市场化进程下的西部地区环境规制研究

基于市场化进程的视角,采用系统广义矩(SYS-GMM)方法估计了西部地区研发投入、环境规制和技术创新的关系。研究发现,考虑市场化进程的情况下,资本投入对技术创新的促进作用显著下降,劳动投入对技术创新的促进作用大幅上升;在考虑和不考虑市场化进程的条件下,西部地区命令控制型和公众参与型环境规制工具对技术创新的作用都不显著,市场激励型环境规制工具对技术创新的作用显著为正,当期技术创新能力在很大程度上受到上一期技术创新能力的影响,市场化进程对技术创新有显著的正向影响。     

家族所有权控制与企业国际化——基于职业经理人和市场化程度的调节效应研究

本文通过整合社会情感财富理论、管理者权力理论和资源优势理论,以2009—2016年沪深两市A股上市的家族企业数据为研究对象,检验了家族所有权控制对企业国际化的影响,并考察了职业经理人和市场化程度在两者关系中的调节作用。通过实证检验发现:家族所有权控制与企业国际化呈显著的负相关关系,同时职业经理人和市场化程度在两者的关系中起到了调节作用。具体而言,聘用职业经理人,家族所有权控制与企业国际化的负向关系得以减弱;而市场化程度却会增强家族所有权控制与企业国际化的负向关系。本文的实证结论为中国家族企业在"走出去"战略背景下更好地开展国际化经营提供了新的理论支撑和实践启示。     

政府补助对科技中小型企业成长的影响机理

采用创业板2011—2016年251家科技型中小企业数据,从研发经费投入和技术人员投入两个方面检验技术创新投入在政府补助对企业成长影响的中介作用,以及市场化进程和要素市场发育程度的调节作用。实证研究发现：①研发经费投入在政府补助对企业成长的影响中有中介作用,技术人员投入在政府补助对企业成长的影响中中介作用不明显;②市场化进程越高的地区,政府补助通过研发经费投入对企业成长的影响越强,政府补助通过技术人员投入对企业成长的影响也越强;③要素市场发育程度越好的地区,研发经费投入在政府补助与企业成长间的中介作用越强,技术人员投入在政府补助与企业成长间的中介作用也越强。     

制度效率、家族化途径与家族投资偏好

文章以家族企业投资决策为研究对象,考察了转轨与新兴双重特征下家族控制影响企业投资决策的机理。研究发现,家族控制人的风险规避偏好在投资决策中占主导,家族企业的长期投资规模小于非家族企业,其偏好于实体资本投资而限制高风险的R&D投资活动;家族风险规避偏好的短期投资行为在通过并购重组实现家族控制和职业经理人担任CEO的家族企业中更为显著;较高的制度效率可以减少家族控制人的风险规避动机,促进企业投资活动增加。     

家族企业的控制目标、盈利目标与研发投入

以2011—2016年中国沪深两市家族企业为样本,采用二手数据Tobit回归方法,研究了家族企业控制目标和盈利目标的实现与否对研发投入的影响。结果显示:供应商对家族企业的威胁越大,家族企业管理者为了实现控制目标越倾向于增加研发投入;家族企业管理者对盈利目标和控制目标的重视遵循注意力顺序理论,即当盈利目标未实现时,家族企业管理者更关注盈利状况,较少关注控制威胁,因此会减少研发投入;当盈利目标实现后,家族企业管理者才关注控制威胁、增加研发投入;家族企业的资源禀赋优势有助于控制目标的实现。     

二代涉入、制度情境与中国家族企业创新投入——基于社会情感财富理论的研究

基于社会情感财富理论,本文以2012-2016年中国A股上市家族企业为样本,采用倾向得分匹配法,对一定制度情境下二代涉入对家族企业创新投入的影响进行实证研究。研究结果表明:二代涉入会抑制家族企业的创新投入,发生二代涉入的家族企业会更重视约束型社会情感财富,而该类社会情感财富会导致家族企业对创新投入持保守态度;制度环境对二代涉入与家族企业创新投入之间的关系具有正向调节效应,从而会缓和二代涉入对家族企业创新投入的抑制作用;政治关联对二代涉入与家族企业创新投入之间的关系具有负向调节效应,从而会加剧二代涉入对家族企业创新投入的抑制作用。据此,本文建议:发生二代涉入的家族企业不能为了加强对企业的控制而排斥引入外部优良人才或外部投资者,创始人应该注重二代成员对家族企业归属感等的培养,提升二代成员对延伸型社会情感财富的保护意愿;政府和家族企业必须共同努力推进市场化改革,藉此完善家族企业赖以生存的制度环境;家族企业应当尽量避免政治寻租等行为对创新的抑制作用。     

市场化进程、实际控制人与内部控制有效性——来自我国上市公司的经验证据

研究企业市场化进程与内部控制有效性的关系,探索企业实际控制人性质对两者关系的影响,从而发现市场化程度、实际控制人性质和内部控制有效性的相互作用机理.研究表明,市场化进程对内部控制的有效性存在显著的正向影响,国有控制企业内部控制的有效性优于非国有控制企业,相对于非国有控制企业,市场化进程对国有控制企业内部控制的有效性具有更强的提升作用.     

经理人市场失灵与家族管理转型的制度困境

由家族企业向现代经理式企业演变是企业发展的一般规律,也是家族企业规模扩张的必然要求.但是在我国经理人市场失灵的现实条件下,引入外部经理人将使家族企业面对经理人的选择风险和经理人的道德风险.本文通过一个博弈模型证明,家族化管理因家族成员的高度信任具有情境的合理性.     

家族控制与企业创新投入——信息透明度的调节效应

家族企业对社会情感财富目标的追求是其区别于非家族企业的重要特性,社会情感财富目标与企业经济利益间冲突对企业RD投入的影响不容忽视。以社会情感财富为理论基础,基于573家上市家族企业2011-2015年的面板数据,分析受市场化程度影响时,家族涉入情境下信息透明度对企业RD投入的影响。结果显示:信息透明度可以有效缓解信息不对称和代理冲突,促进企业RD投入;家族控制对RD投入有消极影响;当企业信息透明度较高时,会抑制家族所有者为个人谋取私利的动机,进而增强其对企业RD投资的积极作用。在市场化程度更高、产权保护力度较大的地区,信息透明度会缓解家族控制权对RD投入的消极作用。     

政府补助对科技中小型企业成长的影响机理——技术创新投入的中介作用与市场环境的调节作用

采用创业板2011—2016年251家科技型中小企业数据,从研发经费投入和技术人员投入两个方面检验技术创新投入在政府补助对企业成长影响的中介作用,以及市场化进程和要素市场发育程度的调节作用。实证研究发现:(1)研发经费投入在政府补助对企业成长的影响中有中介作用,技术人员投入在政府补助对企业成长的影响中中介作用不明显;(2)市场化进程越高的地区,政府补助通过研发经费投入对企业成长的影响越强,政府补助通过技术人员投入对企业成长的影响也越强;(3)要素市场发育程度越好的地区,研发经费投入在政府补助与企业成长间的中介作用越强,技术人员投入在政府补助与企业成长间的中介作用也越强。     

Pleasure and belief in Hume's Decision Process

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to introduce explicitly pleasure and belief in what aims at being a Humean theory of decision, like the one developed in Diaye and Lapidus (2005a). Although we support the idea that Hume was in some way a hedonist – evidently different from Bentham's or Jevons' way – we lay emphasis less on continuity than on the specific kind of hedonism encountered in Hume's writings (chiefly the Treatise, the second Enquiry, the Dissertation, or some of his Essays). Such hedonism clearly contrasts to its standard modern inheritance, expressed by the relation between preferences and utility.

The reason for such a difference with the usual approach lies in the mental process that Hume puts to the fore in order to explain the way pleasure determines desires and volition. Whereas pleasure is primarily, in Hume's words, an impression of sensation, it takes place in the birth of passions as reflecting an idea of pleasure, whose “force and vivacity” is precisely a “belief”, transferred to the direct passions of desire or volition that come immediately before action. As a result, from a Humean point of view, “belief” deals with decision under risk or uncertainty, as well as with intertemporal decision and indiscrimination problems.

The latter are explored within a formal framework, and it is shown that the relation of pleasure is transformed by belief into a non-empty class of relations of desire, among which at least one is a preorder.     

Globalization,Neoliberalism and the attack on social security

Neoliberal political movements advocate privatization of public pension systems. Globalization imposes pressure on nations to conform to neoliberal policy views with respect to the design and structure of social insurance, including public pension systems. The paper begins with an investigation of the economic, ethical and ideological dimensions of the privatization debates in the U.S.; it argues that privatization advocates may be largely moved by ideology, since the other reasons advanced appear weak or unfounded. The second part discusses the history of Social Security, the purposes for its creation, and some of its economic effects. Differences between public and private pension systems are considered. A brief international comparison of some aspects of public pension system finance and benefit structures is presented. The final section considers the ethical, macroeconomic and distributional implications of privatization, prefunding and payroll tax funding, and argues for a pay as you go system financed with income taxes. In order to promote equity, economic security, community, and social cohesion, public pension systems should be universal in coverage. In order to reduce the inequality, income insecurity, and aged poverty generated by market economies, public pension systems ought to be progressive: benefit/contribution ratios should be inversely proportional to income, and progressive income taxes should finance the system. To promote economic growth, the systems should be financed on a pay-as-you-go basis, and should not be prefunded except for an emergency reserve. The fiscal policy recommendations partially depend upon the theory developed by Abba Lerner in the 1940s, and recently advanced by Wynne Godley and Randy Wray: Lerner's “principle of functional finance.”     

Interest on reserves and inflation

The payment of interest on reserves has been a common practice in inflationary economies. This policy may seem paradoxical since it involves returning part of the seigniorage, generated by the inflation process, with the intention to finance the fiscal deficit. This paper argues that the motivation for this policy can be captured by the discretionary regime, where the policymaker pays interest on reserves because he is concerned with the erosion of real liquidity by inflation, which is in part beyond his control. However, this policy is an unlikely outcome in the commitment regime, where the policymaker is in full control of inflation.     

Bayesian estimation of duration models: An application of the multiperiod probit model

The multiperiod probit model is presented and Bayesian estimation using the Gibbs sampler with data augmentation is described. As an empirical illustration, the multiperiod probit model is then used to estimate a duration model using employment duration data for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Bayesian estimation with unobserved heterogeneity is shown to be a simple extension of estimation of a duration model with no unobserved heterogeneity. More importantly, perhaps, some numerical problems encountered by other authors using Maximum Likelihood are avoided.I would like to thank M. Baker, G. Koop, A. Melino and D. Poirier for helpful comments and discussions. I would also like to thank M. Baker for providing his data.     

Scenarios and creativity: Thinking in new boxes

To be creative and make change happen, leaders must do more than simply ‘think outside the box’, as the traditional business manuals suggest, using the popular American expression. After all, the space outside the box is infinitely expansive. Moreover, there can be no guarantee that a solution to the problem will be found. The answer: ‘Think in new boxes.’ This requires developing the right new box; in other words, useful new models, a helpful new approach to a problem. That is the real art of practical creativity. This short article outlines the approach (Thinking in New Boxes) and its application to classic scenario planning with a few examples. The authors also present the ‘Expressway to Scenarios’, an approach that wins in impact and practicality what it loses in deep analysis, by having top executives involved in key steps.     

On the Role of Paradigms in Understanding Economic Globalization

Any adequate analysis of economic globalization necessarily requires fundamental understanding of the worldviews underlying the views expressed with respect to the nature and role of economic globalization. This paper is based on the premise that any worldview can be associated with one of the four basic paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist. It argues that any view expressed with respect to economic globalization is based on one of the four paradigms or worldviews. It, therefore, discusses four views with respect to the nature and role of economic globalization which correspond to the four broad worldviews. The paper emphasizes that the four views expressed are equally scientific and informative; they look at the nature and role of economic globalization from a certain paradigmatic viewpoint. Emphasizing this example in the area of economic globalization, the paper concludes that there are opportunities for each paradigm to benefit from contributions coming from the other three paradigms.     

A Humean theory of choice of which rationality may be one consequence

For the reader who considers economic theory of choice as a special case of a more general theory of action, Hume's discussion of the determinants of action in the Treatise of Human Nature (1739?–?40), in the Enquiry on Human Understanding (1748) and in the Dissertation on Passions (1757) deserves attention. However, according to some modern commentators, Hume does not seem to have given any evidence that would favour what nowadays we would consider as the kind of rationality involved in modern theories of rational choice. On the contrary, this paper arrives at the conclusion that consistency between preferences and choice, like the usual properties of completeness and transitivity, may be considered as outcomes of a mental process, described by means of a decision algorithm that aims to represent Hume's theory of choice.     

The concept of freedom and its relation to economic development--a critical appreciation of the work of Amartya Sen

Following a brief review of the conception of freedom as employedin economic discourse, this paper focuses on the evolution ofthe concept of freedom in the work of Amartya Sen. It tracesthe development of Sen's thought from the capability analysisof the late 1970s to his more recent separation of freedom intoits opportunity and process aspects. While broadly appreciativeof Sen's development of the concept of positive freedom, thepaper identifies some difficulties arising from his definitionof capability as a set of options as well as from his separationof the opportunity and process aspects of freedom. Aspects ofthe relationship between Sen's conception of freedom and thatof Marx are discussed briefly in the context of Sen's recentdiscussion of the market as a source of freedom.     

How chaebol restructuring after the 1997 crisis has affected corporate decision and performance in Korea: debt financing,ownership structure,and investment

ABSTRACT

Korean chaebol firms, characterized by excessive debt financing and overinvestment, experienced restructuring after the 1997 crisis. By reducing debt financing and thus overinvestment, they tried to reorganize financing structure and ownership structure. Chaebols’ debt reduction turns out to have improved performance. However, polarization between chaebol and non-chaebol firms has become more significant. Even after the crisis, firms that give higher cash flows to a controlling shareholder take more capital investment, indicating that agency problems still exist within chaebols. Chaebol-affiliated firms continue to be more active in R&D than non-chaebol firms. However, the pattern is limited to the group of top 10 chaebols after the crisis.

Abbreviations: KFTC: Korea Fair Trade Commission     

Types of technology

Technology is a concept rife with confusion. Here, I argue that technologies can be distinguished as a combination of type of producer and an idealized artefact life history. Using this definition, a number of technologies are identified. The first technology historically, in the Protostomes, was the production of individual or family dwellings. Next came objects such as spider webs for trapping prey. Stigmergy followed, with the social insects, as a collective endeavour to construct a mega-structure using simple rules of accretion. Some birds and primates began to make tools, or simple technological objects whose function is closely related to their form. Humans are distinguished by their ability to make machines. Traditional technology took place once people voluntarily organised into groups with specialised knowledge to produce more complex objects and structures. Monumental objects like ceremonial pyramids came with the command economies of the early agrarian societies, which also resulted in a new category of artefact, the network. Finally, with modern civilizations came ad hoc accretion, or population-level adding-on, to make truly complex technological systems. Developing a theoretical framework within which artefacts, production processes and ways of interacting with them are identified should help the study of technology to become more scientific.