Risk,rent seeking and the social cost of monopoly power

Some recent empirical studies that have estimated the social cost of monopoly power have included in these estimates observed monopoly rents as a proxy for the unobserved value of the resources expended by rent seekers. This has involved adding these estimates of resources wasted by rent seekers to estimates of deadweight welfare loss triangles so as to produce an overall estimate of the social cost of monopoly. The present paper points out that each firm seeking a monopoly rent flow not only may be uncertain about obtaining the flow but also about retaining it in future periods. It is shown that this is likely to cause the proportion of the rent flow converted into social cost to be well below 100% regardless of whether the rent sought is small relative to initial wealth and regardless of whether rent seekers are risk-neutral or risk-averse. These findings demonstrate that large errors are likely to be made in monopoly welfare loss studies if observed monopoly rents continue to be employed as a measure of the value of resources used in rent-seeking activities.     

A theory of rent seeking with informational foundations

I develop a model of rent seeking with informational foundations and an arbitrary number of rent seekers, and I compare the results with Tullock’s (1980) classic model where the influence activities are “black-boxed.” Given the microfoundations, the welfare consequences of rent seeking can be studied. In particular, I show that competition among rent seekers can be socially beneficial, since the additional information that the decision maker gets access to makes the increase in rent-seeking expenditures worthwhile. However, the analysis also highlights a logic that, under natural parameter assumptions, makes the rent seekers spend more resources on rent seeking than is in society’s interest, which is consistent with the spirit of the rent-seeking literature.      

The Economic Impact of Rent Seeking and Military Expenditures: A Comparison of Third World Military and Civilian Regimes

Abstract . The general stereotype of modern Third World military regimes is that of ultra-conservativism combined with military force to dismantle organizations of popular expression. These organizations through their rent-seeking activities are assumed to have reduced overall rates of economic growth. Empirically, the paper does find some support for this line of argument. However, it is apparent that the traditional stereotypes are inappropriate. The two regime types differ largely in terms of contrasting styles of economic management. Military regimes create an environment where military expenditures tend to have a positive overall impact on economic growth Civilian regimes having less control over rent seeking groups do not appear to be able to combine rent seeking activities and military expenditures in a manner conducive to overall economic growth.     

管理者过度自信与企业投资现金敏感度——基于英国上市公司的实证研究

本文以英国上市公司为样本,发现融资约束公司普遍表现出管理者过度自信与投资现金流敏感性之间显著的正相关关系。与此相反,这种积极的关系不能在融资无约束公司中找到。这个结果和预期相一致,即在融资约束公司中过度自信的管理者的投资决策应该比非过度自信的管理者投资决策对现金流更加敏感。因为,现金流的增加能够促使过度自信的管理者加大投资并达到他们想要的水平。     

现金持有与研发投入的相关性研究——基于我国A股上市公司数据

采用2007—2013年沪深两市A股上市公司作为样本,对现金持有与研发投入的关系进行分析,结果显示:研发投入越多的企业的现金持有水平越高;期初现金持有越多的企业研发投入越多,研发-现金敏感性越显著,而且随着现金持有量的增加该敏感性会逐渐下降;相比于成熟期公司,成长期公司现金持有与研发投入之间的正相关性更强,而且成长期公司的研发-现金敏感性不会随着现金持有水平的增加而下降。     

所有权性质、融资约束与企业投资——基于投资现金流敏感性的经验证据

本文通过研究中国制造业上市公司投资支出与其内部现金流的敏感性,分析经济转轨过程中不同所有权企业融资约束的变动情况。研究发现:(1)制造业上市公司存在明显的融资约束,且民营企业的融资约束明显高于国有企业;(2)在研究期间,全部样本企业的投资现金流敏感性随时间逐渐降低;(3)预算软约束的存在,使得国有企业投资现金流敏感性随时间下降的幅度比民营企业低。     

Do adjustment costs explain investment-cash flow insensitivity?

In this paper, I explain two “puzzles” that have been observed in firm level data. First, firms that display a high sensitivity of investment to cash flow (commonly believed to be an indicator of liquidity constraints) usually have large unutilized lines of credit which, presumably, could be used to overcome the shortage of funds. Second, firms that are perceived to be extremely liquidity constrained actually show very little sensitivity of investment to cash flow.I show how a dynamic model of firm investment with liquidity constraints and non-convex costs of adjustment of capital can explain these facts. These two features together imply that firms need to have a certain threshold level of financial resources before they can afford to increase investment. Once they cross this threshold, firms’ investment will be positively correlated with their financial resources until they reach their desired level of capital stock. However, even if investment is sensitive to cash flow, firms may borrow below their credit limit to guard against future bankruptcy or binding liquidity constraints.     

论引资中的现金流量会计

本文利用现金流量会计范式的思想,将其应用在引资项目的实践工作中,从社会的角度,用社会成本的理念计算引资项目的现金净流量,力求为引资工作提供一个可以参考的模式。     

基于自由现金流的投资组合研究

本文运用我国股市1998～2006年间的财务报表数据,选择正自由现金流、低自由现金流乘数和低财务杠杆的大公司,对其以自由现金流为基础的投资组合进行了检验。结果显示,以自由现金流为基础的投资组合回报始终优于市场指数,说明在我国股市实行基于自由现金流的投资组合是积极可行的。     

投资现金流敏感性研究述评

大量的经验文献支持了流动性假说,认为内部现金流是影响公司投资的一个重要因素。文中基于信息不对称下的融资约束理论与自由现金流的代理成本假说,回顾了关于投资现金流敏感性存在及其根源的国内外相关研究成果,梳理了该领域的研究脉络,并对主要结论进行了总结与评论。对文献研究发现,大多数研究均证实了投资与现金流之间具有较强的敏感性,但挖掘这种敏感性的根源却尚未达成一致的结论。尤其随着股权结构的引入,考虑到管理层内部持股的激励与堑壕效应、股权集中下控股股东的监督与侵占效应,该领域的研究纷繁复杂。但基于股权结构的研究是揭示这种敏感性的根源、探索非效率投资治理机制的有效途径。     

On the effects of capital mobility on local infrastructure policy and rent-seeking

This paper deals with the influence of capital mobility on local infrastructure policy and on rent-seeking activities of local interest groups. It employs a model where households differ with respect to their endowments with the immobile factor land. Local governments decide about the level of productive infrastructure in their jurisdiction. According to their land endowments, different households benefit to a different degree from infrastructure. This redistribution effect of local infrastructure gives households an incentive for rent-seeking. As this paper shows, capital mobility and fiscal competition between local governments have an influence on the equilibrium level of rent-seeking. Rent-seeking expenditures increase with the introduction of capital mobility in a broad class of cases.     

Pension Funding Constraints and Corporate Expenditures*

This paper examines the impact of a company's pension contributions (PCs) on its dividend and investment policies. The effects of shocks to cash flows on these corporate expenditures are identified by changes to pension funding regulations. Using a sample of DB pension schemes in FTSE350 UK‐listed firms we find a strong negative relation between PCs and corporate dividends even after controlling for the correlation between funding status and unobserved investment opportunities. We find that the more stringent funding requirements under the Pensions Act 2004 had a more pronounced effect on both dividend and investment sensitivities to PCs.     

私募股权投资基金公司战略规划

对于传统的金融投资而言,风险投资是一种观念和方法的革新,传统金融投资着眼点是未来的现金流量,而风险投资更为关注被投资企业管理者的能力、技术以及企业的发展前景等,因此受金融市场的总体趋势、政府政策导向、科技发展水平等宏观环境影响较大。正确把握好宏观环境发展趋势,对于私募股权投资公司战略分析和战略选择尤为重要。本文采取了PEST、波特五力模型、SWOT矩阵等多种方法,在详细讨论宏观环境、公司竞争环境、公司现状的基础上,总结了H私募股权投资基金公司的优势与不足,得到了公司战略目标、战略规划以及5大战略重点。本文的研究意义在于为H私募股权投资基金公司制定战略地图以及基于平衡积分卡的绩效管理体系奠定基础。     

不同规模制造业上市公司投资与现金流关系研究

本文对制造业上市公司在不同规模下投资与现金流关系进行了理论分析;其次以我国沪深两市制造业上市公司2004～2007年的财务数据为样本,以企业规模为分组标准,利用实证检验投资与现金流之间的关系。通过理论分析和实证研究,得知与大规模企业相比,小规模企业投资对现金流依赖性更强。     

Financial Constraints on German Firms after the Crisis: Evidence from Threshold Panel Estimation

This article studies the existence and magnitude of financial investment constraints in Germany between 2006 and 2012 with a special emphasis on small and medium‐sized firms. The core contention is that the sensitivity of the investment rate to the cash flow rate is a function of a firm's financial position contributing to its access to external finance. The application of a nonlinear panel threshold model reveals that the marginal effect of the cash flow rate on the investment rate is almost twice as strong for ‘high debt’ firms compared to ‘low debt’ firms. This result holds for six out of seven balance sheet threshold variables. For a single specification, the results reveal a non‐monotonic relationship between the cash flow rate and investment rate. Firm size, however, does not explain differences in the cash‐flow‐investment nexus.     

Multi-period rent-seeking contests with carryover: Theory and experimental evidence

This paper develops and experimentally tests a model in which a players effort affects the probability of winning a contest in both the current and future periods. Theory predicts that rent-seeking effort will be shifted forward from later to earlier periods, with no change in overall rent-seeking expenditures relative to the static contest. Experimental results indicate a significant shift forward when carryover is present and that the amount shifted is directly related to the carryover rate. Finally, although experimental expenditures are greater than the equilibrium predictions, overall rent-seeking effort in the carryover contests is lower than in similar static contests.Received: 15 September 2003, Accepted: 15 June 2004 JEL Classification: D72, C91 Correspondence to: JohnCadigan     

The internal rate of return of fuzzy cash flow

An internal rate of return (IRR) of an investment of financing project with cash flow (a₀, a₁, a₂,..., a_n) is usually defined as a rate of interest such that $$a_0 + a_{\text{1}} {\text{(1}} + r{\text{)}}^{ - 1} + ... + a_n (1 + r)^{ - n} = 0$$ . If the cash flow has one sign change then the previous equation has a unique solution τ>?1. Generally the IRR does not extend to fuzzy cash flows, as it can be seen with examples (see [2]). In this paper we show that under suitable hypotheses a unique fuzzy IRR exists for a fuzzy cash flow.     

Rent-seeking in a unionised monopoly

A unionised monopoly firm, benefitting from some kind of anti-competitive regulation, and its corresponding trade union have a common interest in spending resources to protect the monopoly rents created by the regulation. In the present paper, a situation in which the unionised monopoly is challenged by a consumer organisation fighting for deregulation is analysed as a standard Tullock rent-seeking contest. With unequal sharing of monopoly rents, the free-riding incentives among the rent-defending players turn out to be overwhelming, in the sense that the unique Nash equilibrium is characterised by zero effort contribution by the player with the lower valuation of the contested prize. This implies that being “strong”, in terms of bargaining strength, is not necessarily an advantage for neither player in a unionised monopoly that is threatened by deregulation. Received: June 2000 / accepted: January 2001     

金融资产配置、金融杠杆与现金流风险

金融资产会计安排是企业执行金融工具准则的重要环节,具有显著的经济后果。基于实体企业金融化现象,研究金融资产配置与现金流风险关系,分析金融杠杆的调节功能,探讨非效率资本配置的传导作用,研究发现：金融资产配置与现金流风险之间存在U型关系;金融杠杆能够调节金融资产配置与现金流风险的关系,使关系曲线拐点右移与扁平化。区分金融资产配置类型后发现：交易类金融资产与现金流风险呈U型关系;委托贷款等新兴金融资产负向影响现金流风险;投资性房地产和长期金融股权投资未显著影响现金流风险。考虑企业生命周期后发现,成长期与衰退期企业金融资产配置与现金流风险呈U型关系,成熟期企业金融资产配置负向影响现金流风险;按照产权性质分组检验发现,金融资产配置与现金流风险的关系以及金融杠杆的调节效应在非国有企业中更显著;机制检验发现,非效率资本配置在金融资产配置影响现金流风险的过程中发挥中介作用。     

Hard Times or Great Expectations? Dividend Omissions and Dividend Cuts by UK Firms*

This paper uncovers an increasing proportion of quoted UK companies omitting cash dividends. Using a large panel of quoted UK firms, we estimate panel data probit models for the incidence of dividend omissions and cuts as functions of financial characteristics including cash flow, leverage, investment opportunities, investment and company size. These variables account for most of the increase in omission since 1995. There is relatively little evidence to link this to the major tax reform of 1997 that abolished tax refunds on dividend income payable to tax‐exempt institutions. Significant persistence effects indicate companies are slow to adjust their balance sheets through their dividend.