The securitization of gold and its potential impact on gold stocks

We study the market impact of a very successful financial innovation – the SPDR Gold Trust exchange-traded fund (GLD). GLD holds physical gold, and provides traders with a convenient and cost-effective way to gain exposure to gold. We find that after the introduction of GLD, the liquidity of gold company stocks declined, and their adverse-selection risk increased. Over the two-month period after GLD’s introduction, the stocks’ relative effective bid-ask spreads increased by over 15%, while their adverse-selection cost, as measured by the price impact of trades, went up by more than 30%. Gold stocks also experienced significant negative abnormal returns (−12% on average) in the month after GLD started trading. Our findings suggest that GLD attracted traders, especially uninformed traders, away from gold company stocks, and that the resulting negative demand shocks and decrease in the stocks’ liquidity caused their prices to decline. Our results show that existing securities can be seriously adversely affected when a new security enters the market.     

环境规制、产业结构对能源效率的影响

［目的］文章对我国各地环境规制、产业结构与能源效率之间的关系进行研究，旨在更加真实地反映环境规制、产业结构与能源效率三者之间的关系，为各地政府早日实现环境保护、产业结构优化与能源效率多赢的局面提供参考依据。［方法］基于DEA方法测算了我国各地能源效率，将我国划分为高、中及低能源效率3个地区，构建了环境规制、产业结构与能源效率之间关系的模型，通过对2007—2016年我国30个省（市、区）的相关数据进行分析研究。［结果］在高效率地区内环境规制与能源效率两者显著为正，在中效率地区内两者也显著为正，而在低效率地区内两者则显著为负； 在高效率区域与中等效率区域内产业结构与能源效率两者关系显著为正，而在低等效率区域内两者关系不显著； 在高效率地区内环境规制与产业结构两者之间的协同作用显著，而在中等与低效率地区内两者之间的协同作用不显著。［结论］能源效率高与能源效率中等地区内环境规制与产业结构均正向影响能源效率，而能源效率低地区内环境规制与产业结构均负向影响能源效率； 能源效率高地区内环境规制与产业结构对能源效率的影响具有共同强化作用，而能源效率中等与能源效率低地区内环境规制与产业结构间协同效应不明显。     

Discouraging Rainforest Transformation: An Ex-ante Policy Impact Analysis

Despite extensive efforts made by national and international certification agencies, Indonesian smallholder farmers’ participation in palm oil certification schemes adoption remains low. A fundamental obstacle is the smallholder practice of rainforest transformation into oil palm plantation which is forbidden by the agencies. In this context, we investigate three policies that could lead to a reduction in rainforest deforestation by smallholders: price premium on certified palm oil; the provision of environmental information; contributor recognition. In order to evaluate the influence of the policies ex-ante, we conduct a social dilemma experiment involving rubber and oil palm smallholders in Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The findings indicate that the price premium and provision of context-specific environmental information could reduce rainforest transformation. However, a statistically significant effect of contributor recognition was not found.     

The effects of oil price shocks on inflation in the G7 countries

This study examines the effects of three types of oil price shocks on inflation in the G7 countries with a new method of isolating oil price shocks. Based on monthly data from January 1997 to January 2019, we find that each oil price shock has the largest effect on U.S. inflation among the G7 countries and each country’s response to oil price shocks is different. Moreover, a rolling-window analysis shows that supply shocks, demand shocks and risk shocks have dynamic effects on inflation. The effect of supply shocks on inflation is strong before the financial crisis, but weakens during the crisis. However, the effect of demand shocks increases sharply in this time. The effect of risk shocks mainly occurs during the financial crisis and the European debt crisis. In addition, this study uses two ways to verify the robustness of the results. Our empirical results have important implications for policymakers and manufacturers, since the results provide a good explanation for the response of inflation in the G7 countries to the oil price shocks from different sources.     

基于结构方程模型的集聚农户共生认知及影响因素分析:以重庆市为例

研究目的:探讨对集聚农户共生、集聚区土地利用率提高的影响因素,为提升农户共生的认知水平、优化农户共生关系及促进资源的节约集约利用提供有效路径及理论指导。研究方法:参与式农户调查,结构方程模型。研究结果:(1)户主自身特征、农户家庭特征、集聚共生效益特征及外部环境与政策特征这4类外源潜变量对农户共生认知产生重要影响且影响程度大小不同,其中,集聚共生效益特征的影响最为显著,外部环境与政策特征、户主自身特征和农户家庭特征的影响依次减弱;(2)是否为干部、对原集聚模式的满意度、是否促进农户生产生活条件和政府对集聚区的补贴力度分别对这4类外源潜变量具有较好的解释能力。研究结论:显化农户共生效益、增强"精英"农户及村干部的正向引导、提升农户成员受教育水平、培养农户"共生共荣"理念等是深化农户共生关系,促进和谐乡村人居环境建设的重要路径。     

新疆南北疆沙产业发展差异性及对经济、环境影响研究

研究新疆沙产业区域发展差异性,分析沙产业发展与环境、经济的关系,对加深社会以及相关部门对沙产业的认识具有一定促进作用,也能够一定程度上促进沙产业本身的良性发展。文章选取环塔里木盆地-塔克拉玛干沙漠区域的和田地区与环准噶尔盆地-古尔班通古特沙漠区域的26个县市(兵团)作为主要研究对象,数据来源为实地调查、新疆统计年鉴及新疆各地2013年统计公报等,筛选出当地沙产业发展、经济发展及环境状况的10个具有代表性的指标;运用因子分析、聚类分析等多元统计方法,对调查区26个不同区域的沙产业发展进行了综合评价与分类比较;采用多元线性回归方法,分析了沙产业发展与环境、经济之间的相互关系。研究结果表明:在对经济影响方面,沙产业发展能够轻微改善环境,显著拉动经济;在沙产业发展格局方面,存在"北强南弱"、均衡性不足的问题;在分析沙产业前期发展现状方面,存在"挤出效应"、效益未充分体现的问题;在对比南北疆发展现状方面,存在北疆沙产业发展赶超南疆、后发优势明显的现象。并针对性提出具体的政策建议,即从应对区域发展均衡性不足方面,因地制宜,发展特色沙产业;从削弱"挤出效应"方面,加大科技创新投入,合理规划投资规模;从促进沙产业区域发展方面,扩大北疆后发优势,谋求南疆先发效应。通过该文的研究,能够一定程度消除社会对新疆沙产业发展的认识误区,同时对策建议是基于现实存在的问题而提出的,在解决相关问题上具有一定的现实意义。     

电厂主体工程项目对地下水环境的影响研究

以北方平原区某电厂为例,对地下水环境现状进行分析,确定了环境保护目标。根据污染物排放情况,确定了地下水环境污染指标,设定了源强,并采用Mod Flow三维水流模型和溶质运移模型预测电厂主体工程在事故条件下污染物的空间分布,对地下水环境产生的影响进行评价,提出了地下水环境保护措施和对策。     

An integrated system for information security management with the unified framework

Information security management plays an essential role for drawing the roadmap of information security; thus, many theoretical methodologies and practical standards are brought into this domain. However, many standards and methodologies are too cumbersome to be adopted by an organization. Additionally, there is no unified framework to systematically handle the tedious tasks of information security management. This study’s primary goal is to design an integrated system for information security management (ISISM) that aims to use current methodologies and standards to solve the above-mentioned issues. Because business impact analysis and risk analysis are the most important areas within this domain, we carefully select the related methods and then integrate them into a unified framework, upon which the proposed ISISM depends. To achieve this outcome for this study, security requirement engineering is adopted, which enables the designed system to support system users in generating risk assessment reports with related information security policies.     

Potential economic impacts of zero thresholds for unapproved GMOs: The EU case

As the pipeline of new biotech crops has continued to expand, regulatory approvals of such crops across different countries have become less synchronized. As a result, some biotech crops can be cultivated in one or more countries but may not be approved for use in others. Under such circumstances, small amounts of unapproved biotech crops can be found in the food/feed supplies of some countries and under zero threshold policies they must be withdrawn and can lead to market disruptions. In this paper we examine the potential economic implications of regulatory asynchronicity and zero threshold policies for unapproved GMOs using the EU as a case study. To measure the potential economic impacts from possible trade disruptions between the EU and its major suppliers of soybeans, we develop a spatial equilibrium model and examine alternative scenarios where bilateral trade flows are set to zero. From our analysis we find that when asynchronous approvals become a systemic problem leading to trade disruptions with multiple trading partners the impacts can be severe. For instance, we find that if the EU were to stop imports from its three main suppliers the US, Brazil and Argentina, it would pay roughly 220% more for soybeans, 211% more for soybean meal and 202% more for soy oil.     

公允价值会计对财务报表的影响

本文通过比较公允价值会计和传统会计在具体的操作方法和考量范围方面的不同之处,来探讨使用公允价值会计后对财务报告的影响,并对在企业管理的过程中,如何更有效地利用财务报告提出了一些探索性的建议.