Has the CSR engagement of electrical companies had an effect on their performance? A closer look at the environment

Even though electrical companies attain a top ranking in the publication of CSR reports, they are often accused of 'green‐washing' due to their bad environmental reputation. The current economic crisis is testing their real CSR commitment more than ever, especially when this goes beyond its economic consequences. Based on a worldwide sample of electrical companies, we are going to study why companies are being socially responsible. We wish to know if it is due to the impact on the firms' performance or whether there are other motives (legitimation, improving their reputation) that lead companies to carry out these practices. We will also consider if it changes across the kind of CSR action considered. The results show that there is an economic justification beyond the socially responsible behaviour of the electrical companies. Additionally, most kinds of CSR action (community, diversity, corporate governance, product responsibility) are also carried out looking for economic rewards. However, the CSR actions oriented to the environment are mainly motivated by their need to improve their image and reverse their negative impact. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Personal service companies and the public sector

Off-payroll workers in the UK, including personal service companies (PSCs), engaged by the public sector have been giving ‘assurance’ of their tax position to departments in the sector since 2012. Departments must be satisfied with the assurance. For PSCs this requires awareness of complex tax legislation (IR35), which is aimed at preventing tax avoidance. Costs may be incurred in attaining the necessary knowledge. This may bring into question costs incurred in protecting tax revenue. No similar obligation exists in the private sector.     

上市公司内部审计独立性的现状分析

独立性是内部审计的灵魂,是决定内部审计职能能否得到充分发挥和内部审计目标能否实现的关键因素。目前,我国上市公司内部审计部门主要隶属于董事会、审计委员会和总经理,并且隶属于审计委员会已经成为主流态势,独立性较高。内部审计独立性因上市公司的财务状况、控制人性质、所处行业、所在地区不同呈现出较为明显的差异。     

基于熵权TOPSIS法的在线旅游企业竞争力实证分析

在线旅游企业竞争力分析顺应了旅游企业发展的客观需要、顺应了互联网与旅游相结合的时代要求、顺应了当前国家大力支持旅游业发展的整体趋势。运用熵权TOPSIS法对在线旅游企业的竞争力进行实证分析，更具客观性、系统性、科学性、权威性。提升在线旅游企业的竞争力需要综合考虑企业的规模、企业的经营业绩、企业的服务能力以及企业的创新能力。     

Effects of hiring former employees of multinationals in the absorptive capacity of local firms

The attraction of foreign direct investment seeks, among other things, to increase the productivity of local companies through knowledge spillovers. However, the empirical evidence in this regard is contradictory. One influential factor is the absorptive capacity of the local companies. This article analyzes the effect of the presence of former employees of multinational corporations as employees of local companies, on the absorptive capacity of said companies. The study was done in Costa Rica, a country known for its successful strategy in the subject matter. The data come from a survey applied to 1167 companies by the Observatorio Costarricense de las Pymes in 2011. It was found that the hiring of former employees of multinational corporations by local companies has a positive effect on the index of absorptive capacity of companies in all productive sectors. Specifically, this hiring of former employees increases the index of absorptive capacity by nine percentage points, with differences by sector and the size of the company.     

我国出租车牌照拍卖机制研究

论文以有效分配、促进竞争、实现经济价值为目标，建立了公开升价拍卖+密封拍卖的两阶段牌照拍卖模型，证明了其有效性和最优性。并以北京市为例讨论了牌照数量的确定、进入密封拍卖阶段的时机和牌照的流通等实际问题。这些讨论将有利于拍卖机制在现实中的操作实施。     

Impact of split share structure reform on capital structures: empirical evidence from China’s listed companies

An econometric model based on a natural experiment and the difference-in-differences method is introduced to empirically investigate the impact of split share structure reform on capital structures. A total of 1026 listed companies in Chinese A-share during 2001–2011 are used as the sample for the research and interest-bearing debt ratios (BDRs) are taken as a representative indicator for capital structures. The theoretical and empirical analysis indicates that both market expansion effect and corporate governance effect caused by the split share structure reform are associated with an increase in BDR. As far as the timeliness is concerned, the effects of split share structure reform on capital structures will last 3–4 years.     

北京农民收入变化特点与促进增收的政策建议

党的十八大报告提出,到2020年我国城乡居民人均收入要比2010年翻一番,农民收入翻番是实现这一目标的重要组成部分。北京市2010年农民人均纯收入约1.3万元,如何在高起点上完成2.6万元翻番任务是目前亟待解决的问题。本文通过定量分析法、研讨法、文献法,梳理北京市"八五"以来的农民增收政策,得出在增收政策力度增大的情况下,农民收入的四个明显特征。一是收入水平增加明显,1995~2014年收入增长6.3倍。二是结构变化明显,工资性收入的增收贡献率与人均纯收入的增长存在显著的正相关关系;转移性收入在收入构成中的比重不断增加。三是区域差异明显,地区之间不平衡;城市发展新区增速略高于其它两个功能区;城乡居民收入差距持续扩大。四是内部差距明显,农民内部收入差距逐年拉大,收入分配不平等程度高于城镇。分析影响农民收入增长的因素时,得出农民存在自身素质局限性、收入来源狭窄性及收入支出失衡性的现实问题及社会保障、土地、财政、公共服务方面的制度问题。最后提出以加强政策可持续性、增强政策针对性、增进制度创新性为切入点,建立合理、有效、配套的农民增收政策体系,完成新形势下的收入倍增目标。     

我国消费金融业务的发展困境及对策刍议

根据2009年银监会文件成立的四家消费金融公司，是我国在拓展内需促进经济发展模式转型过程中作出的有益尝试，在前期发展过程中体现出自身的价值。文章针对消费金融公司前期发展过程中出现的业务发展较慢等问题，进行了简要的分析评述，并结合2014年开始施行的《消费金融公司试点管理办法》，针对发展困境提出了对策与建议。     

Efficiency Determinants and Capacity Issues in Angolan Insurance Companies

This paper describes a variety of approaches used to assess the efficiency of a sample of major insurance companies in Angola between 2003 and 2012. Starting out with the bootstrapping technique, several data envelopment analysis (DEA) estimates were generated, allowing the use of confidence intervals and bias correction in central estimates to test for significant differences in efficiency levels and input‐decreasing/output‐increasing potentials. Previous studies have focused on the measurement and explanation of the factors affecting the performance rather than the prediction. The use of neural networks combined with DEA results as part of an attempt to produce a model for insurance companies’ performance with effective predictive ability is investigated. The findings indicate that older insurance companies with Portuguese origin tend to be more efficient. Results also suggest that opportunities for accommodating future demand appear to be scarce.