Venture capital trusts and the expiration of IPO lock-up provisions

Venture capital trusts (VCTs) were introduced to provide private equity capital for small expanding companies and to promote innovation. Investors in initial public offerings are rewarded with tax relief on the cost of lock-up provisions to stabilize the market. This paper examines the market reaction and trading activity around the expiration of lock-up provisions of 148 VCTs listed on the London Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2006. Downward-sloping demand curve theory suggests that an increased supply of VCT shares at the expiry date could shift their value to a new equilibrium at a lower price. Supporting this prediction, we document evidence of negative abnormal returns as well as permanent increases in the price discount relative to net asset value and trading volumes at and around the expiries of the required holding periods of VCTs. In addition, less negative abnormal returns, lower abnormal discounts and lower abnormal trading volumes are associated with VCTs that invest in AIM-listed companies due to lower information asymmetry, that experience lower prior performance due to a less pronounced disposition effect, and that are subject to a shorter lock-up horizon or are offering more generous tax benefits.     

The Role of Financial Ratios in the Variance of Stock Trading Volume in Emerging Stock Markets

The study used quarterly panel data of 6 years from 2010 to 2015 of all companies listed on both Vietnamese stock markets including the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange and Ha Noi Stock Exchange, and on three leading industries consisting of insurance-banking, foodstuff, and real estate to explore the relationship among four key financial ratios and stock trading volume. Two models, fixed effects model (FEM) and random effects model (REM), with robust standard errors, were applied for this study. The key findings showed that earnings before tax on sales, debt on owner’s equity, and owner’s equity on total assets significantly influenced trading volume.     

LACK OF RIGOUR IN DEFENDING FAIRTRADE: A REJOINDER TO ALISTAIR SMITH

Smith (2010 ) does not deny that he made errors in economic theory, logic and fact, and that he had misused evidence. He says that I misrepresented a large body of theory, that I distorted what he said in four places and that I was wrong in one sentence. These statements are false.     

Cointegration as an explanation for the Meese–Rogoff puzzle

Some economists suggest that the failure of exchange-rate models to outperform the random walk in exchange rate forecasting out of sample can be attributed to failure to take into account cointegration when it is present. We attempt to find out if cointegration matters for forecasting accuracy by examining the relation between the stationarity and size of the forecasting error. Results based on three macroeconomic models of exchange rates do not provide strong support for the proposition that cointegration matters for forecasting accuracy. The simulation results show that while stationary errors tend to be smaller than non-stationary errors, this is not a universal rule. Irrespective of the presence or absence of cointegration, none of the three models can outperform the random walk in out-of-sample forecasting, which means that cointegration cannot solve the Meese–Rogoff puzzle.     

How does the market variance risk premium vary over time? Evidence from S&P 500 variance swap investment returns

We explore whether the market variance risk premium (VRP) can be predicted. We measure VRP by distinguishing the investment horizon from the variance swap’s maturity. We extract VRP from actual S&P 500 variance swap quotes and we test four classes of predictive models. We find that the best performing model is the one that conditions on trading activity. This relation is also economically significant. Volatility trading strategies which condition on trading activity outperform popular benchmark strategies, even once we consider transaction costs. Our finding implies that broker dealers command a greater VRP to continue holding short positions in index options in the case where trading conditions deteriorate.     

Pollution Permits: A Discussion of Fundamentals

The author provides an economic analysis of tradable pollution permits by clarifying the derivation of permit supply and demand relationships and connecting those concepts to permit trading for the case of two polluters. Using the standard comparison of costs and benefits, he makes the marginal cost of emission reduction of a typical polluter the basis of the derivation of its permit supply and demand schedules. Developing these relationships for both polluters allows the creation of market schedules for permit supply and demand. He demonstrates equilibrium in the market for permits and the corresponding trading of permits. He discusses the satisfaction of the equi-marginal principle, which ensures that pollution reduction is achieved efficiently. The author concludes by considering the consequences of the presence of a third polluter in the market for permits.     

素质教育与应试教育的经济学分析

在现代教育中,作为以卓越为目标追求的学校,将个人素质或学习能力作为招收学生的一个决定性因素.考试是个人素质与学习能力考核的替代性安排,这种制度安排既节约交易费用,同时又产生社会资源浪费.资源浪费的表现形式体现为提高考试分数,而不是在提高素质上加大投入,即应试教育的产生和壮大.学校招生制度的变革能够在一定程度上减少这种浪费.     

Insolvent trading and voluntary administration in Australia: economic winners and losers?

Australian directors who incur debts while their companies are insolvent can be pursued by the corporate regulator for compensation when their companies fail. Under the Australian insolvent trading laws, directors no longer experience ‘true’ limited liability, and as expected, they adjust their behaviour as a result. Identifying director's rational behaviour in an insolvent trading world is difficult as there are no formal economic models of director decision-making under Australian current corporate law. In this paper, we develop such a model primarily for private companies. We incorporate the threat of insolvent trading as well as director's tactical use of voluntary administration to avoid insolvent trading litigation. We show that neither a combination of insolvent trading or voluntary administration can simultaneously ensure creditors-best outcomes, eliminate insolvent trading and reduce director underinvestment.     

基于“交易圈”的异常利润汇出分析方法

异常利润汇出的方式主要有通过构造利润分配决议、虚构利润等方式实现超额利润汇出和利用跨部门监管薄弱环节违规汇出。对异常利润汇出排查的传统方式主要基于服务贸易外汇监管系统的定期预警指标,成本高企且效率低下。人民银行济南分行在分析异常的利润汇出行为特点及资金流动路径的基础上,提出了将指向性强的筛查指标和"交易圈"分析法相结合的创新性核查方法,有效提升了核查线索的精准度及发现异常违规行为效率。     

碳排放权交易、损益偏离与绿色经济效率关系研究

"双碳"目标展现了中国作为负责任的大国,对建设人类命运共同体的担当,碳排放权交易是实现这一目标的重要途径,但其对地区经济与环境的双重影响依然有待检验。结合1997—2017年中国省级数据,采用包含非期望产出的SBM-DEA模型测度地区绿色经济效率,以碳排放权交易试点为准自然实验,运用合成控制法评估试点政策对地区绿色经济效率的影响,并采用空间计量模型从损益偏离视角展开机制检验。研究发现:碳排放权交易试点政策能够显著提升地区经济效率,运用双重差分模型和PSM-DID进行稳健性检验后,基本结论依然可靠。缓解"收益在外,污染在内"的损益偏离现象,是碳排放权交易试点机制提升绿色经济效率的有效途径。随后提出通过进一步完善碳排放权交易市场机制,进而推动我国绿色发展的相关政策启示。