Paolo Comitoli SJ on Contracts

Summary Contract law in the early modern period has always been the subject of intensive research. The present article is intended as a contribution to this. It presents the contract doctrine of an Italian Jesuit, Paolo Comitoli. He was a moral theologian and author of the “Doctrina de contractu”. The paper begins with a biographical introduction and an overview of Comitoli’s writings. News about Comitoli’s life, however, is sparse and widely dispersed. The following section focuses on Comitoli’s concept of and his definition of contract. A brief explanation of Comitoli’s concept of contract attributes follows. Comitoli saw in these attributes the identity-forming characteristics of all contracts and used these elements to place the traditional problems of contract theory in a new framework.

RISK-BASED CAPITAL FOR VARIABLE ANNUITY UNDER STOCHASTIC INTEREST RATE

Interest rate is one of the main risks for the liability of the variable annuity (VA) due to its long maturity. However, most existing studies on the risk measures of the VA assume a constant interest rate. In this paper, we propose an efficient two-dimensional willow tree method to compute the liability distribution of the VA with the joint dynamics of the mutual fund and interest rate. The risk measures can then be computed by the backward induction on the tree structure. We also analyze the sensitivity and impact on the risk measures with regard to the market model parameters, contract attributes, and monetary policy changes. It illustrates that the liability of the VA is determined by the long-term interest rate whose increment leads to a decrease in the liability. The positive correlation between the interest rate and mutual fund generates a fat-tailed liability distribution. Moreover, the monetary policy change has a bigger impact on the long-term VAs than the short-term contracts.

Fraud Prevention in the Leasing Industry Using the Kohonen Self-Organising Maps

Background and Purpose: Data mining techniques are intensely used in various industries for the purpose of fraud prevention and detection. Research that focuses on the leasing industry is scarce, although frauds in the field of leasing occur rather often. First, we identify clusters of business clients in one leasing company by using the method of self-organising maps based on leasing contract attributes. Second, we compare clusters based on the presence of fraudulent clients, in order to develop fraudsters’ profiles.Methodology: For detecting characteristics of fraudulent clients, we use a client database containing leasing contract attributes of one Croatian leasing company. In order to develop profiles of fraudulent clients, we utilise a clustering procedure with the Kohonen Self-Organizing Maps supported by Viscovery SOMine software.Results: Five clusters were identified and labelled according to the modal values of attributes describing the leasing object and the industry in which the client operates: (i) New cars / Trade; (ii) Used trucks or tugboats / Other services; (iii) New machinery / Construction; (iv) New motors / Trade; and (v) New machinery and tractors / Agriculture.Conclusion: Self-organising maps have proved to be a useful methodology for developing profiles of fraudulent clients in leasing companies. Companies can use our results and make additional efforts in monitoring clients from the identified industries, buying specific leasing objects. In addition, companies can apply our methodology to their own databases, in order to develop fraudster profiles for their specific purposes, and implement fraud alert mechanisms in their client database.

Willingness of beef finishers to participate in supply chain collaborations

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence beef farmers’ willingness to participate in supply chain collaboration initiatives and to identify attributes in formal and non-formal agreements that would encourage or discourage participation. Design/methodology/approach A face-to-face survey containing a choice experiment was carried out. Respondents were selected using stratified sampling among beef finishers in Northern Ireland. Logistic regressions were employed to examine the factors associated with willingness and agreement attributes. Findings Larger and more specialised farms, as well as farmers with higher education attainment are shown to be more likely to participate in collaboration arrangements with downstream buyers. The choice experiment results suggest that farmers are in general willing to fulfil some feeding requirements in order to earn a premium, while a minimum price guarantee is not attractive. The positive valuation of data sharing between farms and abattoirs is found specifically among farmers with higher qualifications. Although education is shown to have positive impacts on both participation in collaboration agreements and the valuation of contract attributes, the level of education associated with the positive impacts differ. In addition, farmers who have enroled in agri-environmental schemes view the requirement of a written contract more favourably than those who have not. Originality/value The study adds to the understanding of how beef farmers view participation within supply chain collaborations and also how the potential features of the collaboration relate to characteristics of farmers and their farms.

Community Managed Forest Groups and Preferences for REDD+ Contract Attributes: A Choice Experiment Survey of Communities in Nepal

A significant portion of the world’s forests that are eligible for Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) payments are community managed forests. At the same time, there is a little knowledge in the existing literature about the preferences of households in the communities with community managed forests for REDD+ contracts.We use a choice experiment survey of rural communities in Nepal to understand the respondent’s preferences towards the institutional structure of REDD+ contracts. We split our sample across the communities with community managed forests groups and those without to see how the prior involvement in community managed forest groups’ impact preferences. Results show that respondents care about how the payments are divided between the households and the communities, the restrictions on firewood use, the restrictions on grazing and the level of payments. Finally we use a series of demographic interactions terms to analyze how the institutional arrangements and beliefs about climate change and benefits from the REDD+ program influence respondents’ beliefs. We find that there are no significant differences in the preferences for the REDD+ contract attributes between the Community Forests (CF) and non-CF respondent groups but we find that respondent groups differ in their beliefs about REDD+ payments and the institutional arrangements.Journal of Forest and Livelihood 13(1) May, 2015, Page : 8-19

Understanding the contract structure for mango and empirical analysis of its determinants

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the structure of contractual arrangements in mango orchards and factors affecting the mango contract design in India. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on personal structured questionnaire survey of 83 contractors in one of the major mango growing areas in India. A snowball sampling approach was adopted to select suitable respondents for the study. Descriptive statistics have been computed to understand the contractor’s response on contract attributes. Factor analysis was used to categorize the contractors’ responses on various attributes of the mango contract. Further, a logistic regression model has been developed to determine the factors affecting the contract decisions. Findings – The study identifies nine aspects of mango contracting covering orchard owner, orchard and contract management characteristics. Further, a logistic regression model has been developed to assess the factors affecting the contractor’s decision on the time of entering into mango contracting, i.e. pre-flowering or post-flowering stage. Regression analysis results clearly indicate that contractors who prefer pre-flowering contracts pay significantly higher attention to contract management attributes. On the other hand, those contractors who normally enter in contract once the mango trees have flowered are more likely to pay attention to orchard-related features. Practical implications – Specifically, the results have implications for contract terms, contract efficiency and effectiveness and overall performance. Finally, the study provides suggestions for a future research agenda to analyze mango production contracts. Originality/value – Though contracting in mango growing is a common phenomena, there is limited analysis on identifying the key contract attributes and factors affecting the contract structure.