Estimating yield curves of the U.S. Treasury securities: An interpolation approach

Following the approach of interpolation, this paper proposes the multiple exponential decay model to fit yield curves for both the U.S. TIPS market and the conventional Treasury security market. Several estimation methods, including the unconstrained/constrained nonlinear minimization, quadratic programming, and the iterative linear least squares, are applied to estimate the unknown parameters according to different curve‐fitting purposes. Comparisons between the proposed model and the alternatives show that the multiple exponential decay successfully (1) adapts to a variety of shapes associated with yield curves, (2) (partially) keeps in line with the economic interpretations of Nelson–Siegel summarized by Diebold and Li ( 2006 ), and (3) dominates the competing models in curve‐fitting performance measured by mean fitted‐price errors over the sample period. In addition, the exact specification of a nonparametric interpolation model is pinned down by applying three statistical tools, which enable us to jointly take into account validity, optimality, and parsimoniousness of the proposed model.     

Emotions,deliberations, and end‐of‐life products

Death is inevitable; yet, not all consumers prepare for death by purchasing end‐of‐life (EOL) products. Using the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the dual‐process model framework, this study aims to examine the role of emotions and cognitions in influencing consumers' decisions to engage in planning for death. A mixed methodology design was used. Study 1, a qualitative study, uncovered positive and negative emotions and deliberative reasoning that comprise consumers' EOL purchase decision process. Study 2, a quantitative study, confirmed that emotions and deliberations independently and jointly influenced consumers' EOL attitude and behavior and that emotions affected deliberations for both prepaid funerals and wills. Subjective norms outperformed attitude in predicting both products' purchase behavior. These finding supported the dual‐process model of behavior and the TRA in the EOL research context and contributed to the EOL literature by investigating the effects of emotions and deliberations concurrently; thus validating the important role of emotions in influencing EOL planning and purchase. In light of our findings, marketers could, after due cognizance of the morbidity and sensitivity of the topic, develop actionable promotional and segmentation strategies for EOL products and other emotion‐laden, unsought products and service.     

健全我国企业环保信用评价法律制度的正当性面向

《环境保护法》等环境法律体系日渐趋同的多元共治理念，渗透并引发环境法律制度体系的结构性转型；国内环境信息公开制度保障公众环境知情权的核心功能不能容纳企业环保信用评价制度的制度功能；信用制度与信息制度错序产生的国内外法治及社会环境迥异等，决定了我国企业环保信用评价制度健全的正当性面向。     

Corporate social responsibility and competitive advantage: A developing country perspective

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has attracted wider research interests over recent decades. While some studies have examined the impact of CSR activities on firm competitive advantage (CA), the findings so far remain contradictory. Moreover, the role of export orientation, firm strategy, and structure on the association between CSR and CA has not been explicitly examined. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of export orientation, firm strategy, structure, and firm size on the association between CSR and CA. Using a sample of 179 responses from management staff in organizations across five sectors in a developing country context of Ghana, the study found positive effects of CSR on CA. The study contributes to the resource‐based view (RBV) scholarship by confirming the important complementary effect of export orientation and organizational structure as important resources and capabilities on the CSR–competitiveness relationship. However, no evidence of a moderating effect of firm strategy, or firm size on the CSR–CA relationship was found. These findings are instructive, impactful, and enrich the existing literature on CSR and strategy. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.     

家庭结构对农地流转意愿的影响——基于结构方程模型的实证分析

研究目的:分析家庭结构对农民流转土地意愿的影响,并揭示其内部机理的形成,以期为土地流转政策的完善提供参考。研究方法:因子分析法和结构方程模型。研究结果:(1)家庭人口特征、土地使用特征、户主个体特征及家庭决策特征4类外源潜变量会显著影响农地流转意愿;(2)可观测变量对外源潜变量的解释能力较强,其中,家庭总人口、实际经营及流转土地面积、户主年龄、家庭内部矛盾解决方式分别对这4类外源潜变量的解释能力相对较好,即家庭总人口越多、实际经营及流转土地面积越小、户主年龄越大、依赖于内部解决矛盾的家庭更愿意流转农地。研究结论:家庭结构主要通过主动依赖、扶养压力、收入偏好、农地保障、决策信息5种机理对流转意愿产生影响,未来土地流转政策的完善应重视解决这些问题。     

中国农村宅基地闲置程度及其成因研究

研究目的：基于全国典型村庄调研，分析不同地区农村宅基地闲置程度和成因，为农村宅基地集约利用和乡村振兴提供建议。研究方法：实地调研法、对比分析法。研究结果：（1）调研村庄宅基地闲置现象普遍，2018年闲置程度平均为10.7%。（2）各地村庄宅基地闲置程度差异明显。分区域看，东部村庄宅基地闲置程度最高，中部村庄最低；分城乡区位看，村庄离城市距离越远，宅基地闲置程度越高；分地形看，平原村庄宅基地闲置程度最高；分是否为贫困村庄看，村庄宅基地闲置程度随村庄贫困程度的加深而升高。（3）宅基地闲置是乡村人口结构变化与宅基地利用失衡的结果。长期外出务工、城镇有住房、“一户多宅”、宅基地损毁引起宅基地闲置的成因占比依次下降。（4）农村宅基地闲置受乡村地域内外宏微观因素综合影响，经济增长和城镇化引起的就业非农化、人口市民化是宅基地闲置的直接动因，现行城乡二元制度和宅基地管理制度是宅基地闲置的根本原因。研究结论：盘活利用农村闲置宅基地，需要因地制宜推动闲置宅基地整治利用、健全宅基地有偿使用和退出机制、创新城乡制度加快农业转移人口市民化。     

价值共创行为分析框架构建 ——基于赋能理论视角

通过文献调查并结合案例的描述性分析,提出数字技术时代价值网络中不同行为主体之间的赋能内涵、关键维度以及基于赋能跨层次效应的价值共创行为分析框架。将"赋能氛围""主体赋能"分别作为价值网络中赋能的宏观维度和微观维度进行概念化。界定了两个维度的关键组成要素,分别包括信息共享、开放性结构、协同规则以及主体关系、资源整合和影响。构建了赋能的跨层次效应模型,分析了赋能的宏观-微观跨层次效应及其对价值网络生态和主体价值创造的影响。     

Informal Employment and the Structure of Wages in India: A Review of Trends

The “alternative”, “atypical” or “informal” workforce has grown in developed and developing countries alike. One of the more recent evolutions of informal employment has been of informal employment within formal enterprises. In the interest of flexibility and cost‐reduction, many formal firms increasingly resort to hiring workers on a temporary or informal basis. Alongside, and perhaps, as a result of the persistence and pervasiveness of informal employment, issues relating to inequality have come to the fore. This paper is motivated by these two intertwining aspects of Indian labor market—informality and wage inequality. Using nationally representative sample data, the paper examines trends in wage inequality among various forms of informal workers, overlaying these findings with broader trends in inequality. Using a regression based inequality decomposition, the paper compares the sources of wage inequality across different employment groups and the reasons for differences in wage inequality.     

Financing Technological Innovation: Evidence from Patent-Intensive Firms

ABSTRACT

Equityholders of firms with high debt loads have an incentive to underinvest, a distortion that can be most costly for firms with attractive growth options. Using a novel patent-based measure of a firm's growth options, we find that firms issue more equity and shy away from debt financing when they have larger investment opportunities sets. The results are more pronounced among firms in patent-intensive industries. The findings suggest the existence of conflicts of interest between debtholders and equityholders. Our results are consistent with the use of conservative debt policies by technology-intensive firms to mitigate the debt overhang associated with their future growth options.