From federalism, Chinese style to privatization, Chinese style

In 1995, China began a profound reform of its state-owned enterprises. We first describe and characterize this progress in two areas: privatization of small state-owned enterprises at the county level and mass lay-offs of excess state workers at the city level. Local governments have initiated these reforms, which are proceeding in economically and politically sensible ways. We then argue that privatization, Chinese style, rests on an adequate economic and political foundation - federalism, Chinese style. We suggest a range of incentives that propel local governments toward state-owned enterprise reform, including their harder budget constraints and increased competition from the non-state sector. In this sense, federalism, Chinese style, has induced privatization, Chinese style.
JEL classification: H7, L30, P3.     

The experience of forming business relationships in tourism

This study examines the formation of business relationships among tourism organisations. A phenomenographic study conducted with 25 managers drawn from regional tourism organisations in Queensland, Australia revealed three qualitatively different but interrelated ways of experiencing relationships: as competition, co‐operation and collaboration. Differences among experiences were accounted for by the way managers defined the meanings of several dimensions common to each experience. The results suggest managers' experiences can be developmentally ordered on a continuum of relationships that demonstrate progressively more complex and inclusive approaches to forming relationships. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning and decision costs in one-person games

This paper reports the results of a two-part data analysis of learning in a repeated costly decision experiment. In the first part we test payoff dominance under the hypothesis of expected payoff maximization. We utilize a dynamic probability distribution over decisions for each player, characterizing what each player has learned about the payoff function by the moments from these distributions. In the second part, we test the hypothesis of expected payoff maximization for players in each treatment group. Expected payoff maximization is supported but payoff dominance is not. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Derivatives Use, Information Asymmetry, and MNC Post-Acquisition Performance

We utilize a sample of US acquiring firms that engaged in international M&As to document the effects of corporate derivatives use on post-M&A long-term performance. We find that derivatives users outperform nonusers. Furthermore, we find that acquirers with derivative policies that are more comprehensive and sophisticated outperform those with less comprehensive and sophisticated policies. They, in turn, outperform acquirers with no existing policies in place. Our results are consistent with the notion that the use of derivatives lowers information asymmetry related agency problems. Furthermore, our evidence indicates that derivatives use is an important corporate activity that has a profound effect on post-M&A performance.     

Risk effects of GM corn: Evidence from crop insurance outcomes and high-dimensional methods

This study evaluates whether genetically modified (GM) corn hybrids with rootworm resistant traits (GM-RW) have lower yield risk. A crop insurance actuarial performance measure, the loss cost ratio (LCR), is used to represent yield risk. High-dimensional methods are utilized in this study to maintain parsimony in the empirical specification, and facilitate estimation. Specifically, we employ the Cluster-Lasso (cluster-least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) procedure. This method produces uniformly valid inference on the main variable of interest (i.e., the GM-RW variable) in a high-dimensional panel data setting even in the presence of heteroskedastic, non-Gaussian, and clustered error structures. After controlling for a large set of potential weather confounders using Cluster-Lasso, we find consistent evidence that GM corn hybrids with rootworm resistant traits have lower yield risk.     

Fostering creative minds: what predicts and boosts design competence in the classroom?

International Journal of Technology and Design Education - Can originality in real-world creative design thinking be improved through instruction and practice? Do such frequently-used...