Financial analyst coverage for U.S. firms facing foreign competition: Evidence from trade liberalization

This study examines financial analyst coverage for U.S. firms following an increase in foreign product market competition. To capture exogenous shocks to domestic firms' competitive environments, we exploit a quasi‐natural experiment from large import tariff reductions over the 1984 to 2005 period in the manufacturing sector. Using data for the years before and after large tariff reductions, our difference‐in‐differences analysis shows evidence of a significant decrease in analyst coverage for incumbent U.S. firms when they face greater entry threat from foreign competitors. We also find that analysts with less firm‐specific experience and less accurate prior‐period forecasts are more likely to stop following the domestic firm when foreign competition intensifies. Overall, the findings suggest that foreign product market competition from global trade liberalization is an important determinant of financial analysts' coverage decisions.     

The impact of reverse logistics process coordination on third party relationship quality: A moderated mediation model for multichannel retailers in the fashion industry

Multichannel retailing is a widely adopted strategy in the fashion industry. Companies in this industry find it a source of competitive advantage to invest in reverse logistics infrastructure. However, limited empirical studies investigate the enablers of the relationship quality between the retailers and their reverse logistics service providers. This study quantifies the impact of reverse logistics process coordination between retailers and logistics service providers on relationship quality. Moreover, it tests the mediating role of reverse logistics service quality and the moderating role of conflict frequency in this relationship. Data were collected through a survey using a purposive sample of 241 retail store managers from the fashion retail industry of Pakistan. For this purpose, a self-administered questionnaire was developed using a five-point Likert Scale to gauge the responses. Conditional process analysis was used to evaluate the moderated mediation model. The findings showed a significant positive impact of reverse logistics process coordination on the relationship quality with a logistics service provider, a significant positive mediation effect of reverse logistics service quality, and a significant moderation effect of conflict frequency on the indirect relationship. However, conflict frequency, contrary to the hypothesis in the study, strengthened the indirect relationship. Furthermore, the moderation effect of conflict frequency on the direct relationship was insignificant. This study will help managers better understand the best practices leading to effective management of reverse logistics processes, particularly product returns.     

利用相位差变化趋势的多源信号关联

针对多源信号关联难度大、关联准确率低的问题，利用同一目标平台上搭载的多个辐射源信号具有一致的动态变化趋势这一特点，提出一种利用相位差特征的多源信号关联方法。已知阵列形式和侦测点位置，通过对侦收到的多个辐射源信号进行处理，获取相位差信息并累积形成相位差变化趋势；对比提取疑似相似段，根据相似性判决策略进行有效关联。该方法能有效避免不同传感器对位置测量的误差影响，相比传统基于位置信息关联的方法，能有效提升关联准确率。仿真和实测数据分析证明了该方法的有效性，在阵列形式和侦测点位置已知的条件下该方法具有重要工程意义。     

中国的所有制结构与区域劳动生产率收敛

基于2001~2017年中国工业分企业所有制-分地区-分行业的面板数据，利用相对劳动生产率和变异系数指标对全国和分区域的国有企业、私营企业、外商和港澳台企业的劳动生产率增长和收敛性进行描述性分析，并运用双向固定效应模型对其进行计量检验。结果显示：从全国范围来看，三类所有制结构的劳动生产率均呈现显著的绝对收敛和条件收敛，但是收敛速度呈现差异。其中，私营企业收敛速度最快，外商和港澳台企业次之，国有企业收敛速度最慢。分区域来看，东北和西部收敛速度相对较快，中部次之，而沿海三类所有制结构的劳动生产率收敛速度均较慢。因此，政府应进一步从深化国有企业改革、鼓励非公有制经济发展和完善市场竞争等方面努力，有助于缩小区域发展差距和促进所有制结构的收敛，从而带动整体经济的收敛。     

Linking of sample data to small areas

We consider methods for estimating the means of survey variables in domains of a finite population, where sample sizes are too small to obtain reliable direct estimates. We construct generalized compositions from the direct and traditional design-based synthetic estimators and propose the methodology for evaluating their coefficients. This methodology measures similarities among sample elements and estimates of the domain means. We propose the compositions for two cases of auxiliary information: domain-level characteristics are available; true means of auxiliary variables are available for the estimation domains, and unit-level auxiliary vectors are known for the sample elements. In the simulation study, we show where the generalized compositions improve the traditional synthetic and composite estimators.     

Do fiscal rules cause better fiscal balances? A new instrumental variable strategy

This paper estimates the causal effect of fiscal rules on fiscal balances in a panel of 142 countries over the period 1985–2015. Our instrumental variable strategy exploits the geographical diffusion of fiscal rules across countries. The intuition is that reforms in neighboring countries may affect the adoption of domestic reforms through peer pressure and imitational effects. We find that the mere existence of fiscal rules correlates with lower deficits, but the positive link disappears when endogeneity is correctly addressed. However, when considering the strength of rules through a continuous index of fiscal rules’ design, we show that well-designed rules have a statistically significant impact on fiscal balances. We conduct several robustness tests and show that our results are generally robust and not affected by weak instrument problems.     

Adoption of farm‐based irrigation water‐saving techniques in the Guanzhong Plain,China

This article analyses adoption of farm‐based irrigation water saving techniques, based on a cross‐sectional data set of 357 farmers in the Guanzhong Plain, China. Approximately 83% of the farmers use at least one farm‐based water‐saving technique. However, the traditional, inefficient techniques border and furrow irrigation are still prevalent whereas the use of advanced, more efficient techniques is still rather rare. We develop and estimate an adoption model consisting of two stages: awareness of water scarcity and intensity of adoption. We find that awareness of water scarcity and financial status enhance adoption of more advanced techniques whereas access to better community‐based irrigation infrastructure discourages it. We furthermore find both community‐based irrigation infrastructure and farm‐based irrigation water‐saving techniques have mitigating effects on production risk. From the results it follows that adoption can be stimulated via financial support and via extension aimed at enhancing awareness of water scarcity.     

Pension plan solvency and extreme market movements: a regime switching approach

We develop and test a new approach to assess defined benefit (DB) pension plan solvency risk in the presence of extreme market movements. Our method captures both the ‘fat-tailed’ nature of asset returns and their correlation with discount rate changes. We show that the standard assumption of constant discount rates leads to dramatic underestimation of future projections of pension plan solvency risk. Failing to incorporate leptokurtosis into asset returns also leads to downward biased estimates of risk, but this is less pronounced than the time-varying discount rate effect. Further modifying the model to capture the correlation between asset returns and the discount rate provides additional improvements in the projection of future pension plan solvency. This reduces the perceived future risk of underfunding because of the negative correlation between interest rate changes and asset returns. These results have important implications for those with responsibility for balancing risk against expected return when seeking to improve the current poor funding positions of DB pension schemes.     

集体林区资源异质性农户林业生产行为动态特征及差异研究——以湖南省为例

分别以商品林农户、公益林农户和兼有林农户作为研究对象,采用描述性分析从林业生产过程和投入产出两个维度客观揭示3类农户林业生产行为动态特征及差异。打破将林区农户作为同质整体的传统假设进行研究的结果表明:商品林、公益林和兼有林农户林业生产行为整体趋势比较积极,但在造林、管护、采伐行为及林业投入产出等方面存在明显差异。因此,建议通过政策引导、市场调剂等方式形成商品林、公益林差异化经营优势,确保农户利益的同时,更好的贯彻森林分类经营管理理念,维护国家生态安全。     

基于温差发电的混合动力自行车的研究

本文主要研究了一种基于温差发电的混合动力自行车,并就其改装和发动机尾气余热利用的系统优化设计进行了集中分析,最终得出了相关结论。