Regional economic performance in China1

This paper investigates convergence patterns among China's provinces using GDP data for the period 1952–97. We analyze convergence behaviour on the basis of Markov chains proposed by Quah (1993 ) and the generalized entropy decomposition proposed by Shorrocks (1980, 1984 ). Both sets of results show similar evidence of convergence within the pre‐defined geo‐economic sub‐regions, but no evidence is found of convergence between the sub‐regions. This finding has important policy implications for regional economic development in China. JEL classification: C33, E20, O47.     

An Analysis of the Determinants and Shareholder Wealth Effects of Mutual Fund Mergers

This study examines the determinants of mutual fund mergers and their subsequent wealth impact on shareholders of target and acquiring funds. Results indicate significant improvements in postmerger performance and a reduction in expense ratios for target fund shareholders. In contrast, acquiring fund shareholders experience a significant deterioration in postmerger performance. The net asset flows continue to remain negative for the combined fund in the year following the merger. The likelihood of a fund merger is inversely related to fund size for both within- and across-family mutual fund mergers. However, poor past performance is a significant determinant for only within-family mergers.     

Product quality: Impact of interdepartmental interactions

The authors examine the role of organizational factors affecting interdepartmental interactions and their subsequent effects on product quality. Results from a national study suggest that product quality is affected by interdepartmental conflict and connectedness. Importantly, the linkage between interdepartmental conflict and product quality appears to be robust across varying levels of market turbulence and technological turbulence. In contrast, interdepartmental connectedness appears to be more important for product quality under conditions of high market and technological turbulence. The results also indicate that interdepartmental interactions are influenced by leadership characteristics (risk aversion of top managers), reward system orientation, and organization structure (centralization, departmentalization, and hierarchical levels). Managerial implications and directions for future work are proposed. His research interests focus on marketing strategy, marketing management, and new product management. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, and other journals. His research focuses on implementing and controlling marketing, market/environmental orientation, and customer responses to advertising. His work has appeared in theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Review of Marketing, and other journals. His research interests include market orientation, marketing strategy, sales management, and industrial marketing. His work has appeared in a number of journals including theJournal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, andStrategic Management Journal.     

Public policy relating to consumer comprehension of television commercials: A review and some empirical results

The utility of disclosure supers in television commercials in providing consumers with useful information is investigated. First the role of the various regulatory agencies in monitoring disclosure supers is reviewed. Next we review the role of consumer behavior theory in explaining how consumers process disclosure information. Then we develop and test hypotheses relating to four format aspects of disclosure supers. The findings supported the hypotheses. Viewers demonstrated lower levels of comprehension for disclosure information relative to information in the body copy of the commercials. Comprehension of disclosure information increased when typeface of disclosure was larger and when a voice-over accompanied the disclosure, but decreased when volume of information in disclosure supers increased. The implications of the findings for public policy are discussed.

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Verbraucherpolitische Einflunahme auf das Verbraucherverständnis von Werbebotschaften im Fernsehen: Ein überblick und einige empirische Befunde

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag befa\t sich mit dem Nutzen von Informationsauflagen bei Werbespots im Fernsehen, die dem Konsumenten nützliche Informationen zur Verfügung stellen sollen. Zunächst werden die verschiedenen Institutionen geschildert, die die Befolgung von Informationsauflagen überwachen. Als nächstes wird die Bedeutung der Theorie des Konsumentenverhaltens behandelt, wenn es darum geht, die Verarbeitung des Inhaltes von Informationsauflagen durch die Konsumenten zu erklären. Anschlie\end entwickeln die Autoren einige Hypothesen über die Wirkung unterschiedlicher Gestaltungsbedingungen auf die Informationsübermittlung. Diese Hypothesen werden durch die Befunde im wesentlichen bestätigt: Der Inhalt von Informationsauflagen wird insgesamt weniger gut verstanden als der eigentliche Inhalt der Werbebotschaft. Das Verständnis der Informationsauflage ist höher bei grö\erem Schriftgrad. Es ist auch höher, wenn ihr Inhalt nicht allein in Schriftform bezeichnet wird, sondern wenn er zusätzlich auch noch gesprochen wird. Es ist allerdings geringer bei grö\erer Informationsmenge. Abschlie\end werden einige verbraucherpolitische Empfehlungen gegeben.

     

The impact of all-star analyst job changes on their coverage choices and investment banking deal flow

Using a sample of all-star analysts who switch investment banks, we examine (1) whether analyst behavior is influenced by banking relationships and (2) whether analyst behavior affects investment banking deal flow. Although the stock coverage decision depends on the relationship with the client firms, we find no evidence that analysts change their optimism or recommendation levels when joining a new firm. Investment banking deal flow is related to analyst reputation only for equity transactions. For debt and M&A transactions, analyst reputation does not matter. There is no evidence that issuing optimistic earnings forecasts or recommendations affects investment banking deal flow.     

Buyer-supplier relational characteristics and joint decision making

This paper explores propositions dealing with the influence of buyer-supplier relational characteristics on their joint decision making. Specifically, the proposed conceptual framework focuses on the link between three relational constructs (trust, commitment, relationship maturity) and two types of joint decision making (strategic and tactical). Strategic decisions are those that “expand the pie” for both parties (integrative decisions), and tactical decisions are those that “divide the pie” between the two parties (distributive decisions). We propose that the effect of relational characteristics on joint decision making is likely to be moderated by the characteristics of the supplier organization (such as team orientation) and its environment (such as competitive intensity). We conclude with a brief discussion of the implications and possible extensions of the theoretical model.     

Inflationary Finance, Capital Controls, and Currency Substitution

This paper studies currency substitution in an environment where agents' inflation tax-evasive demand for foreign money is balanced by the concern for the possibility that the government may impose economy-wide capital controls under which foreign currency transactions are costly. Under the assumption of endogenous beliefs, the results show a persistent demand for foreign money despite efforts by the government to reduce inflation. In addition, the economy can exhibit multiple, Pareto-ranked steady states with different levels of currency substitution. The stability analysis suggests that the economy converges to the inferior steady state, on the "wrong side" of the Laffer curve.     

Spin‐offs: Tackling the Conglomerate Discount

Spin‐offs and other restructuring actions have risen sharply in 2011, driven by the need to streamline business models and increase corporate values. These transactions can be an effective tool for addressing the conglomerate valuation discount that has been a pervasive phenomenon over the past decade, affecting conglomerates in most regions across the world. In particular, North American and Western European conglomerates trade at valuation multiples that are roughly 10% lower than those of their pure‐play peers. A conglomerate discount also prevails in some of the emerging markets, including CEEMEA and Asia. Nevertheless, in some regions, notably Japan and Latin America, conglomerates typically trade at a premium. Although the average conglomerate discount narrowed during the financial crisis due to the perceived benefits of diversification during downturns, almost half of the conglomerates globally trade at a discount, and almost a third of all conglomerates have persistently traded at a discount during the past five years. For such companies, fixing the discount requires a simplification of the business model. The authors show that recent announcements of spin‐offs have led to significant share price outperformance by the parent company in both the short and the longterm, highlighting their effectiveness as a tool to enhance valuation. Spin‐offs can be particularly attractive for those conglomerates that operate unrelated business segments since these firms trade at a sharper discount than diversified firms operating in related businesses. The authors discuss how management should think about the financial implications of spin‐offs, including capital structure considerations, dividend policy, and turnover in the shareholder base.     

Brain drain or brain bank? The impact of skilled emigration on poor-country innovation

The development prospects of a poor country or region depend in part on its capacity for innovation. In turn, the productivity of its innovators, whom are often concentrated around urban centers, depends on their access to technological knowledge. The emigration of highly skilled individuals weakens local knowledge networks (brain drain) but may also help remaining innovators access valuable knowledge accumulated abroad (brain bank). We develop a model in which the size of the optimal innovator Diaspora depends on the competing strengths of co-location and Diaspora effects for accessing knowledge. Then, using patent citation data associated with inventions from India, we estimate the key co-location and Diaspora parameters. The net effect of innovator emigration is to harm domestic knowledge access, on average. However, knowledge access conferred by the Diaspora is particularly valuable in the production of India’s most important inventions as measured by citations received. Thus, our findings imply that the optimal emigration level may depend, at least partly, on the relative value resulting from the most cited compared to average inventions.