The expectations hypothesis and decoupling of short- and long-term US interest rates: A pairwise approach

The link between short-term policy rates and long-term rates elucidate the potential effectiveness of monetary policy. We examine the US term structure of interest rates using a pairwise econometric approach advocated by Pesaran (2007). Our empirical modelling strategy employs a probabilistic test statistic for the expectations hypothesis of the term structure based on the percentage of unit root rejections among all interest rate differentials. We find support for the expectations hypothesis and provide new insights into the nature of interest rate decoupling which are of value to policymakers. The maturity gap associated with interest rate pairs negatively impacts on the probability of stationarity, and also on the speed of adjustment towards long-run equilibrium. We further show that the speed of adjustment has become more sensitive to the maturity gap over time.     

Lumpy Investment and Corporate Tax Policy

In the presence of both convex and nonconvex capital adjustment costs in a dynamic general equilibrium model, corporate tax policy generates both intensive and extensive margin effects via the channel of marginal Q. Its impact is determined largely by the strength of the extensive margin effect, which, in turn, depends on the cross‐sectional distribution of firms. Depending on the initial distribution of firms, the economy displays asymmetric responses to tax changes. Moreover, an anticipated increase in the future investment tax credit reduces investment and adjustment rate initially.     

The Euro Illusion in Consumers’ Price Estimation: An Italian–Irish Comparison in the Third Year of the Euro

The euro illusion is a transient phenomenon that consists of currency-related asymmetries in the intuitive judgment of product prices made by consumers. The results of a cross-country study in the third year after the introduction of the euro show a strong price estimation asymmetry in a country with an extreme exchange rate (Italy) and a weaker effect in a country in which the nominal values of the new and the old currency are much closer (Ireland). These results rule out proposed explanations of the euro illusion in price estimation that assume the sole influence of plausible anchors (reference prices stored in memory within the plausible price range), supporting instead accounts also endorsing the role of implausible anchors (reference prices outside the plausible price range). Beyond contributing to our theoretical understanding of the euro illusion, this research starts to unveil the interplay between structural factors (i.e., the currency exchange rate) and psychological mechanisms that produce long-lasting difficulties for consumers after a monetary changeover.

Organizational governance and TMT pay level adjustment

This paper analyzes how the characteristics of boards and structure of ownership moderate a firm's capacity to adjust top management team (TMT) pay levels in the face of changes in its economic and complexity conditions. Using panel data from Spanish listed companies between 2003 and 2007, the results indicate that, over time, characteristics of corporate governance system contribute to give a fundamental importance to boards and ownership structure in the determination and adjustment of TMT pay. These associations appear to be even stronger than those that in other Western European and North American countries. Both the Spanish cross-holding and concentrated firms' ownership structure, and socially intervened boards play a major role in the high levels of pay received by the TMT, which, in turn, reflect a moderate adjustment of compensation practices to variations of surrounded environment factors.     

A Study of the Ethical Performance of Foreign-Investment Enterprises in the China Labor Market

This paper analyses the ethical performance of foreign-investment enterprises operating in China in comparison to that of the indigenous state-owned enterprises, collectives and private enterprises. It uses both the deontological approach and the utilitarian approach in conceptualization, and applies quantitative and econometric techniques to ethical evaluations of empirical evidences. It shows that according to various ethical performance indicators, foreign-investment enterprises have fared well in comparison with local firms. This paper also tries to unravel the effect of a difference in business culture and competitive market forces on ethical performance by comparing the behavior of foreign-investment enterprises with that of the indigenous state-owned enterprises and collectives on the one hand, and with that of the indigenous private enterprises on the other.     

转型期资本投资、产业结构、市场化对中国就业效应的实证研究

本文通过对投资、技术进步、市场化程度、产业结构变动、实际工资等因素对我国就业量的影响进行的实证分析和检验结果显示,自20世纪90年代以来,资本投资增加、产业结构变动及实际工资上涨是拉动就业增加的主要因素,市场化程度提高则抑制了就业量的增加.但随着时间的推移,资本投资、产业结构变动对就业的贡献度逐渐下降,工资增长对就业的拉动作用逐渐增强,市场化对就业的抑制作用逐渐减弱.     

政府作用与旅游区投资效益

尽管国有资本要逐步退出旅游产业，但这并不意味着政府对旅游业投资管理可以袖手旁观、听其自然。论文从旅游区投资角度出发，分析和强调了政府在宏观调控、政府管制、投资模式选择等5个方面应起的重要作用。     

加入世贸组织后三江平原应进行农业产业结构调整

三江平原是我国重要的商品粮食基地之一 ,经过 5 0年的开垦之后 ,需要进行产业结构调整 ,特别是加入世贸组织后要与世界农业接轨 ,结构调整势在必行。文章论述了三江平原进行农业产业结构调整的必要性、可行性 ,并提出进行结构调整的目的、内容。     

从贸易调整渠道到金融调整渠道——国际金融外部调整理论的新发展

传统的开放宏观经济学认为一国的外部财富是贸易调整的结果,但是随着各国持有外部资产负债总量的迅速攀升,汇率和资产价格波动所产生的估值效应对外部财富的作用越来越显著。近年来,众多学者基于估值效应发展了一个新的外部调整渠道——金融调整渠道,极大地改变了人们对一国外部失衡调整的理解和认识。本文试图系统地评述这一外部调整机制的最新进展,以期为所有关注中国国际收支以及全球失衡问题的国内外学者提供新的研究视角和方法。     

医疗保险风险调剂机制在全民医保制度构建中的应用

自荷兰、德国等国发端的医疗保险风险调剂机制在世界“全民医保”浪潮中越来越受到重视,并逐渐成为各国政府整合分散医保基金的重要手段。我国以“全民医保”为目标的新一轮医改是建立在财政分权、县域统筹等制度背景下的,医疗保险基金“碎片化”问题十分突出。科学引入医疗保险风险调剂机制,改变现有粗放的“调剂金”管理模式,有助于我们既兼...