Income Taxation and the Diversity of Consumer Goods: A Political Economy Approach*

After‐tax income inequality has risen since the mid‐1990s, as increases in market income inequality have not been offset by greater fiscal redistribution. We argue that the substantial increase in the diversity of consumer goods has mitigated mounting political pressures for redistribution. Within a probabilistic voting framework, we demonstrate that if the share of diversified goods in the consumption bundle increases sufficiently with income, then an increase in goods diversity can reduce the political equilibrium tax rate. Focusing on OECD countries, we find empirical support for both the model's micro‐political foundations and the implied relation between goods diversity and fiscal policy outcomes.     

经营规模、契约特征对新型农业经营主体农地整治积极性的影响——基于5省15县的调研

研究目的：分析经营规模、农地契约特征对农业经营主体农地整治行为与程度的影响。研究方法：采用Probit和Tobit模型对465位经营者调查数据进行实证分析。研究结果：（1）对于绝大多数农业经营主体，经营规模扩大对农地整治积极性存在微弱的负向影响；（2）农地经营面积和转入比例对土地类整治积极性存在负向影响，但相对设施类整治，农业经营者开展土地类整治的积极性更低；（3）契约价格、契约形式、契约对象为村集体、转入农地时具有担保等契约特征对农业经营者农地整治积极性存在显著影响，但契约时长的影响并不显著。研究结论：现阶段要提高新型农业经营者的农地整治积极性，有必要从多方面完善农地契约，而扩大农地流转规模和延长契约期限不一定有效。     

The financialization of the non‐financial corporation. A critique to the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis

One aspect in which non‐financial corporations (NFCs) are said to be financialized is that they have been increasingly engaged in financial accumulation from which they derive a growing proportion of financial income. This is what we call the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis. In this article, we show that the evidence used to sustain it, in the U.S. setting, has to be reconsidered. Our findings show that, contrary to the financial turn of accumulation hypothesis, financial income averages 2.5% of NFCs’ total income since the 1980s, oscillating since the beginnings of the 1990s until 2005 and then declining. In terms of assets, some of the alleged financial assets might actually reflect other activities in which NFCs have been increasingly engaged, such as tax avoidance, internationalization of production, activities refocusing and M&As.     

Promoting quality-of-life and well-being research in hospitality and tourism

There is an increasing interest in quality-of-life/well-being research in hospitality and tourism. The goal of this paper is to further promote the development and use of quality-of-life/well-being concepts in the discipline by reviewing seven major theories of quality of life and well-being (and their application in hospitality and tourism based on the research that I and my colleagues have conducted over the years) and suggesting future avenues of research. The theories discussed are self-congruity theory, self-expressiveness theory, bottom-up spillover theory, leisure benefits theory, goal theory, need hierarchy theory, and broaden-and-build theory.     

基于数据包络(DEA)分析的京津冀地区环境绩效评估研究

提高资源环境绩效是区域生态环境治理的核心与关键。在构建环境绩效评估指标体系的基础上，运用数据包络分析模型（DEA）测度并分析2005-2015年京津冀地区静态环境绩效水平。利用Malmquist指数动态分析法将环境绩效分解为技术效率变化指数和技术进步指数，并探讨分解指标对环境绩效的相对贡献。结果显示：京津冀地区环境治理投入与产出水平均呈现逐年上升趋势；北京和天津的总体环境绩效水平要远高于河北，2005-2011年京津冀地区的环境绩效水平排序为北京、天津、河北,2012-2015年京津冀地区的环境绩效水平排序为天津、北京、河北（2013年除外）。河北省环境绩效水平较低的主要制约因素是技术进步缓慢与全要素生产率偏低。Malmquist指数呈现出一定的波性，这主要是由技术变化指标波动所致。最后，就如何提升京津冀地区环境绩效水平，提出相关对策建议。     

Subsidiary-specific advantages for inter-regional expansion: The role of intermediate units

This paper explores the distinctive deployment of resources and capabilities by subsidiaries in order to develop an intermediate role within the MNC. Based on the regional management perspective, we focus on a specific intermediate role—the springboard subsidiary—that helps overcome the liability of inter-regional foreignness. Our results, which are based on a dataset covering 188 subsidiaries, show that the probability of taking on this role is contingent upon experiential knowledge about the target region, as well as a rich knowledge base derived from a wide range of activities and a broad geographical scope. Our findings also show that possession of slack resources does not necessarily mean that a subsidiary will take on this role, as such slack must be combined with experiential knowledge. This paper serves as a first step in helping MNCs plan resource allocation to handle inter-regional expansion.     

Litigation risk: Measurement and impact on M&A transaction terms

The purpose of the paper is to propose an original proprietary proxy of a firm's litigation risk. We extend the scope of litigation risk outside of the conflicts with shareholders and the domain of security litigation. We demonstrate that the source of the risk of litigation can be found in the firm's policies and in its management's operational or strategic decisions, even if a sector conditioning effect exists. Based on a sample of 465 US M&A transactions between 2000 and 2014, we provide evidence that the level of litigation risk, at the acquirer's level, has a positive and significant impact on the takeover premium. We also provide evidence that a significant relationship exists between the acquirer's litigation risk and the means of payment. An extension of the sample to international transactions is used as a robustness check; it confirms the previous results.     

政策不确定性对公司投融资行为的影响研究

本文以2003-2013年中国A股上市公司的财务数据和31个省市自治区地方官员的变动数据为样本,采用地方官员变动率作为地方政策不确定性的代理变量,研究了政策不确定性对企业投融资的影响。研究发现,政策不确定性显著降低企业的债权融资,但是对股权融资影响不显著。政策不确定性对企业投资的影响存在两种渠道,一是通过降低企业融资来影响投资,二是通过企业资本运作降低融资对投资的影响系数,即政策不确定性越高,企业债权和股权融资对投资的正向作用会越小,这种作用机制在国有企业、大企业等与政策联系紧密的企业中作用更为显著。融资可获得性是政策不确定性影响投资的重要前提之一,融资可获得性较小时,政策不确定性显著降低了企业投资;在融资可获得性较大时,政策不确定性影响不显著。加强长期制度建设,降低政策不确定性,对于稳增长具有重要意义。     

Do Rating Agencies Benefit from Providing Higher Ratings? Evidence from the Consequences of Municipal Bond Ratings Recalibration

We ask whether credit rating agencies receive higher fees and gain greater market share when they provide more favorable ratings. To investigate this question, we use the 2010 rating scale recalibration by Moody's and Fitch, which increased ratings absent any underlying change in issuer credit quality. Consistent with prior research, we find that the recalibration allowed the clients of Moody's and Fitch to receive better ratings and lower yields. We add to this evidence by showing that the recalibration also led to larger fees and to increases in the market shares of Moody's and Fitch. These results are consistent with critics’ concerns about the effects of the issuer‐pay model on the credit ratings market.     

Structural transformation and productivity growth in India during 1960–2010

In this paper, we examine the role of structural change and sectoral productivity growth in explaining the aggregate productivity of India relative to the United Sates during 1960–2010. We set up a simple two sector general equilibrium model and calibrate it to fit the structural transformation of United States. Our calibrated model for India highlights the relative importance of agricultural productivity growth in explaining its slow process of catching up in terms of aggregate productivity. We show that India could have progressed at a much faster rate and closed a substantial part of its aggregate productivity gap if its agricultural sector had grown at a rate at par with the United States. It is India's relative productivity growth in the non-agricultural sector that explains all the recent success in its closing the aggregate productivity gap with the United States. We also found that an elimination of relative distortion in agriculture in India could result into a modest improvement in the aggregate labour productivity.