mainly age (11.3%) and gender (6%). Psychosocial factors were of smaller importance, with perceived discrimination (8%) and emotional support (3.4%) making moderate contributions to the health inequalities. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates substantial income-related mental health inequalities in Northern Sweden, and provides insights into their underpinnings. These findings suggest that addressing the root causes is essential for promoting mental health equity in this region.

A study on brinjal production in Jamalpur district through profitability analysis and factors affecting the production

The objectives of this research study are to identify and measure the impact of the factors on brinjal production and to calculate the profit of brinjal production. Primary data collection was carried out at three villages of Islampur Upazila under Jamalpur district. Cobb-Douglas production function was applied to determine the effects of inputs on brinjal production. Human labor, seed cost, MP cost and pesticides have significant impact on brinjal production. The most important factor for variation in costs as identified was human labor and chemical fertilizers cost. Net return and cash margin of brinjal production were BDT 303,358 and BDT 345,415 per ha, respectively while the profit per Kg was BDT 6.63.Thus, Brinjal is a highly profitable enterprise. This study also identified some problems faced by farmers for producing brinjal like insects affect, lack of capital, lack of quality seed, lack of storage facilities, marketing problems. Thus more research and extension service can be adopted to solve the problems in order to increase production and ensure the nutritional food value in Bangladesh.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 14(1): 113-118, June 2016

The Social Consequences of Poverty: An Empirical Test on Longitudinal Data.

Poverty is commonly defined as a lack of economic resources that has negative social consequences, but surprisingly little is known about the importance of economic hardship for social outcomes. This article offers an empirical investigation into this issue. We apply panel data methods on longitudinal data from the Swedish Level-of-Living Survey 2000 and 2010 (n = 3089) to study whether poverty affects four social outcomes—close social relations (social support), other social relations (friends and relatives), political participation, and activity in organizations. We also compare these effects across five different poverty indicators. Our main conclusion is that poverty in general has negative effects on social life. It has more harmful effects for relations with friends and relatives than for social support; and more for political participation than organizational activity. The poverty indicator that shows the greatest impact is material deprivation (lack of cash margin), while the most prevalent poverty indicators—absolute income poverty, and especially relative income poverty—appear to have the least effect on social outcomes.

Socioeconomic differences in self-rated oral health and dental care utilisation after the dental care reform in 2008 in Sweden.

BackgroundThe aims of this study were to determine self-rated oral health and dental attendance habits among Swedish adults, with special reference to the role of social inequalities, after the Swedish dental care reform in 2008.MethodsThe study is based on a survey questionnaire, sent to 12,235 residents of a Swedish county, in 2012. The age group was 16–84 years: 5,999 (49%) responded. Using chi-square statistics, differences in prevalence of self-rated oral health and regular dental attendance were analysed with respect to gender, age, educational level, family status, employment status and country of birth. Self-rated poor oral health was analysed by multivarite logistic regression adjusting for the different socio-demographic factors, financial security and having refrained from dental treatment for financial reasons.ResultsThree out of four respondents (75%) reported fairly good or very good oral health. Almost 90% claimed to be regular dental attenders. Those who were financially secure reported better oral health. The differences in oral health between those with a cash margin and those without were large whereas the differences between age groups were rather small. About 8% reported that they had refrained from dental treatment for financial reasons during the last three months. Self-rated poor oral health was most common among the unemployed, those on disability pension or on long-term sick leave, those born outside the Nordic countries and those with no cash margin (odds ratios ranging from 2.4 to 4.4). The most important factor contributing to these differences was having refrained from dental treatment for financial reasons.ConclusionThe results are relevant to strategies intended to reduce social inequalities in oral health, affirming the importance of the provision of equitable access to dental care.

Beyond Income: The Importance for Life Satisfaction of Having Access to a Cash Margin

We study how life satisfaction among adult Swedes is influenced by having access to a cash margin, i.e. a moderate amount of money that could be acquired on short notice either through own savings, by loan from family or friends, or by other means. We find that cash margin is a strong and robust predictor of life satisfaction, also when controlling for individual fixed-effects and socio-economic conditions, including income. Since it shows not to matter whether cash margin comes from own savings or with help from family members, this measure captures something beyond wealth.

Which socio-economic measures are associated with psychological distress for men and women? A cohort analysis.

There are contradictory results regarding whether there is a social gradient in common mental disorders or not, or if this relation differs for different indicators or by gender. We analysed the relation between various measures of socio-economic position and later psychological distress among men and women in a Swedish context. The study is based on data from the Northern Swedish Cohort (N = 1001, 93.5% response rate), a 27-year prospective study. Logistic regression was used to explore the relation between various indicators of socio-economic position at age 30 (occupation, education, financial strain, cash margin, unemployment and living primarily on social welfare or unemployment insurance) and psychological distress (age 42), controlling for earlier psychological distress (age 21) and parental occupational class. Register data were used to measure unemployment. All other variables were self-reported, and measured by a questionnaire. Financial strain and living on social welfare or unemployment insurance at age 30 were associated with psychological distress at age 42 for men and women. Poor cash margin and unemployment were only associated with psychological distress in women, after controlling for potential confounders. Low occupational class and low education were not significantly related to later psychological distress. The two most commonly used measures of socio-economic position, occupation and education, were not significantly associated with psychological distress while other, less studied measures were. This study highlights the importance of measuring socio-economic position in several ways when studying common mental disorders, as well as to take gender into account.

Data Resource Profile: The Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD)

As the number and proportion of very old people in the population increase, there is a need for improved knowledge about their health and living conditions. The SWEOLD interview surveys are based on random samples of the population aged 77+years. The low non-response rates, the inclusion of institutionalized persons and the use of proxy informants for people unable to be interviewed directly ensure a representative portrayal of this age group in Sweden. SWEOLD began in 1992 and has been repeated in 2002, 2004 and 2011. The survey is based on another national survey, the Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU), started in 1968 with 10-year follow-up waves. This longitudinal design provides additional data collected when SWEOLD participants were in middle age and early old age. The SWEOLD interviews cover a wide range of areas including health and health behaviour, work history, family, leisure activities and use of health and social care services. Socio-economic factors include education, previous occupation and available cash margin. Health indicators include symptoms, diseases, mobility and activities of daily living (ADL). In addition to self-reported data, the interview includes objective tests of lung function, physical function, grip strength and cognition. The data have been linked to register data, for example for income and mortality follow-ups. Data are available to the scientific community on request. More information about the study, data access rules and how to apply for data are available at the website (www.sweold.se).

Extending the Black-Scholes Option Pricing Theory to Account for an Option Market Maker's Funding Costs

An option market maker incurs funding costs when carrying and hedging inventory. To hedge a net long delta inventory, for example, she pays a fee to borrow stock from the security lending market. Because of haircuts, she posts additional cash margin to the lender which needs to be financed at her unsecured debt rate. This paper incorporates funding asymmetry (borrowed cash and invested cash earning different interest rates) and realistic stock financing cost into the classic option pricing theory. It is shown that an option position can be dynamically replicated and self financed in the presence of these funding costs. Noting that the funding amounts and costs are different for long and short positions, we extend Black-Scholes-Merton partial differential equations (PDE) per position side. The PDE’s nonlinear funding cost terms create a free funding boundary and would result in the bid price for a long position on an option lower than the ask price for a short position. An iterative Crank-Nicholson finite difference method is developed to compute European and American vanilla option prices. Numerical results show that reasonable funding cost parameters can easily produce same magnitude of bid/ask spread of less liquid, longer term options as observed in the market place. Portfolio level pricing examples show the netting effect of hedges, which could moderate impact of funding costs.

Financial stress in late adulthood and diverse risks of incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality in women and men

BackgroundFinancial stress may have adverse health effects. The main aim of this study was to investigate whether having a cash margin and living alone or cohabiting is associated with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality.MethodsRepresentative population-based prospective cohort study of 60-year-old women (n = 2065) and men (n = 1939) in Stockholm County, Sweden. National registers were used to identify cases of incident CVD (n = 375) and all-cause mortality (n = 385). The presence of a cash margin was determined in the questionnaire with the following question: Would you, if an unexpected situation occurred, be able to raise 10 000 SEK within a week? (This was equivalent to US$ 1250 in 1998).ResultsCompared with cohabiting women with a cash margin, the risk of all-cause mortality was higher among cohabiting women without a cash margin, with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.97 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06–3.66). Using cohabiting men with cash margin as referent, single men without a cash margin were at an increased risk of both incident CVD and all-cause mortality: HR 2.84 (95% CI 1.61–4.99) and 2.78 (95% CI 1.69–4.56), respectively. Single men with cash margins still had an increased risk of all-cause mortality when compared with cohabiting men with a cash margin: HR 1.67 (95% CI 1.22–2.28).ConclusionsFinancial stress may increase the risks of incident CVD and all-cause mortality, especially among men. Furthermore these risks are likely to be greater in men living in single households and in women without cash margins. Living with a partner seems to protect men, but not women, from ill-health associated with financial stress due to the lack of a cash margin.

Coexisting disadvantages across the adult age span: A comparison of older and younger age groups in the Swedish welfare state

Heap J, Lennartsson C, Thorslund M. Coexisting disadvantages across the adult age span: a comparison of older and younger age groups in the Swedish welfare stateTo experience coexisting disadvantages – the simultaneous lack of several different welfare resources – implies a hampered ability to manage one's living conditions. Here, we study coexisting disadvantages in the oldest population compared with younger age groups in Sweden, by drawing on two linked, nationally representative surveys (n = 5,392). The measurement of coexisting disadvantages included physical health, psychological health, frequency of social contact, cash margin and political resources. The highest odds of coexisting disadvantages were found after age 75 – age groups that are frequently excluded from studies of coexisting disadvantages. This pattern persisted when controlling for socio‐demographic and socio‐economic characteristics. The age pattern was partly driven by the high prevalence of physical health problems in the older population. However, even when excluding physical health problems, the odds of coexisting disadvantages were highest among people older than 85 – the fastest‐growing segment of the population in many Western countries.