Flexible Fourier stationary test in purchasing power parity for African countries

This study applies stationary test with a Fourier function proposed by Enders and Lee (2004 Enders, W and Lee, J. 2004. Testing for a unit root with a nonlinear Fourier function, Tuscaloosa, AL, , USA: Working Paper, Department of Economics, Finance and Legal Studies, University of Alabama.  [Google Scholar], 2009 Enders, W and Lee, J. 2009. The flexible Fourier form and testing for unit roots: an example of the term structure of interest rates, Tuscaloosa, AL, , USA: Working Paper, Department of Economics, Finance and Legal Studies, University of Alabama.  [Google Scholar]) to test the validity of long run Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) to assess the nonstationary properties of the real exchange rate for 20 African countries. We find that our approximation has higher power to detect U shaped breaks and smooth breaks than linear method if the true data generating process of exchange rate is in fact a stationary nonlinear process. We examine the validity of PPP from the nonlinear point of view and provide robust evidence clearly indicate that PPP holds true for almost African countries. Our findings point out their exchange rate adjustment is mean reversion towards PPP equilibrium values in a nonlinear way.     

Evaluating the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s BTOP on broadband adoption

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) spent $4.7 billion during 2009–2013 to, inter alia, increase broadband adoption in underserved communities. We characterize the BTOP grants and examine the impact of the awards on broadband adoption. Econometric specifications controlling for award endogeneity related to observed and unobserved county-level factors find that spending is apparently associated with increased broadband adoption. Further investigation, however, reveals that the impacts of spending are nonlinear and even nonmonotonic over the range of county-level BTOP spending in the data. Controlling for trends to reduce the potential for spurious correlation between spending and outcomes removes most of the significance of the results. We conclude with three lessons for policymakers derived from the uncertain outcomes of BTOP spending found in our exploration.     

The Social Psychological Underpinnings of Commons’s Institutional Economics: The Significance of Dewey’s Human Nature and Conduct

The institutional environment of science differs across countries. Its particularities have an impact on productivity of scientific enterprise in terms of both research and teaching. Reform of the system of higher education occupies an important place in programs of catch-up modernization. Attempts to replicate Western institutional arrangements and organizational designs in this area have been undertaken in Russia since the very beginning of economic and political reforms of the 1990s. This paper considers a particular transplant, the Higher School of Economics (HSE) established in 1992, and its subsequent evolution. A structural analysis shows its divergence from the organizational patterns that served as a model. The HSE case is compared with several "representative" Western universities as well as other Russian universities. When explaining divergent patterns between the HSE and the Western counterparts, special attention is paid to the issue of power relationships and their role in the functioning of the scientific organization. The paper aims to contribute to the discussion of "cultural entrepreneurs" and their motivation.     

权利配置、契约完备、政府约束视角下的中国农村经济组织化发展研究

中国农村以家庭承包经营制度为核心的小农经济在迅速发展的市场经济中竞争能力日渐不足,组织化发展是促进农村经济增长和提高农民收入的一条可行之路。诸多研究表明,从制度经济学的角度来看,经济的组织化发展是以权利配置、契约完备和政府约束的组织化为核心。以此为起点,本文首先探究了制度组织化提高供求竞争性均衡的机理,之后深入研究了中国农村经济中农地流转、农民合作、农产品流通、农业生产和农村金融服务五个组成部分中权利配置、契约完备和政府约束三个方面的组织化水平及其与农村经济供求均衡的适应度,最后给出了中国农村经济组织化发展的对策建议。     

Agrifood Safety Standards,Market Power,and Consumer Misperceptions

This article analyzes how the public regulation of food safety influences a firm's strategic behaviour in a food chain. In this context, we provide an original theoretical framework to show how, regardless of the level of standard, food safety regulation may have unexpected harmful effects. Namely, the level of compliance costs alone cannot explain the producer exclusion due to a high level of standard. We highlight how upstream producers' involvement in the market also depends on the strategic interest of the downstream firm to remunerate their compliance process. Finally, we show how the actual level of risk does not necessarily decrease when the standard is reinforced.     

Deterrence or Conflict Spiral Effect? Exercise of Coercive Power in Marketing Channels: Evidence from China

Purpose: The article aims to test the appropriateness of deterrence and conflict spiral models in marketing channels. Both models have been alternatively used as bases to explain firms’ power-related behaviors in marketing channels. However, the issue of the appropriateness of such an application in various contexts has not yet been addressed.

Methodology/approach: The authors develop the hypotheses based on deterrence theory and their alternatives based on conflict spiral theory. They gather data from 204 sales representatives of suppliers in China and use linear regression analysis to test their hypotheses versus alternatives.

Empirical findings: The data analysis offers supportive evidence for the deterrence logic but with unexpected results. By elaborating on the empirical results, the original assumption of deterrence theory, and the nature of interfirm relationship in marketing channels, the authors modify the deterrence model for research on power related-behaviors in the given context. The analysis implies a possible explanation for inconsistent findings in the literature regarding exercises of coercive power.

Originality/value/contribution: This article proposes a revised deterrence model that can interpret the empirical results with a consistent logic and better predict power-related behaviors in marketing channels.

Research limitations/implications: The research results may lack generalizability with respect to channel type and culture. It does not directly test the cognitive mechanisms that mediate the impact of power on its exercise. Researchers are encouraged to directly test the mediating constructs in other channels or countries.

Practical implications: The article includes some insights and implications for managers in understanding power structure and implementing influence strategies in business-to-business marketing.     

A Multicultural Joint Venture Under the Post-Developmental State in Singapore

As a multi-cultural country with a British colonial past hosting many different ethnic groups including Westerners, Singapore juggles with the often conflicting forces of Westernization (holding the promise of economic prosperity) and Asianization (holding the promise of a distinct cultural identity). Although the endorsement of ‘Asian values’ by Singapore political leaders such as Lee Kuan Yew may be seen as a mere rhetoric device to either explain ethnic Chinese business success or the Asian crisis, the question needs to be raised as to the ways in which the Asian Values discourse affects both Western and Asian MNCs operating in Singapore. In order to address this question, this article investigates the participation of a European–Japanese joint venture in a large government-sponsored reclamation project in Singapore. It is a rather unique situation in which the state as paymaster has the upper hand over the partners. The investigation shows that reference to ‘Asian values’ is a significant boundary-marking strategy used by both the Singapore government and the joint venture partners to manipulate the power balances in this triangular relationship. The outcome is more often than not advantageous for the Singapore state.     

复合形遗传算法求解功率优化分配研究

传统遗传算法存在过早收敛及局部搜索能力差的缺点,在求解无线网络协作通信功 率优化分配等NP难问题时难以求得最优解。通过小生境策略解决遗传算法过早收敛问题,引 入复合形法提高局部搜索能力,构造了兼顾广度搜索与深度搜索的高性能混合算法,并对上 述问题进行求解。实验结果表明,所提算法与已有算法相比有一定优势,有效延长了协作网 络寿命,稳定性较好,分配的功率波动范围小。     

大气激光通信中压缩数字脉冲间隔调制技术

为了提高大气光通信信息传输的高效性和可靠性,提出一种压缩数字脉冲间隔调制（CDPIM）技术。该技术对相邻4位信息码组分别经PPM编码后,把编码脉冲之间多余的空闲时隙用分段压缩码进行替换来进行编码。描述了CDPIM的符号结构,运用Matlab对发射功率、频带利用率、信道容量占用率、传输误包率等的仿真结果表明：在相同位分辨率4时,CDPIM的发射功率比FDPIM的发射功率节约23%,CDPIM的频带利用率比DPIM的频带利用率提高72%,CDPIM的传输容量比OOK的传输容量提高67%。在相同信噪比2时,CDPIM的误包率比DPIM的误包率提高60%,而且CDPIM调制技术能对接收的错误码组进行有效的自我纠错。