Firm’ability to effectively allocate capital and manage risks is the essence of their production and performance. This study investigated the relationship between capital structure, portfolio risk levels and firm performance using a large sample of U.S. banks from 2001 to 2016. Stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was used to construct a frontier to measure the firm's cost efficiency as a proxy for firm performance. We further look at their relationship by dividing the sample into different size and ownership classes, as well as the most and least efficient banks. The empirical evidence suggests that more efficient banks increase capital holdings and take on greater credit risk while reducing risk-weighted assets. Moreover, it appears that increasing the capital buffer impacts risk-taking by banks depending on their level of cost efficiency, which is a placeholder for how productive their intermediation services are performed. An additional finding, is that the direction of the relationship between risk-taking and capital buffers differs depending on what measure of risk is used.

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In this study, we sought to investigate the effects of different degrees of superchilling on shelf life and quality of pork. We selected −1°C (0.00% ice fraction), −2°C (20.85%), and −3°C (37.21%) as the storage conditions. Results revealed pork stored at −3°C (high degree of superchilling) was characterized by low microbial growth rate, total volatile basic nitrogen levels, and pH values. In addition, the pork stored at this temperature had lower carbonyls contents and thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances, indicating that the high degree of superchilling can inhibit protein and lipid oxidation. Furthermore, the high degree of superchilling was found to reduce drip loss, although it might inevitably result in enhanced cooking loss due to ice crystal formation, and retard the decrease in tenderness compared to the low degree of superchilling (−2°C). In brief, the high degree of superchilling can extend the shelf life of pork and maintain better meat quality. Practical applications The results from the present study suggested that understanding the effects of different degrees of superchilling on the shelf life and quality of pork can provide theoretical guidance regarding optimal superchilling conditions for the refrigerated storage of meat.

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