The persistent institutional effect of liberal colonialism: evidence from China’s financial policies

ABSTRACT

The effect of liberal colonialism on the allocation of capital persists to this day. We exploit the colonial history of China during 1896-1911 with qualitative evidence to measure liberal colonialism. We document that liberal colonialism promotes the subsequent efficiency of financial policies on the capital allocation in 2004 through the quality of economic institutions.     

Estimating input-mix efficiency in a parametric framework: application to state-level agricultural data for the United States

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to the productivity literature by demonstrating novel econometric methods to estimate input-mix efficiency (IME) in a parametric framework. Input-mix efficiency is defined as the potential improvement in productivity with change in input mix. Any change in input-mix (e.g., land to labou r ratio) will result in change in productivity. The advantage of this approach is that it does not require data on input prices to estimate the mix efficiency levels. A nonlinear input-aggregator function (e.g., Constant Elasticity of Substitution) is used to derive an expression for input-mix efficiency. Bayesian stochastic frontier is estimated for obtaining mix efficiency using US state-level agricultural data for the period 1960–2004. Significant variation in input-mix efficiency is noted across the states and regions, attributable to diverse topographic and geographic conditions. Furthermore, comparisons of allocative and mix efficiencies provide insightful policy implications. The production incentives such as taxes and subsidies could help farmers in adjusting their input mix in response to changes in input prices, which can affect the US agricultural productivity significantly. The proposed methodology can be extended by i) using flexible functional forms; ii) introducing various time- and region-varying input aggregators; and iii) defining more sophisticated weights for input aggregators.     

Political uncertainty and labour investment efficiency

ABSTRACT

We examine the impact of political uncertainty on the labour investment efficiency (LIE) of a firm. Using a sample of Chinese firms, we test the market discipline and managerial entrenchment hypotheses. Our findings suggest that political uncertainty adversely affects LIE. The results are consistent with the managerial entrenchment hypothesis. That is, firms hire more labour in a period of increased information asymmetry due to the political uncertainty, which deteriorates LIE. Our findings are robust to a battery of alternative measures of LIE and estimation methods. We conduct several additional analyses and document that the adverse impact of political uncertainty is stronger when the newly appointed government official is older, the firm is state-owned, the firm belongs to a politically sensitive industry or the firm operates in locations with stringent labour protection. By contrast, when the firm locates in a region with weak Chinese government intervention or after President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign, the adverse impact of political uncertainty on LIE is less pronounced. Last, we document that after hiring more labour, firms receive tangible and intangible benefits in terms of receiving more loans, collect more government subsidies, and able to re-establish some political connection but at the cost of lower performance.     

Socio-institutional determinants of educational resource efficiency according to the capability approach: An endogenous stochastic frontier analysis

We investigate the role of private and public resources in educational attainments and the socio-institutional determinants of educational resource efficiency in Italy. Following the Sen's capability approach, we consider social capital and the quality of government part of the social conversion factors through which resources can be converted into human capabilities, such as education. We analyze the case of Italy by constructing a new longitudinal dataset from 1993 to 2012, using repeated cross sections from the main social survey of the Italian Statistical Institute and a panel stochastic frontier model that takes into account endogeneity. The results show the relative importance of private resources (measured by an ad hoc constructed wealth index), the complementarity between private wealth and public expenditures on education, and the positive impact of social capital and the quality of government on educational resource efficiency.     

丝绸之路河西走廊物流业效率演化分析

构建了分析河西走廊物流业效率演化的指标体系,基于2009-2017年河西走廊物流业统计数据,运用DEA-Malmquist指数法测算了各市物流业效率和技术进步率,采用Tobit回归模型分析了该地区物流业效率的影响因素,并从省内、省域间、各经济区域间三个方面进行了对比分析。实证分析表明,相较于全国各省市地区,河西走廊物流业整体水平较低,物流业效率和技术进步率的强正相关性普遍存在,其物流业发展对政策偏向具有较强的依赖性;同时,技术进步率低下和基础设施匮乏也是制约物流业发展的重要因素。基于此,从政策照顾与资金投入、科技进步与管理水平和市场运营与体系建设三个方面,为河西走廊物流业发展提出了建议与改善措施。     

公司为什么放弃债务的收益呢？

经典资本结构理论认为债务具有税盾效应和财务杠杆效应，因此公司会选择适当的负债以获得债务的税收收益。但是，现实中一些公司的负债很低，甚至为零。公司为什么放弃债务的税收收益呢？本文以2007～2011年中国A股上市公司为研究样本，从行为公司金融的视角分析管理者能力是否导致公司采用“低杠杆”策略。结果表明，中国上市公司存在普遍的低杠杆现象，管理者能力的差异是导致公司采用“低杠杆”策略的重要原因。     

基于资本配置效率的中国股票市场制度有效性分析

用资本配置效率表征股票市场制度有效性。使用面板数据分析方法,从行业和地区视角,对中国实行发行核准制度期间股票市场的资本配置效率进行了实证分析。结果表明:中国股票市场的资本配置效率较低,资本配置功能的实现程度较低,股票市场制度低效。指出:中国股票市场的制度变迁应由"政府主导"转变为"市场主导"、加大违规处罚力度、培育理性而成熟的投资者,从而更好地实现股票市场制度功能、提升制度有效性。     

Twenty-year review of South African fiscal policy: A tale of two sustainabilities

In 2014 democracy in South Africa was 20 years old. The democratic government in 1994 inherited both a high and increasing public debt/gross domestic product ratio and significant development backlogs. The government had to establish fiscal sustainability, yet also pursue development in a sustainable way. This article explores the government's performance in reconciling fiscal sustainability with sustainable development. The article shows that fiscal policy has been sustainable over the 20 years, with some risks appearing towards the end, and that the government pursued sustainable development through reallocating resources within the budget and by spending more in real terms. Three phases can be identified: 1994–2000, 2001–08 and 2009–13. However, poor service delivery and low levels of government investment during the 20 years threaten to undermine economic growth. Lower growth consequently threatens the sustainability of both fiscal policy and development, which, in turn, again undermines growth prospects. Hence, the article also identifies key future challenges.     

敦煌种业财务绩效评价研究

选择以农业上市公司敦煌种业为研究对象,以企业2014—2019年的报表数据为基础,采用功效系数法并以国务院国资委所编写的《企业绩效评价标准值》中国有企业绩效评价体系作为参考,构建对农业企业的财务指标评价体系,对敦煌种业2014-2019年企业财务指标的表现进行纵向分析,选择同行业中营业收入水平较高的北大荒进行横向对比,通过对比发现敦煌种业的问题主要体现在盈利能力和资产质量方面,对此提出了改进措施及建议。     

供给侧结构性改革进程中技术创新效率研究

本文以生产要素内部配置结构调整对边际产出弹性影响为基础,建立包含生产要素内部配置结构的科布-道格拉斯生产函数,对中国工业企业技术创新效率进行实证分析。主要结论有:区域外商投资工业企业比例的增加能提升资本和劳动力边际产出弹性;区域内资工业企业比例的增加能提升劳动力边际产出弹性;政府科技资助与工业企业技术创新效率之间并非简单的线性关系。提高工业企业技术创新效率需要政府科技资助形成一定规模;劳动者素质提高对工业企业技术创新效率产生积极影响。政策建议是:继续加大对外开放力度,优化区域生产要素配置结构;扩大政府科技资助规模,优化政府科技资助结构;有效引导高素质人才流动。