Agency, Bid Resistance and the Market for Corporate Control

In this paper we investigate the effects of post-bid defence activity for a sample of takeover bids in the UK. We find that most of the defences investigated promote the interests of target managers by significantly lowering the probability of bid success. We also find that most of the defences promote the interests of shareholders by increasing wealth gains by an amount that varies between 9% and 14%. These results suggest that bid resistance is to the mutual benefit of the managers and shareholders of target firms. This conclusion is in line with recent developments in agency theory.     

A field experiment to estimate the effects of anchoring and framing on residents’ willingness to purchase water runoff management technologies

Watersheds throughout the world have been severely polluted by nutrient-laden runoff that comes from industrial, agricultural, and residential sources. Efforts to reduce this runoff have focused on industrial and agricultural sources, while little attention has been paid to encouraging residents to reduce runoff from their properties. To study residents’ willingness to adopt landscaping practices that reduce runoff, we conducted a field experiment in the Delaware River watershed. In the experiment, over three hundred adults participated in a series of random-price auctions that revealed their willingness to pay (WTP) for five products that reduce nutrient runoff. To study how WTP can be influenced by attributes of the choice architecture, we randomized the starting bid values (anchors) and the way in which the external benefits of the five practices were framed. Compared to a neutral framing, a positive framing (using the product can improve water quality) increased average WTP by about one-third, while the estimated effect of a negative framing (failing to use the product can worsen water quality) was also positive, but smaller and not statistically different from zero. The estimated effect on average WTP from the anchor depends on how bids of $0 are modeled, but the results imply that higher anchors lead to higher WTP. Although we believe the magnitudes of our results should be considered suggestive and we recommend replications with higher statistical power, the results add to the evidence base that environmental programs can achieve policy-relevant gains in program performance through a series of small changes to the decision environment.     

Bid and ask prices of index put options: Which predicts the underlying stock returns?

In this study, we separately estimate the implied volatility from the bid and ask prices of deep out-of-the-money put options on the S&P500 index. We find that the implied volatility of ask prices has stronger predictive power for stock returns than does the implied volatility of bid prices. We identify two sources of the better performance of the ask price implied volatility: one is its stronger predictive power during economic recessions and in the presence of increasing intermediary capital risk, and the other is its richer information about the future market variance risk premium.     

刍议工程招标中拦标价的设立

针对目前工程量清单招标项目中设立拦标价的做法是否合法合理,以及如何准确计算拦标价仍存在一定的争议。论述了拦标价设立的目的、作用、法规依据和造价依据以及拦标价在应用中存在的一些问题,提出了一种基于概率论的知识来确定拦标价上浮比例的方法,并指出拦标价在招标和评标应用中需要注意的问题。     

大型基础设施工程投标报价策略博弈分析

通过分析大型基础设施上程招投标的特殊性,建立了适用于特殊大型基础设施工投标报价的博弈模型,引入计算机模拟技术对模型进行求解,为投标人提供最优的投标报价策略。结合某市大型隧道工程的投标实例,进行了应用分析。     

Competition between Exchanges: Euronext versus Xetra

Exchanges in Europe are in a process of consolidation. After the failure of the proposed merger between Deutsche Börse and Euronext, these two groups are likely to become the nuclei for further mergers and co‐operation with currently independent exchanges. A decision for one of the groups entails a decision for the respective trading platform. Against that background we evaluate the attractiveness of the two dominant continental European trading systems. Though both are anonymous electronic limit order books, there are important differences in the trading protocols. We use a matched‐sample approach to compare execution costs in Euronext Paris and Xetra. We find that both quoted and effective spreads are lower in Xetra. The differences are more pronounced for less liquid stocks. When decomposing the spread we find no systematic differences in the adverse selection component. Realised spreads, on the other hand, are significantly higher in Euronext. Neither differences in the number of liquidity provision agreements nor differences in the minimum tick size or in the degree of domestic competition for order flow explain the different spread levels. We thus conclude that Xetra is the more efficient trading system.     

工程量清单计价与招投标管理

文章介绍和分析了工程量清单招标的优越性,工程量清单计价与招标、工程量清单计价与投标、工程量清单计价与评标的关系,明确指出了工程量清单计价在招投标竞争中能适应市场经济规律的客观要求,通过市场的作用,优化各种相关资源的配置,提高经济效益。     

政府采购网上招标初探

随着招投标业务的不断深入开展和电子信息技术的不断成熟,电子系统和软件逐渐在招投标相关领域得到应用,网上招标成为传统招标方式的一次革新。文章根据某药品网上招标项目的运作过程,分析政府采购网上招标的作用和意义。     

Auction theory adaptations for real life applications

We develop extensions to auction theory results that are useful in real life scenarios.1. Since valuations are generally positive we first develop approximations using the log-normal distribution. This would be useful for many finance related auction settings since asset prices are usually non-negative.2. We formulate a positive symmetric discrete distribution, which is likely to be followed by the total number of auction participants, and incorporate this into auction theory results.3. We develop extensions when the valuations of the bidders are interdependent and incorporate all the results developed into a final combined realistic setting.4. Our methods can be a practical tool for bidders and auction sellers to maximize their profits. The models developed here could be potentially useful for inventory estimation and for wholesale procurement of financial instruments and also non-financial commodities.All the propositions are new results and they refer to existing results which are stated as Lemmas.     

基于中国省级面板数据的房价与地价关系研究

本文利用2002年3月到2008年6月中国28个省的面板数据对房价与地价的关系进行了考察,结果表明土地招拍挂制度使得全国房价平均水平提高了13.2%。同时,采用面板误差修正模型对房价与地价之间的因果关系进行了检验,证实了在全国范围内,无论是长期还是短期,房价都是地价的granger原因,而地价只是房价长期granger原因。本文认为,由于各个地区地价对房价的影响方式不同,控制不同地区的房价应该采取不同的有针对性的措施,不宜实行＂一刀切＂政策。