Agricultural landowners⿿ response to incentives for afforestation

Previous research has shown that afforestation of agricultural land is a relatively low-cost option compared to energy-based approaches for mitigating net carbon dioxide emissions, and that financial incentives affect landowner behavior and can be used to increase carbon sequestration on private land. In this paper we use stated preference data from private landowners in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. to examine the key factors affecting participation in an incentive program for carbon sequestration through afforestation. We also estimate the corresponding potential for carbon sequestration and its cost. Our results suggest that incentive payments would significantly and positively affect landowners⿿ level of enrollment in a tree planting program.     

Demand for ecolabeled seafood in the Japanese market: A conjoint analysis of the impact of information and interaction with other labels

The use of seafood ecolabels is expanding in the world marketplace, but so are labels indicating other product attributes, such as country of origin and wild vs. farmed. The interactive effects of these labels and attributes in evaluating consumers’ preferences for ecolabeled seafood are relatively unexplored. In this paper we investigate (1) the direct and interactive effects of seafood ecolabels with other common fish labels, and (2) how consumers’ perceptions about the state of marine stocks and the valuation of ecolabels may be affected by different information. We find moderate interactive effects between ecolabels and country of origin labels, whereas the valuation for seafood ecolabels is fairly high. In terms of information, we find that consumers’ perceptions about fish stock levels changed (negatively) after receiving information on declining stock levels, and more sensationalized information led to increased change. However, valuation for a seafood ecolabel increases only when the information was perceived positively (credible/interesting); whereas exaggerated information (which was also perceived less credible) had insignificant effects on WTP.     

Dynamic decision and coordination in a low-carbon supply chain considering the retailer's social preference

We establish dynamic game models in a low-carbon supply chain consisting of a single manufacturer and a single retailer with social preference. This study investigates the complex dynamic characteristics of pricing decision and carbon abatement strategy in the supply chain and focuses on the impact of the retailer's social preference on pricing decision, carbon emission abatement strategy, profits, supply chain coordination, and complexity of dynamic models. We find that adjustment parameters of pricing and carbon emission abatement should be maintained in a certain range; otherwise, the system will be unstable and even chaotic through period double bifurcation or wave shape chaos. A higher social preference of the retailer is always beneficial to carbon abatement and the manufacturer and helps maintain the stability of the supply chain system. However, the impact on the long-term profitability of the supply chain is related to the state of the system. Compared with the setting of a centralized decision, the optimal carbon abatement strategy and supply chain profit in a decentralized decision are always less than those in a centralized setting, regardless of whether the retailer has social preference. Therefore, a side-payment self-executing contract is designed to coordinate the supply chain and achieve Pareto improvement. The coordination mechanism proposed in this study not only leads to Pareto improvement but also increases the stability of the supply chain system. Finally, this study enlightens management in operating a low-carbon supply chain.     

地理资本视角下村级多维贫困测度及贫困类型划分*——基于重庆市1 919个市级贫困村调研数据

[目的]精确测度村级多维贫困以及划分贫困类型,是当前提高贫困识别精准度,进一步推进农村精准脱贫的战略需求。[方法]文章基于重庆市1 919个市级贫困村的调研数据,构建地理资本视角下村域多维贫困测度指标体系,并采用多维贫困测度模型、指标贡献度模型和最小方差方法系统揭示了重庆市贫困村多维贫困程度、贫困类型及其空间分布特征。[结果](1)重庆市贫困村多维贫困程度呈两端大中间小的"哑铃状"结构,贫困程度极化特征显著,区域发展具有不平衡性。空间分布上,贫困村多维贫困程度呈从渝东北、渝东南分别向渝西地区逐渐减轻的特征,贫困村多维贫困程度存在明显的地域性差异;(2)重庆市贫困村贫困类型主要分为单资本缺失型、双资本缺失型、三资本缺失型、四资本缺失型4个类型,其占比分别为9.07%、20.27%、66.91%、3.75%,三资本缺失型是最主要的贫困类型。[结论]重庆市贫困村致贫因素复杂多样,需要根据各自的贫困特征,因地制宜地开展差别化的帮扶工作。科学推进精准扶贫战略,力争实现2020年全面脱贫。     

Optimal dividend strategies with time-inconsistent preferences

This paper studies the optimal dividend strategies of an insurance company when the manager has time-inconsistent preferences. We consider the problem for a naive manager and a sophisticated manager, and analytically derive the optimal dividend strategies when claim sizes follow an exponential distribution. Our results show that the manager with time-inconsistent preferences tends to pay out dividends earlier than her time-consistent counterpart and that the sophisticated manager is more inclined to pay out dividends than the naive manager. Furthermore, we extend these results to the case with claim sizes following a mixed exponential distribution, and provide a numerical analysis to reveal the sensitivity of the optimal dividend strategies to changes in the premium, claims and surplus volatility.     

Rural Residential Land Transition in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region: Spatial-Temporal Patterns and Policy Implications

Rural residential land transition (RRLT) dominates rural land use transition. Therefore, analysing the laws of transition and differentiation of land use is not only the basis for the differential management of rural residential areas but key to the sustainable use of rural land. This study constructs a conceptual model of RRLT using multi-period remote sensing monitoring data based on a comprehensive index method, ArcGIS, and FRAGSTATS landscape pattern analysis, among others. It also analyses the characteristics of the transition extent, transition trend, transition morphology, and transition intensity of rural residential land in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region from 1980 to 2018. The results show that, from a vertical comparison of long time series, the transition extent is characterised by a process of ‘slow growth—expanding start—fast expansion—slowing down’; the transition trend is characterised by an increase in the amount of cultivated land occupied by rural residential land, followed by a large number of rural residential land is reclaimed as cultivated land; the transition morphology is characterised by an increase in mean patch size and degree of irregularity, as well as aggregation; and the transition intensity is characterised by fluctuations in the process of ‘small-scale reduction—small-scale growth—substantial growth—small-scale growth and reduction’. A horizontal comparison of counties in the BTH region reveals a long-lasting and active growth trend in transition extent and transition intensity in the Beijing-Tianjin region, and a gradually slowing trend in the areas around the region. The transition morphology features of the northwest Hebei region are more prominent, and show that the scale of rural settlements is small, the plaques fragmented and irregular, and the layout more scattered. The BTH region should formulate a differentiated transition direction for rural residential areas based on the different functional areas, and play into the agglomeration, scale, and synergy effects of urban agglomerations. It should also coordinate and improve the human–land relationship in rural areas, and construct an orderly and densely distributed pattern of urban and rural spatial development with a reasonable layout and complementary functions.     

管理层权力与或有事项信息披露——基于环境不确定性的调节效应研究

基于2003—2016年我国A股上市公司的经验数据，以企业表内列报的预计负债金额与表外附注中披露的或有事项频数为考察对象，实证检验了管理层权力对或有事项信息披露的影响。研究发现，管理层权力与表内列报的或有事项信息显著负相关，而与表外披露的或有事项信息显著正相关；进一步发现，随着环境不确定性的增加，管理层权力对企业表内预计负债列报的负向影响显著增强，而对表外或有事项披露的正向影响明显减弱。在当前外部环境瞬息万变、内部治理机制弱化的背景下，管理层可能会利用其控制权操控或有事项信息的披露方式，自我服务偏好明显。     

制度距离、投资动机与企业OFDI区位选择——中国对外直接投资“制度风险偏好”的一种解释

由于企业的对外直接投资（OFDI）存在制度适应成本，东道国与母国之间的制度距离会对企业OFDI产生负向影响。基于2003—2015年中国对140个国家和地区OFDI的分析表明：中国企业的OFDI具有明显的市场寻求动机和战略资源寻求动机，其中，市场寻求型OFDI表现出显著的互补效应，战略资源寻求型OFDI表现出一定程度的挤出效应；东道国与中国的制度距离会通过投资动机影响中国企业OFDI的区位选择，即倾向于向制度距离较小的国家和地区进行OFDI，且制度距离会弱化市场寻求型OFDI的互补效应和战略资源寻求型OFDI的挤出效应。站在企业角度来看，中国企业在进行OFDI时并不具有“制度风险偏好”，而是表现出“制度风险规避”特征：选择对其自身发展来讲制度风险较小（制度距离较小）的目标市场进行OFDI。因此，中国应深化市场经济体制改革，提升国内制度质量，加强国际经济合作，并增强企业的制度适应能力，以有效减小制度距离对企业OFDI区位选择的约束，进而优化OFDI区位分布，提高OFDI效益和质量。     

基于多维频谱地图的干扰规避

针对复杂电磁环境下卫星移动通信系统可靠通信需求，利用频谱地图多维数据呈现优势，提出了基于多维频谱地图的干扰规避方法。通过建立卫星移动通信系统波束、时隙、子频带、干扰强度等多维信息关联的频谱地图，利用数据挖掘方法对频谱可用情况进行预测，基于预测结果及用户QoS(Quality of Service)需求生成干扰规避策略，通过星地联合频谱资源调配实现系统干扰规避。该方法为卫星移动通信系统干扰规避提供了一种全新的思路，可提升卫星移动通信系统干扰防护能力。