Learning and the monetary policy strategy of the European Central Bank

This paper examines the welfare implications of alternative inflation targeting proposals for the monetary policy of the European Central Bank. We assume that policy makers have to “learn” the laws of motion of inflation in an economy characterized by “stickiness” in domestic price setting behavior and subjected to recurring shocks to productivity, exports and foreign price. We find that a switch from an “asymmetric” inflation targeting strategy to an “symmetric” makes little difference in welfare payoffs, but it comes at a cost of much higher interest-rate variability. We also find that there are practically no welfare gains from switching from an inflation-targeting strategy based on the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) to a strategy based on the domestic price component of the HICP.     

Software for Learning and for Doing Statistics

The community of statisticians and statistics educators should take responsibility for the evaluation and improvement of software quality from the perspective of education. The paper will develop a perspective, an ideal system of requirements to critically evaluate existing software and to produce future software more adequate both for learning and doing statistics in introductory courses. Different kinds of tools and microworlds are needed. After discussing general requirements for such programs, a prototypical ideal software system will be presented in detail. It will be illustrated how such a system could be used to construct learning environments and to support elementary data analysis with exploratory working style.     

The Long-run Effects of the Italian Pension Reforms

The paper analysesthe reforms of the Italian mandatory pension scheme for employeeslegislated in the 1990s. To assess the effects of the reforms,a microsimulation model calibrated on cross-section data is developed.The model is aimed at estimating the average income of a memberof a cohort, as well as the average per capita income of allindividuals alive in a given year. The long-run effects of thereform are analysed, comparing the characteristics of alternativefinancing schemes. A substantial improvement of the equity aswell as the long-run sustainability of the Italian public pensionschemes emerges. However, the dreary demographic scenario callsfor further tightening of eligibility rules sometime in the nextdecades if long-run sustainability of public debt is to be achieved.On the basis of sensitivity analysis, some changes aimed at hedgingthe system against unexpected shocks are suggested.     

烯烃装置的绩效分析—一种微观经济的比较研究方法

所罗门管理咨询公司（SAI）是成立于1981年一家美国咨询公司，其经营特色是通过研究企业（客户）绩效确定其获得成功的关键因素，并通过同类企业绩效对比研究的方法，为企业（客户）指明改进绩效跻身先进的途径和措施，创建20年来以其独有的服务特色和经营理念赢得了广大客户，行业覆盖面由初始的炼油，扩大到目前包括石油，化工，造纸，汽车制造，运输，电力，银行等多个领域，成为在某些行业，特别是炼,石化行业颇具声誉的咨询机构，其中企业绩效分析评估更是该公司时间最久，又最具领先地位的核心业务，即以石化行业中的烯烃工厂为例，就已八，九十家作为客户参与其每二年一次的绩效分析活动，我国于1998年开始有一家参与了ASI的第7次全球烯烃绩效分析，参评情况当时就受到了业内领导层重视，以国于1998年开始有一定参与了SAI的第7次全球烯烃绩效分析，参评情况当时就受到了业内领导层重视，以后陆续又有多家企业参加，使这一方法在国内有愈来愈大的影响，希望了解并对此感兴越的人士也逐渐增多，为了实践本刊关注新热点的报道方针，本刊在2000年即着大的影响，希望了解并对此感兴越的人士也逐渐增多，为了实践本直关注新热点的报道方针，本刊在2000年邓着手组织有关这方面的搞件，本文即为其中之一，由于出版安排的原因（其中也有尽先刊载SAI作者来稿的考虑），延至本期才得以达览，而其间，应《 乙烯工业》要求，在该刊2001年第1期上先行发表，则是为了配合中石化集团公司七展烯烃装置绩效比较分析活动的需要，所作出的适应性调整而为之的，请读者谅察，同时本刊热希望并允迎已尼参与此项工作的科技，经济工作者，充分利用本刊这个载体，就绩效分析这个题目，与读者进行更具体，更务实的沟通与交流。所罗门管理咨询公司（SAI）的烯烃装置绩效分析方法是一种将同行各装置进行相对比较，然后确定各装置在其产的相对位置的方法，该方法与国内现行的竞争力分析方法相比更具科学性和可比性，此方法中包含了许多国内企业比较陌生的概念和做法，在此对该方法的特点，作用以及参评装置在提供数据时应注意的问题作了简单介绍，并以国内较早参与此项工作的J装置为例，介绍了该方法进行了情况。     

Believing in employment discrimination: The case of Forrest Mims,Scientific American,and title VII protection

This article reviews the law regarding Title VII employment discrimination protection from religious discrimination. The issues surrounding the principal legal protection in this regard are explored in the context of a recent controversial case in which an author, Forrest Mims, was not hired as a regular contributor forScientific American magazine, ostensibly because of his belief in the theory of creation over the theory of evolution. The definition of what constitutes a protected religious belief or practice is seen to have expanded over time. However, a belief in creationism is not necessarily seen as being tantamount to a religious belief under present legal interpretation of Title VII. The implications of this finding for future needed Title VII revision are discussed.     

收购兼并在上市公司发展战略中的地位和实施策略

本文主要阐述了以下三个方面的问题：（1）公司为何及时从事购并交易；（2）如何使购并活动获得成功；（3）制定中国进行购并行动的战略。     

The Information Content of Nonfinancial Performance Measures in the Airline Industry

This research extends the literature on nonfinancial performance measures (NFPMs) by assessing (1) the information content of a broader set of NFPMs and (2) whether NFPMs provide information not provided by financial performance measures (FPMs) from all previously identified FPM categories, rather than just earnings and book value. Specifically, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results presented in this paper demonstrate that nineteen NFPMs of major airlines capture seven underlying constructs not captured by eighteen common FPMs. Additionally, this research develops reliable composite measures of the identified performance measure constructs, which prior research argues are superior to individual performance measures.     

随机生产前沿方法的发展及其在中国的应用

本文对随机前沿生产函数模型的发展及其在中国生产率分析中的应用进行了评述。文章首先介绍随机前沿方法的基本原理、估计方法和在面板数据下对全要素生产率增长的分解,随后评述随机前沿生产函数模型的最新进展和在经验分析中的优势与作用,最后总结了在中国行业和地区经济增长研究中随机前沿方法的成果和不足,并探讨今后研究的发展方向。     

物流是实现客户服务的管理活动

对传统储运业的概念、资产等关键问题发表了见解，提出了物流是整合从应链一体化，实现客户服务的管理活动。商流与物流的结合是最有价值的流通形式。     

跨国公司在中国所筑之进入壁垒及对策

本文从规模经济、产品差异化、市场内部化和技术四个方面分析了跨国公司在中国所筑的进入壁垒的表现和成因 ,并就此提出了对策。