The impact of FTAs on MENA trade in agricultural and industrial products

This article analyses the impact of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on Middle East and North African Countries (MENA) trade for the period 1994–2010. The analysis distinguishes between industrial and agricultural trade to take into account the different liberalization schedules. An augmented gravity model is estimated using up-to-date panel data techniques to control for all time-invariant bilateral factors that influence bilateral trade as well as for the so-called multilateral resistance factors. We also control for the endogeneity of the agreements and test for self-selection bias due to the presence of zero trade in our sample. The main findings indicate that North–South-FTAs and South–South-FTAs have a differential impact in terms of increasing trade in MENA countries, with the former being more beneficial in terms of exports for MENA countries, but both showing greater global market integration. We also find that FTAs that include agricultural products, in which MENA countries have a clear comparative advantage, have more favourable effects for these countries than those only including industrial products.     

Pricing executive stock options with averaging features under the Heston–Nandi GARCH model

In this paper, we focus on the pricing issue of four types of executive stock options (ESOs) in the Heston–Nandi generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity option pricing model. Based on the derived benchmark strike prices in the proposed framework, we obtain the closed-form pricing formulae for four types of ESOs. In the numerical part, we investigate the sensitivity and cost efficiency of ESOs and suggest that systematic risk (stock β) and the fraction of wealth invested in restricted stock could impede the cost efficiency of ESOs.     

Opportunity recognition and SME performance: the mediating effect of business model innovation

Opportunity recognition is vital for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but SMEs face challenges in capturing recognized opportunities. Given that opportunity recognition does not automatically lead to higher SME performance and that SMEs need to take appropriate actions to exploit recognized opportunities to achieve better performance, it is imperative to explore the mediators that enable SMEs to translate opportunity recognition into higher performance. This study proposes that business model innovation may be a key conduit through which opportunity recognition affects SME performance. Based on a dataset of 155 SMEs, we find that the positive relationship between opportunity recognition and SME performance is mediated by business model innovation. These findings not only aid SMEs in accomplishing the performance effect of opportunity recognition, but also provide some insights into the implications of business model innovation.     

河南省传统村落空间分布特征及影响因素研究

[目的]分析河南省传统村落的空间分布特征及其影响因素,以期为中原地区传统村落的建设发展提供指导。[方法]文章通过谷歌地理信息系统及Arc GIS10. 2软件对河南省124个国家级传统村落的空间分布类型、分布格局、分布均衡型及影响因素进行分析,采用最邻近距离法、核密度估计法及地理集中程度等方法揭示其空间分布特征及其形成的影响因素。[结果]最邻近距离法分析R=0. 628,小于1,分布类型为凝聚型。核密度分析中,整体空间分布呈现3个核心区域,平顶山东北区域,豫西北沿省边界呈带状分布及豫南信阳南部,空间分布受地理、经济和文化等因素影响。[结论]河南省传统村落的空间分布属凝聚型不均衡分布。从地级市层面上分析,主要集中在平顶山东部、信阳南部和三门峡地区;从分区层面上,以豫中较多,豫北、豫西和豫南其次,豫东基本空白。形成原因与地理高程、社会经济和历史事件有关。交通不便、经济相对发达或相对落后、历史事件少发的区域,传统村落保存较为完整。     

宁夏农民增收驱动力研究及对策建议

[目的]切实解决农民收入低且不稳定的弊端,是我国实现现代化、推进小康社会建设的重中之重。[方法]文章基于2000—2017年宁夏农民家庭就业劳动力水平、医疗条件、城镇化率、农业科技进步贡献率等指标数据,针对宁夏农业农村发展态势以及影响其农民收入变动的原因作以系统研究。[结果](1)18年来,宁夏农业农村在农民资本禀赋、农村经济制度建设、农业产业结构、农业科学技术以及粮食生产客观条件等方面都有了不同程度的提升。(2)宁夏农民家庭人均可支配收入快速上升,2017年达1.073 8万元,约为国家平均值的80%,仍存在收入低且不稳定的问题。(3)农民家庭就业劳动力初中及以上程度比重、农村社会固定资产投资额、支农支出和农林水事务费等因素不同程度地影响了宁夏农民的收入水准。[结论]为稳步推进农业农村改革,充分利用强农惠农的政策优势,从强化人力资本投入、完善多元化支农机制、深化一、二、三产业融合以及改进基础保障机制等角度指出了切实助益于宁夏农民收入稳定增长的对策。     

Venture capital,innovation, and growth: evidence from Chinese metropolitan data

Using panel data from 282 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2015, we estimate the impact of venture capital (VC) on innovation, employment, and payroll in metropolitan areas. Controlling for endogeneity, VC investments are significantly positively related to metropolitan innovation, employment, and payroll in a fixed effects panel regression and dynamic GMM estimation. Using the number of IPOs (Initial public offerings) in the city as an instrumental variable to again control for endogeneity, VC remains significant. Our results show that VC is significantly contributing to the metropolitan economy as a whole by supporting innovation, creating jobs, and generating wealth in the local cities.     

Does economic policy uncertainty raise corporate precautionary cash holdings? Evidence from China

Using China as the research setting, this paper investigates the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and corporate precautionary cash holdings. Empirical results show a U-shaped relation between economic policy uncertainty and corporate precautionary cash holdings. Empirical analysis, in terms of ownership structure, firm size, corporate competitiveness and geographical location, further shows that (i) the effects for economic policy uncertainty in both state-owned and non-state-owned enterprises are significant, but the effect is stronger for state-owned enterprises; (ii) such significant effect is also found more strongly in small and medium-sized enterprises and highly competitive enterprises; and (iii) the effects for eastern, central and western China are all statistically significant, but the effect is strongest for eastern China.     

Back to the future. Is industry 4.0 a new tecno-organizational paradigm? Implications for Latin American countries

ABSTRACT

The objective of this article is to establish a dialogue between the recent ‘Industry 4.0’ (I4.0) literature and evolutionary neo-Schumpeterean studies about techno-organizational paradigms. In that direction, we wonder whether I4.0 constitutes a new paradigm, as it is assumed by the first group of literature, or it represents – until the moment – an intensification of key features of the information and communication technology (ICT) paradigm, following the second group of studies. Some questions are raised about the implications of I4.0 for developing countries (DEC), afterwards. Specifically, we reflect on the possibilities of these countries to identify and take advantage of new windows of opportunity, opened by the development and diffusion of these technologies. In this regard, the review of recent Latin American experience raises strong concerns regarding I4.0 as a new source of intra- and international heterogeneity, linked to the severe difficulties these countries have in appropriating these technologies in the form of productivity gains and quasi-rents. It seems that this is partially derived from weak technological, organizational, and connectivity capabilities paths of accumulation between institutions and actors.     

Antecedents of Purchase Intention in the Online Context

The understanding of the determinant factors of customer purchase intention is necessary, and it is equally important to study the online purchase context, since this context is disseminated among customers. A theoretical model has been elaborated on and tested, considering the constructs of information quality, distrust, and perceived risk as antecedents of purchase intention, and aiming to analyze the relationship among these constructs in the online purchase context. A quantitative research study has been performed by means of the application of a survey. Multivariate statistics techniques have been applied for data analyses, including structural equation modeling. This study contributes to the evolution of the empirically tested concepts by providing a greater individual understanding of each construct presented in the theoretical model, as well as the relationship among them as determinants of purchase intention; the indication is that meaningful relationships were found which may impact greater profitability and, consequently, greater competition for online retailers.     

完善高校内部会计控制的有效途径

内部控制制度是现代管理理论的重要组成部分，也是高校发展必不可少的管理工具之一。而目前内部控制制度的适用范围，多是针对企业而言，涉及高校的部分较少，即使是涉及到了也是不完善的。为更好地提高高校财务管理，使原本不够完善的内部控制模式实现其管理的功能，必须完善高校内部控制制度。更好地利用各种现代化管理方法等来发挥管理高校的职能，已经成为当前高校管理的重中之重。