State contract law and the use of accounting information in debt contracts

Review of Accounting Studies - This paper examines the relation between state contract law and the use of accounting information in debt contracts. Contract theory suggests that balance sheet based...     

Suppressing resistance to low-skill migration

Just like any other trade activity, migration tends to generate gains to all parties involved, the migrants as well as the native population, if markets are well-functioning. But typically these gains tend to be rather small. However, when the labor market is mal-functioning, migration may exacerbate the imperfections in the market. Consequently, it could lead to losses to the host-country population, which can be quite sizable.An additional problem raised by migration is the toll it imposes on the welfare state. As a democracy, the host-country cannot exclude migrants from various entilement programs and public services. As a consequence, the modern welfare state could find it more and more costly to run its various programs when they attract low-income migrants.These considerations may help explain why there is strong resistance to migration. Consequently, to be able to benefit from migration, one may want to improve the functioning of the markets (with a compensation to wage earners that compete with unskilled migrants) and to downsize the scope of the state entitlement programs.The current version was prepared while the first author was visiting the Research Department and the second author was visiting the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund.     

The alchemy of CDO credit ratings

Collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) were one of the largest and fastest growing segments of the structured finance market, fueling the 2003-2007 boom in syndicated loans and leveraged buyouts. The credit crisis brought CLO issuance to a halt, and as a result the leveraged loan market dried up. Similar to other structured finance products, investors in CLOs rely heavily on credit rating provided by the rating agencies, yet little is known about CLO rating practices. This paper attempts to fill the gap. Using novel hand-collected data on 3912 tranches of collateralized loan obligations we document the rating practices of CLOs and analyze their structures.     

IP推动接入技术新变革

IP技术的飞速发展给接入网提出了新的课题。目前,话音和数据流量几乎部是通过TDM电路交换网络来传送的,随着IP技术在网络架构中的地位逐渐明晰,话音和数据组成的TDM话务量将通过IP网络来传送。从传统来说,E1/T1是通过SONET/SDH或ATM骨干网传送的,但是目前因为许多运营商希望将他们的网络转变为IP网络,传统的TDM信息流向高性能分组主干网迁移已经成为潮流。采用TDM over IP不但可以提供极佳的话音质量,而且还可以保留现有的PBX系统特征,可以各种速率支持Modem、传真和视频。因此,TDM overIP成为日前接入网发展的新走势。     

Von Thünen's model of the dual economy

We are indebted to Heinz König, John Mellor, and Hans van Beek, and to three anonymous referees of the journal for helpful comments, and to Victoria Dalko for her able research assistance. Financial assistance from the Foerder Institute for Economic Research and the International Food Policy Research Institute is gratefully acknowledged. A version of the paper also appears as Working Paper No. 989 of the Foerder Institute and Discussion Paper No. A 269 of the University of Bonn.