Financial crises,debt overhang,and firm growth in transition economies

ABSTRACT

We examine the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008 and the European debt crisis of 2011 on the relationship between capital structure, investments, and performance for Eastern European companies. While the existing literature documents how firms’ investments are sensitive to the availability of internal funds and to debt holdings, we further investigate whether this investment sensitivity also translates in different levels of performance, and document that capital structure indeed has both a direct and an indirect effect, mediated by the capital expenditure channel. We show that firms with higher financial flexibility experience higher investments and returns on capital. Over-levered firms instead suffer from a debt overhang condition, forcing them to curb investments, and consequently experiencing lower performance. Overall, we provide evidence on the importance of capital structure and financial flexibility on investments and performance, showing the real consequences of the debt overhang condition on firm value creation. Firms should therefore aim at maintaining adequate financial flexibility in order to be able to pursue future profitable investment opportunities, and avoid the under-investment problem arising from a debt overhang situation.     

The non-inclusive nature of ‘all inclusive’ economics: Paradoxes and possibilities of the resort complex

The ‘All Inclusive’ (AI) concept has revolutionized package hospitality services and captured the attention of many industry stakeholders. Scholars have mostly investigated AI from the marketing perspective, whereas the economic ramifications of this type of product, for both hospitality operators and local communities, are still a barren landscape. Using a mixture of quantitative analysis techniques, including a two-step cluster analysis and econometric modeling, the study aims to enhance our conceptual capital pertaining to the economic impact of AI for local communities. The study focuses on overall tourists' spending, both within and outside their accommodation, with expenditure segmented into seven study-specific categories that highlight the economic specificities of AI. Findings, of interest to industry stakeholders, revealed the problematic and ambiguous status of AI provision in Cyprus, whereas actions, espousing the principles of cluster theories, that could maximize the economic contribution of AI to local economies are suggested.     

中美贸易战的危害与对策

分析中美国情现状,对中美经济状况进行对比,对美国发动贸易战的原因进行分析:美国对华贸易逆差过大;美方认为中方侵犯美国企业知识产权,中国的重商主义对美国经济产生了致命影响;转嫁国内矛盾,战略遏制中国。分析美国发动贸易战的危害,提出了中国应对挑战应妥善应对短期冲击,对等还击;拉动内需,加快自身经济结构调整等对策。     

城镇群空间结构与要素集聚

依据城镇化发展过程中要素空间集聚理论，展开区域经济发展的空间经济结构研究。通过城市引力、克鲁格曼指数计算，比较分析城镇群内部城市吸引力和城市产业分布的差异性，通过人口与生产空间分布集中度指标和不一致系数的测算，分析了山西省城镇群空间要素集聚效应。研究表明，山西省的城镇群规划与要素空间集聚趋势整体一致，城市间产业分工体系基本形成，城镇群的要素集聚效应明显，但人口与生产分布仍存在不一致性。研究认为，山西省城镇群发展应该继续明确各城市的产业分工和特色，引导劳动力和资本要素的合理流动，实现人口与生产空间分布的一致。     

东北地区产业升级的困境与出路

产业结构的优化升级对于推动区域经济协调发展具有重要意义。目前，东北地区的产业发展仍未摆脱结构不合理、布局趋同、国有资产负债重、企业竞争力不强的困境。制约产业结构优化升级的因素在于思想观念保守、产业融合度低和制度环境不佳。需要突破某些认识误区、优化政策环境、发展替代和后续产业。     

人口结构与地方政府义务教育公共支出——基于中国省级面板数据的研究

利用我国2007-2011年间31个省市地区的平衡面板数据,从供给和需求两方面出发实证分析我国义务教育公共服务支出影响因素。在影响供给的因素讨论中,考察了财政收入、财政分权程度、转移支付、政府竞争力等因素。在影响需求的因素讨论中,探讨了人口自然与非自然结构,人口家庭结构对义务教育公共服务需求的影响。最后将我国分为东部、中部、西部三个地区,进一步剖析我国义务教育公共服务支出影响因素的区际差异。     

产业融合发展、农产品供需结构与农业供给侧改革核心探寻

在农产品价格保护制度背景下,不能完成产业融合会限制产业之间的关联效应发挥,导致农产品供需反馈机制瓦解,从而使农产品供需结构出现矛盾。因此,需要对产业融合发展、农产品供需结构以及农业供给侧改革核心进行研究。论文从产业融合发展的必要性、产业融合发展与农产品供需结构之间的形成机理出发进行分析,探讨在新形势下,产业融合发展与农业供给侧改革的选择策略,从而创新我国的农业经营体系,构建完善的农业社会化服务体系,推动我国农业供给侧结构性改革的进一步发展。     

Moral hazard,debt overhang and capital structure

This paper investigates the impact of managerial moral hazard on the debt overhang of a firm by constructing a contingent claims model in which the manager faces costly effort. Using a calibrated capital structure model, we show that the costs of debt overhang become more serious in the presence of managerial moral hazard. Such costs even account for more than half of the total agency costs at a high level of cash flow. Moreover, in contrast to the results of Hackbarth and Mauer (2012), our model predicts a U-shaped relationship between the leverage ratio and investment opportunities of a firm, which is caused by managers’ moral hazard. Finally, by considering this moral hazard, we also show the coexistence of low leverage ratios and high credit spreads, which explains the phenomenon of “low debt levels and high credit spreads” observed in practice.     

离心式血液泵水力特性设计及其试验研究

借助商业软件NREC开展离心式血液泵的水力特性设计,其设计流量为5 L/min,设计转速为5000 r/min,得到离心叶轮和蜗壳的三维结构设计方案,并针对其全通道网格进行设计工况下三维流场的定常数值模拟研究.对其溶血性指标进行分析,发现离心式血液泵中95％ 区域切应力小于150 Pa,最大切应力小于500 Pa,满足人体对血液泵溶血性的要求.搭建离心式血液泵流量-压升特性试验测试平台,以质量分数为0.06％ 的黄原胶溶液为流动介质进行试验研究,试验结果显示在设计转速下的实际体积流量偏大于设计流量,整体压升在6550 Pa左右.     

Role of search for domain knowledge and architectural knowledge in alliance partner selection

Research Summary: The literature on technological alliances emphasizes that search for knowledge drives alliance formation. However, in conceptualizing technological knowledge, prior work on alliances has not made a distinction between domain knowledge—knowledge that firms possess in distinct technological domains—and architectural knowledge—knowledge that firms possess about how to combine elements from different technological domains. We argue that firms seek partners that are similar in domain knowledge to deepen their knowledge, and partners that are dissimilar in architectural knowledge to broaden their knowledge. Our results indicate that the likelihood of alliance formation increases when two firms are similar in domain knowledge and dissimilar in architectural knowledge. Further, our results show that these effects are positively moderated by the degree of decomposability of a firm's knowledge base. Managerial Summary: In dynamic environments, companies need to continually deepen and broaden their technological knowledge, and they often look for alliance partners who can provide them that knowledge. For knowledge deepening, companies are more likely to form alliances with those companies that have expertise in similar technological fields. For knowledge broadening, they are more likely to form alliances with those companies that have expertise in the same technological fields, but have different recipes for combining knowledge from those fields. Furthermore, a company with a modular knowledge base is more likely to seek a partner that has expertise in similar technological fields or whose recipes for combining knowledge from different technological fields are different from the recipes it has.