Pedagogical and technological replanning: a successful case study on integration and transversal skills for engineering freshmen

Replanning is often used to optimize results of an activity in an ever changing world. To address the challenge of preparing future engineers for success, a special course was created for all engineering freshmen of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, in Portugal. Presented as a case study, this special course underwent a careful replanning as a result of several years of experience in teaching practice alongside with a theoretical deepening in pedagogical and technological issues, under the aegis of the action-research methodology. Within the context of the case study course, the mentioned replanning was also based on a theoretical approach that clearly identifies teaching–learning-assessment methodologies that promote regulation from those that foster emancipation, using a specific instrument: a taxonomy of educational processes. The replanning was designed to globally boost results regarding the educational aims of the course such as furthering freshmen’s integration into work environment and preparing them for success by fostering transversal skills (needed for study and work). Technology is seen as a mean of education enrichment as well as a productivity tool. The introduced innovations include fun-but-educational activities, several types of assessment over time and specific technological tools which were critical for the educational impact/achievement of this course. Success is demonstrated by encouraging feedback from the stakeholders, high students’ classifications and a steady reduction in retention. It is advocated that large portions of the reasoning behind the replanning can be extrapolated to other courses.     

Venture capital,innovation, and growth: evidence from Chinese metropolitan data

Using panel data from 282 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2015, we estimate the impact of venture capital (VC) on innovation, employment, and payroll in metropolitan areas. Controlling for endogeneity, VC investments are significantly positively related to metropolitan innovation, employment, and payroll in a fixed effects panel regression and dynamic GMM estimation. Using the number of IPOs (Initial public offerings) in the city as an instrumental variable to again control for endogeneity, VC remains significant. Our results show that VC is significantly contributing to the metropolitan economy as a whole by supporting innovation, creating jobs, and generating wealth in the local cities.     

新零售下社区生鲜配送模式的综合评价

新零售模式下社区生鲜“最后500m”的冲刺已成为生鲜农产品快速配送的关键问题。基于目前已有的配送模式:“社区+便利店”模式、第三方配送以及众包模式,通过层次分析法从服务水平、配送成本、客户体验三个方面对三种配送模式进行量化分析,得出每种配送模式在各层次的权重。研究结果表明配送中降低配送成本是关键,减少货物赔损率、提高客户满意度才能实现有效率的配送。     

企业税负粘性研究:基于税务机关税收稽查的视角

以中国A股上市公司2008~2017年的数据为样本进行研究，发现我国上市公司存在明显的税负粘性现象，即营业收入减少时企业税负的减少量小于营业收入等额增加时企业税负的增加量。进一步研究发现，上述企业税负粘性受到税务机关税收稽查的影响，国税税收稽查收入比率显著影响企业税负粘性，地税税收稽查收入比率对企业税负粘性的影响不显著。最后，我们还发现企业税负粘性程度在不同产权性质的企业中存在显著不同，同时，国税税收稽查收入比率对产权性质不同的企业产生的影响也存在差异，国税税收稽查收入比率对国有企业税负粘性的影响在不显著，在非国有企业中则是显著的。     

Does a central clearing counterparty reduce liquidity needs?

This study investigates whether and how central clearing influences the overall liquidity needs in a network of financial obligations. Utilizing the approach of flow network theory, we show that the effect of adding a central clearing counterparty (CCP) is decomposed into two effects: central routing, and central netting effects. Each effect can produce different liquidity needs according to different liquidity scenarios. The analysis indicates that adding a CCP in times of financial distress successfully reduces the overall liquidity needs if and only if the netting efficiency of the CCP is sufficiently high. Furthermore, once the economy is no longer in financial distress, higher netting efficiency of the CCP could conversely increase the overall liquidity needs. The results have implications for the effectiveness of CCPs in mitigating systemic risk in times of financial distress, and their operating costs once the distress has passed.     

Spontaneous economic order

This paper provides attempts to formalize Hayek’s notion of spontaneous order within the framework of an Arrow-Debreu economy. Our study shows that, if a competitive economy is sufficiently fair and free, a spontaneous economic order will emerge in long-run competitive equilibria so that social members spontaneously occupy an unplanned distribution of income. Despite this, the spontaneous order may degenerate in the form of economic crises whenever an equilibrium economy approaches the extreme competition. Remarkably, such a theoretical framework of spontaneous order provides a bridge linking Austrian economics and neoclassical economics, where a truth begins to emerge: “Freedom promotes technological progress”.     

资本补充压力会加剧中小银行的风险承担吗——基于城市商业银行的经验证据

基于92家城市商业银行2009-2018年的非平衡面板数据,通过实证检验资本补充压力与中小银行风险承担之间的关系以及中介效应,研究发现:资本补充压力会显著提高中小银行的整体风险承担和信贷风险承担,银行创新能力能够弱化资本补充压力对风险承担的影响,而银行资产规模会强化资本补充压力对风险承担的影响;进一步研究发现,资本补充压力通过运营效率影响中小银行的整体风险承担,通过经营审慎水平影响中小银行的信贷风险承担.监管机构应加快完善中小银行多层次、多工具的资本补充机制,促进中小银行提高审慎经营水平及运营效率,增强"内源式"资本补充能力.