The macroeconomic content of international equity market factors

Although existing research has examined the association between macroeconomic data and particular equity markets, little is known regarding the economic content of the latent factors common to international equity markets. This paper considers the macroeconomic information incorporated in unobserved common equity market factors, as well as the possibility that the macroeconomic sensitivities of the factors differ across alternative levels of volatility. Several models are estimated for 15 developed equity markets to examine the economic composition of the common factors, thereby providing an alternative perspective on the economic fundamentals underlying equity markets. A formal Bayesian selection process suggests that a common structure incorporating global and European factors is preferred to the baseline case of a single global factor or the extended scenario of dual global factors. The common factors are associated with a small set of macroeconomic variables.     

Time series econometrics for the 21st century

What topics should be taught to undergraduate students in econometric time series?     

中国城市与区域经济增长的扩散回流与市场区效应

本文综合增长极理论和中心地学说构建了扩散回流和市场区效应空间计量模型,使用全国除西藏以外的2169个市县数据对2000年至2007年的各市县非农业产出、就业和资本增长所受到的溢出效应进行计量分析。联立方程估计表明,虽然各级市县产出、就业和资本增长的主要决定因素是要素投入和产出规模以及人力资本和地方要素,但是不同等级的城市间存在着显著的空间相互作用。其中,省会和地级中心城市的经济增长对下级市县有显著的回流效应,而下级市县的经济增长对位于市场中心的上级城市有明显的市场区增长作用,同级市县经济增长有互相促进作用。本文最后简要总结了研究结果在区域经济发展中的政策意义。     

财政分权与中国省域经济关系的空间计量检验

笔者利用2000年～2009年中国省域经济统计数据,借助地理加权回归方法,对财政分权与中国省域经济的关系进行了考察,结果表明:中国省域经济间存在显著空间相关关系。研究中,财政分权与经济之间的二次曲线关系得到了部分证实,但这一关系在不同省份、不同年份间均存在较大差异,从而导致最优财政分权度频繁变化;对于各省而言,确定合理的财政分权度范围,尚需更多未来数据支持。     

Two-sided platforms in airport privatization

This paper develops an empirical model to examine the relationship between ownership change and two-sided-platform formation in the air transport industry. We investigate whether privatization enhances the dynamic capabilities of airports so that they more closely resemble a two-sided platform. We study the case of the recent privatization of Brazilian airports. We find evidence of a permanent, ceteris paribus increase in demand triggered after the privatization program. The results are consistent with a preemption of assets with a view to expanding operations and so benefiting from the network effects offered by a two-sided platform.     

Estimating the impact of airport privatization on airline demand: A regression-based event study

This paper develops an empirical model of passenger demand for routes of airports subject to either imminent or recent privatization. We investigate whether the privatization process produces a sequential impact over traffic. By employing a regression-based event methodology and controlling for fixed effects, price endogeneity and sample selection, we perform an econometric analysis of pre-privatization and post-privatization dynamic patterns of demand to infer the demand consequences of the major change in airport governance. We examine recent Brazilian airport privatization experience as a case. The main results suggest that privatization produced an overall increase in airline demand and that the airport notably recognized with the greatest demand potential and with the largest market penetration of a fast-growing low cost newcomer had the highest estimated ceteris paribus effect of privatization on demand.     

Erratum to ‘Inventory record inaccuracy: Causes and labor effects’

Inventory record inaccuracy (IRI) is a pervasive problem in retailing and causes non-trivial profit loss. In response to retailers’ interest in identifying antecedents and consequences of IRI, we present a study that comprises multiple modeling initiatives. We first develop a dynamic simulation model to compare and contrast impacts of different operational errors in a continuous (Q, R) inventory system through a full-factorial experimental design. While backroom and shelf shrinkage are found to be predominant drivers of IRI, the other three errors related to recording and shelving have negligible impacts on IRI. Next, we empirically assess the relationships between labor availability and IRI using longitudinal data from five stores in a global retail chain. After deriving a robust measure of IRI through Bayesian computation and estimating panel data models, we find strong evidence that full-time labor reduces IRI whereas part-time labor fails to alleviate it. Further, we articulate the reinforcing relationships between labor and IRI by formally assessing the gain of the feedback loop based on our empirical findings and analyzing immediate, intermediate, and long-term impacts of IRI on labor availability. The feedback modeling effort not only integrates findings from simulation and econometric analysis but also structurally explores the impacts of current practices. We conclude by discussing implications of our findings for practitioners and researchers.     

基于空间计量的金融集聚及其影响因素分析

本文采用区位基尼系数和区位熵指数测度2001~2010年中国金融产业的集聚程度,并用Moran’sI指数和散点图检验金融集聚的空间自相关的存在。考虑空间自相关性,建立空间计量模型,考察了经济规模、人力资本、政府作用、对外开放以及信息化水平等因素对金融集聚的影响,结果表明：一定的经济规模是金融集聚产生的基础,但需谨慎制定金融中心建设规划;丰裕的人力资源、有力的政府支持和先进的信息化水平是金融集聚形成的重要条件;目前的对外开放自由程度与金融集聚发展需要不相匹配。     

Short- and long-run exchange rate effects on forest product trade: Evidence from panel data

Impacts of exchange rates on international forest products trade are widely debated, but the empirical evidence regarding this issue is still inconclusive. Here, we report findings of the impacts of the exchange rates on the main forest product imports and exports of the US, from January 1989 to November 2004. Export data consisted of monthly series of the main products exported by the US to different countries. For imports we used monthly series of the principal products imported by the US from Canada, the major source of imports. The strongest evidence was obtained by pooling the data across countries and products. In the short run, exports were very elastic with respect to the exchange rate (−2.6), while imports were moderately elastic (1.2). In the long run, the elasticity decreased but remained significant (0.5 for both exports and imports). Appreciation of the US dollar tended to matter more than depreciation, but the hypothesis that the effect of exchange rate was symmetric could not be rejected.     

Is UNESCO recognition effective in fostering tourism? A comment on Yang,Lin and Han

The purpose of this response to the original work by Yang, Lin and Han (Tourism Management, 2009), is to continue discussion of the impacts created by the formal accreditation of sites through the process of UNESCO recognition. In the particular case described by Yang, Lin and Han, alternative interpretations of the results may be offered. Additional evidence is also provided from instances in Italy and overall it appears that econometric analysis questions the degree to which UNESCO accreditation generates the economic returns from tourism that may have prompted the original applications.