基于第二次全国R&D资源清查的农业科技资源配置效率分析

[目的]农业科技资源配置效率的高低在一定程度上决定着农业科技系统的运行效率,而农业科技系统的运行效率状况对提高农业科技资源的高效利用、增强农业科技创新能力、加快促进农业现代化进程有着重要的影响。文章基于2009年第二次全国RD资源清查数据,对政府部门属农业科研机构的配置效率进行测算,并分析其规模报酬以便为相关决策部门提供参考。[方法]通过构建农业科技资源配置效率评价的投入产出指标体系,选取包含科技人员、科技经费及科技成果在内的6个投入产出指标,运用数据包络分析方法 (DEA)中的超效率模型测算全国32个省份政府部门属自然科学和技术领域研究机构(含直辖市)的综合效率、纯技术效率、规模效率。[结果]全国农业科研机构科技资源技术效率平均值为0.581,科技运行效率还有较大的提升空间。按机构学科领域分,水产学学科的效率值最高(TE Score=2.867 9);按机构服务的国民经济行业分,渔业的效率值最高(TE Score=1.901 1)。各省(市、区)农、林、牧、渔业农业科研机构的综合运行效率值大于1的有天津、吉林、贵州、宁夏、北京、辽宁。规模效率的平均值是0.686,规模收益递减的省(市、区)占87%。[结论]DEA非效率地区所占比例较大,技术效率低于全国平均值的地区占56%,地区规模效率的提升可以依靠加大科研投入来实现。农业科技资源配置的结构需要进行调整,在合理调控种植业科研机构的发展规模的同时优化其科技人员结构。通过开展农业科技计划绩效评价、组建农业科技创新联盟来促进农业科技协同创新。同时应根据农业科研机构的不同类型提出相应的管理措施,以便实现分类指导和科学管理。     

Staff turnover costs: In search of accountability

The nature of staff turnover accounting procedures in a labour intensive context has been examined by conducting interviews with twenty eight managers in large three to five star hotels and two theme parks. It was found that the main staff turnover accountability procedures adopted involve monthly departmental reporting of staff turnover percentage levels and also the conduct of exit interviews. A degree of staff turnover costing was noted, although this practice was not extensively applied. Most interviewees supported the notion of allocating staff turnover costs to those operating departments experiencing the turnover. A muted form of this practice was observed in one hotel, however most interviewees had never contemplated or heard of the practice. Agency theory has been utilized as a framework for structuring a range of observed and potential staff turnover accountability relationships.     

A Gendered Model of the Peasant Household: Time poverty and Farm Production in Rural Mozambique

Using insights from a case study on the allocation of labor in subsistence households in Mozambique, this study develops a conceptual framework for examining linkages between time poverty and farm production. An unexpected event such as a health crisis increases the demand for labor provided by women, thus making them more time poor. The model and numerical simulations show that a deterioration in a woman's time constraint will have an adverse effect on agricultural output of the household. This occurs because most women respond to an increase in household work by reducing their work hours on the farm and by reducing their leisure time. The latter outcome is expected to have a negative effect on women's physical and mental health, which will then cause a decline in their productivity on the farm.     

Stochastic seat allocation models for passenger rail transportation under customer choice

We study the seat allocation problem for passenger rail revenue management, in which a rail operator attempts to determine the optimal quantity of seats to be allocated to each cabin class for each train service. We formulate the problem with single-stage and multi-stage decisions as two stochastic programming models that incorporate passengers’ choice behavior. We transform the stochastic models into equivalent deterministic mathematical programs that are easy to solve. Then, we form a variety of seat allocation polices from the optimal solutions to the seat allocation models. A number of simulation tests are offered to test the policies.     

Risk-based capital for credit insurers with business cycles and dynamic leverage

This paper develops a risk-based capital pricing model for credit insurance portfolios held by a vulnerable insurer. The model accounts for business cycles using a two-state Markov switching model, and allows for dynamic leverage adjustment by the insured firms. The new proposed model, which incorporates risk-based capital practice, is better for both the insurer and the insured firms. Based on the risk-adjusted performance metric, we found that the insurer is better off insuring short- and medium-term loans in expansion and steady states, while it is better off backing both short- and long-term loans in recessions. Our results also emphasize that macroeconomic uncertainty significantly impairs the creditworthiness of the insurer and insured firms.     

基于机构投资者非理性报价的IPO定价分析

本文主要研究机构投资者非理性报价行为。在发行人(发行人与承销商的统称)理性假设下,建立模型并研究了机构给出不同价值信号时的发行价格设定与机构获配情况。文中分析发现当机构投资者拥有好的价值信息时,发行人的报价约束是有效的;当其拥有不好的价值信息时,报价约束完全不起作用,机构投资者会蓄意传达无价值或是好的信号,造成新股价格高于其价值。     

高校岗位设置工作中人员流动问题的研究

本文通过对高校岗位设置工作中人员流动原因、类型及存在问题的分析研究,提出建立高校人员内部流动机制,人员退出机制和高校人才环境培育等方面措施,促进高校人力资源的优化配置和满足高校人员自我发展的需求。     

Optimal investment strategies in an international economy with stochastic interest rates

We investigate how investors should optimally choose to invest in a dynamically complete international market. We find closed-form solutions for the optimal investment strategy and for the wealth loss an investor suffers from not investing internationally. Theoretically, we show that the gain from international investment is due to the speculative investment only, and why it is important for an investor from a large economy to invest in a small economy. In a numerical example we compare the wealth losses investors from Denmark and the U.S. suffer due to home bias.     

Financial deregulation,credit allocation across sectors,and economic growth: evidence from China

This paper investigates whether financial deregulation causes economic growth through financial development. Financial development is measured by two channels: (1) changes in the allocation of credit across sectors, and (2) changes in savings and investment rates. We measure financial deregulation in China at the provincial level from 1981 to 1998. Our results suggest that financial reform causes economic growth in China. Further, its effect largely comes through the reallocation of credit across sectors, rather than changes in savings and investment rates.     

Gender Differences in Time-Poverty in Rural Mozambique

Based on time-use data from a 2013 primary household survey, this study examines the nature and extent of time-poverty experienced by men and women in peasant households in Mozambique. The main findings indicate that while women's labor allocation to economic activities is comparable to that of men, household chores and care work are almost entirely women's responsibility. The heavy burden of responsibilities leave women significantly time-poorer compared to men. Women's time-poverty worsens when the burden of simultaneous care work is taken into account. In addition, due to multitasking, the work tends to be more taxing. The examination of determinants of time-poverty shows that common measures of individual economic power, such as assets and education, do not necessarily affect the time-poverty faced by women.