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This research examines the operating performance benefits attained by merging savings institutions. Merging and nonmerging savings and loan associations are compared before and after the merger year on the basis of financial performance. A univariate test of differences and a multivariate test, probit analysis, are used to distinguish between the two groups. Improvements in operating performance are found for the merged savings institutions.

<p class="MsoBodyText2" style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Stocks with a high valuation compared to fundamental values imply a high growth rate, yet these stocks have typically under-performed in subsequent years supporting Lakonishok, Shleifer and Vishney's (1994) contrarian investment strategies. The precise definition of growth and subtle differences of measuring growth are explored in assessing the role of growth in long-term investment decisions and stock valuation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Results from a later period and with additional tests than employed by LSV indicate that growth is a primary valuation factor, and valuation measures such as E/P and B/M, are imperfect proxies for expected growth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Growth appears mean reverting, but investors do not seem able to discern changes in growth rates and this miss-specification of expected growth may help explain the superiority of value versus growth strategies. In addition, investors&rsquo; na&iuml;ve extrapolations of past growth provide explanatory power in future holding period returns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span></span></span></p>

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MATHEMATICAL programming techniques were used in this dissertation to develop and test a public water resources project selection model. Selection and scheduling of annual portfolios of projects were accomplished of the projects which the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) had considered during the 1965-1973 planning period. Discounted benefit and cost flow concepts were utilized in quantifying the models which utilized linear programming (LP), integer programming (IP), and integer goal programming (GP) techniques.The programming approaches were compared to the present approach-individual project selection based on maximum benefit-cost ratio (BCR). The LP and IP portfolio solutions differed from the BCR solution due to the complexity of the water resources problem considered and because of the inadequacy of the BCR as a criterion. And IP was deemed superior to LP because the large number of fractional projects rendered the LP solution of little practical value.Long-term budget level determination was facilitated through analysis of LP dual variables and by using parametric (LP) programming. The IP technique was not suited to this problem because of the near-meaningless dual variables (IP), and because the IP technique consumes too much computational time for the parametric programming problem.Individual project scheduling techniques were developed by analyzing the dual variables of the LP solution. The dual variable represents the marginal cost of not including the particular project during a certain year. The LP dual variables were also analyzed with regard to political or social factors which caused the forced acceptance of a particular project. The effects on the optimum net present value (NPV) gave guidance as to the better year to implement the forced projects.Multiple objectives-economic (national and regional) and environmental improvement-were incorporated into the IP model by use of the GP approach. It was found especially important to use IP instead of LP because the LP-GP projects were found to be extremely fractional in portfolio acceptance. The GP approach involves "satisficing" the several goals rather than maximizing (or minimizing) one goal. The objectives were quantified in both monetary and physical terms, i.e., river miles lost, shoreline gained, area inundated, kilowatts gained, etc. Because more than one goal was formally considered, this represented a significant advance for quantitative decision making of water resources problems.The results of two programming approaches, IP maximizing NPV and GP, were then compared to the TVA result in terms of project selection and scheduling, portfolio NPV attained, and degree of goal attainment. The following is an example of the differing results: * A dissertation completed at the University of Georgia in 1973. 1593