A characterization of exponential distributions based on order statistics

This note contains a characterization of exponential distributions based on the properties of linear transformations of order statistics. This is a certain converse of a well known theorem of Rényi about the distribution of linear combinations of order statistics from exponential distributions. Some statistical applications of the result are indicated.     

带来机遇的泰国自由贸易区

在泰国，出于进口税收体制的原因，许多产品从他国进口时所承担的税负比使用进口部件所生产的产品还要低。对此，泰国政府采用“自由贸易区”（Free Zone）这一概念和体制予以改善，目的是把泰国打造成国内市场乃至亚洲（尤其是东盟）市场首选的制造基地。     

The Impact of Frequent Shopper Programs in Grocery Retailing

Frequent shopper programs are becoming ubiquitous in retailing. Retailers seem unsure however about whether these programs are leading to higher loyalty, or to higher profits. In this paper we analyze data from a U.S. supermarket chain that has used a number of frequent shopper rewards to improve sales and profitability. We find that while these programs are profitable, this is only because substantial incremental sales to casual shoppers (cherry pickers) offset subsidies to already loyal customers. In this way our findings are inconsistent with existing theories about how frequent shopper programs are supposed to work. We construct our own Hotelling-like model that explicitly models cherry picking behavior and show that its predictions match the data quite closely. We further test the predictions of our model by characterizing the impact of such programs on trip frequency and basket size. We then use the model to examine more complex scenarios. For example, our analysis suggests that frequent shopper programs may be unprofitable if they eliminate all cherry picking. This may explain why some retailers seem dissatisfied with their programs. We end by proposing a solution that retains the benefits of the frequent shopper programs and yet continues to let supermarkets benefit from price discrimination.     

Markov analysis of land use change: Continuous time and stationary processes

In an earlier paper one of the authors has used actual land use maps to establish the validity of the Markov process for describing and projecting land use changes. In a subsequent paper the same data was used to calibrate a non-homogeneous, birth and death process in which the land uses were dichotomized into either of two states: developed or undeveloped. The present paper pursues two aspects raised by the earlier ones: whether the process of land use changes can be considered a stationary process and, if so, whether it can be fit by a continuous-time, rather than discrete-time, model. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a feasible fit are indicated.     

Corporate governance and IPO underpricing in a cross‐national sample: A multilevel knowledge‐based view

Prior studies of IPO underpricing, mostly using agency theory and single‐country samples, have generally fallen short. In this study, we employ the knowledge‐based view (KBV) to explore underpricing across 17 countries. We find that agency indicators are insignificant predictors, board of director knowledge limits underpricing, and external knowledge both substitutes for and complements internal board knowledge. This third finding suggests that future KBV studies should consider how internal and external knowledge states interact with each other. Our study offers new insights into the antecedents of underpricing and extends our understanding of comparative governance and the KBV of the firm. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.