Are the interdependence characteristics of the US and Canadian energy equity sectors nonlinear and asymmetric?

Nonlinear, symmetric, and asymmetric dependence characteristics in energy equity sectors matter to portfolio investors and risk managers because of the risks and diversification opportunities they entail. Specifically, nonlinear dependence dynamics between assets are harder to predict, monitor, and manage, and can make investment positions go wrong unexpectedly. In this paper, we investigate whether the dependence dynamics of US and Canadian large-capitalized energy equity portfolios are nonlinear, symmetric, or asymmetric. We draw our results by implementing a robust copula approach based on time-varying parameter copulas and vine copula methods. Both time varying parameter and vine-copula methods indicate that the Canadian energy sector portfolio is driven by nonlinear negative tail asymmetric dependence during the global financial crisis and when the full sample period is employed. On the other hand, it displays nonlinear symmetric dependence during the oil price crisis, implying the need for close monitoring and rebalancing and a more continuous assessment of long investment positions. The US energy sector portfolio is driven by positive tail asymmetric dependence, and by symmetric dependence dynamics during crisis and non-crisis periods.     

Tax incentive,R&D investment and firm innovation: Evidence from China

We estimate the effect of R&D tax incentives on firm-level R&D expenditures (RDE) and patenting using a change in the eligibility criteria for a super deduction in China. In 2006, the Chinese government relaxed the “10 % eligibility criterion”, which stated that only firms with a 10 % or higher increase in prior-year RDE can claim an additional 50 % tax deduction. We use an event study approach to show that firms that became newly eligible to claim the super deduction (those just below the criterion) catches up on RDE and product innovation measured by the sales of new products. In the long run, we also observe a closing gap in the number of patents between the two groups of firms. Moreover, extending tax benefits to all firm helps to lower the tax burden, and we find no evidence of manipulation and relabeling.     

REGIONAL ANTI‐CORRUPTION EFFORT,POLITICAL CONNECTIONS AND FIRM INNOVATION EFFORT: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

This paper examines how firm characteristics and local anti‐corruption effort moderate the influence of political connections on enterprises’ private R&D investment using data from 2,587 Chinese A‐share listed enterprises. Our results show that the local anti‐corruption institutional environment significantly moderates the strong relationship between political connections and enterprises’ private R&D investment. Firm characteristics (i.e., firm size and firm age) also show a moderating effect on the relationship between political connection and enterprises’ private R&D investment; larger and older enterprises are more likely to have innovative resources and business cooperation partners, and thus are able to reduce their degree of reliance on political connections and government funding. The results of our study suggest the importance of having a transparent and fair institutional environment for enterprise innovation activities.     

Too-Big-To-Fail: Why Megabanks Have Not Become Smaller Since the Global Financial Crisis?

ABSTRACT

More than ten years after the global financial crisis, what has happened to the ‘too-big-to-fail’ (TBTF) banks whose reckless behavior was among its preconditions, but which received public support and guarantees in the midst of that crisis? Insofar as this too-big-to-fail status helped create the crisis and then imposed costs on the rest of society, we would expect these banks to have shrunk. We investigate the evolution of 31 global-TBTF banks and find that their overall size has hardly recorded any substantial change. However, there is no sense of urgency in the flourishing post-crisis literature on TBTF banks about the need to contain their size; the prevalent view therein is that if properly regulated, the risks that arise from a financial system dominated by TBTF banks are manageable. This view rests on the same overly narrow theoretical underpinnings whose flaws were exposed in the crisis. We argue that too-big-to-fail banking is embedded in a set of self-reinforcing policies—consolidation, balance-sheet support through quantitative easing, favorable regulations, bank lobbying, and geo-economic and geo-political considerations—which explain why these banks have not shrunk and why they remain a threat to financial stability, well after the lessons of the crisis should have been learned.     

一种基于SIR结构的三通带带通滤波器

应用双指耦合结构和枝节加载谐振器（Stub-loaded Resonator，SLR）实现了一款基于阶梯阻抗谐振器（Stepped Impedance Resonator，SIR）的滤波器。该滤波器具有3个通带，带外抑制较好，工作频段提高。通过调整阻抗比可调节第二、三通带的谐振频率；SLR结构能够增加通带数量；SLR结构和双指耦合结构均能改善滤波器的S参数。HFSS软件仿真表明，3个通带的中心频率分别为3.5 GHz、6.6 GHz、9.2 GHz，对应的分数带宽分别为5.7%、3%、2%，S11分别为-18 dB、-22 dB、-24 dB，通带内的S21分别为-1.8 dB、-1 dB、-1 dB。电路的测量结果与仿真结果较为吻合。该滤波器在5G通信的低频段具有应用前景。     

The effect of cash holdings on firm performance in large Italian companies

This paper examines the relationship between cash holdings and performance in Italy over 36 years. Specifically, in light of the presence of conflicting evidence concerning the worth of cash stock, which could lead to a positive effect rather than a negative one, the role of moderating factors that can shape the magnitude of this relationship is investigated. The results show that the value of cash holdings is affected by firm‐specific characteristics, as well as factors related to the institutional context. Although other studies have analyzed moderators one at a time, this is the first work to consider how they jointly work. When the moderators are considered together, some of them become no longer statistically significant while others become even more economically and statistically relevant.     

Picking cherries or lemons: A unified theory of cross‐border mergers and acquisitions

This article provides a theoretical framework that enhances understanding of empirical evidence suggesting that international mergers and acquisitions, a key source of foreign direct investment, seemingly target in‐country firms that are at the extremes of the productivity spectrum—either high‐productivity firms, so‐called cherries, or low‐productivity firms, the “lemons.” The framework demonstrates that foreign firms with intermediate inputs seek high‐productivity domestic firms, while foreign firms with managerial expertise seek low‐productivity domestic firms. We also show that because of the difference in available outside options, high‐productivity domestic firms can demand a significantly higher portion of profits in the partnership than low‐productivity domestic firms.     

Modelling tourist flow association for tourism demand forecasting

The purpose of this study is to examine tourism demand for Singapore from 1995 to 2013 by six major origin countries which belong to three different regions. Unlike prior tourism research, we take into account the dependence relations among the different tourist flows via copula. Copula is a statistical model of dependence and measurement of association. Specifically, we investigate the association between two tourist flows in each region. Based on empirical copula estimation, the Frank function has been identified as the most appropriate to capture the pairwise dependence structures of tourist flows. The copula-based approach combined with econometric models is proposed for tourism demand analysis that can be used to predict tourist arrivals. We apply the copula-ARDL and copula-ECM frameworks to generate joint forecasts of tourist arrivals from three regions. The findings show that the forecast performance of the Frank copula-based model outperforms the benchmark model which corresponds to the independence structure (no association) of tourist flows.     

Institutional Economics as Theory of Policy Change: Impact of Past Policy Failures on Present Policy

Social scientists have developed several theories for understanding or evaluating policy change over time. Since all costs or benefits are not internalized owing to positive transaction costs, policymaking is always implemented under cost underestimation conditions and, therefore, is imperfect. I call this trait policy failure in this article. Furthermore, I show that a new framework combining the social costs approach and the legal/economic approach in institutional economics is suitable and can be applied to evaluating how past policy failures affect present policy, providing as an example the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.     

欧盟国际投资规则的源与流

欧盟在其近年来的国际投资协定谈判中,提出了不少对国际投资规则进行革新的内容。中国为应对将来中欧自由贸易协定谈判,除了分析欧盟国际投资规则本身之外,更应该对欧盟国际投资规则的形成与发展趋势有清晰的把握。欧盟投资规则的形成受到《里斯本条约》的影响,在发展过程中欧盟法院又起到了至关重要的作用。同时,欧盟的国际投资规则发展面临着一致性问题的影响。欧盟如何协调内部投资规则的冲突,如何协调欧盟与欧盟成员在外部的国际投资仲裁中的主体地位等问题都将影响着欧盟国际投资规则的发展,更影响着中国应对中欧双边贸易投资规则的谈判策略。