中国水稻加工环节成本结构及影响因素分析

［目的］“产业兴旺”是乡村振兴战略中的重要内容，探究中国水稻加工环节成本结构及影响因素，对促进我国农业一、二、三产业的融合，实现农业价值链转型升级，提升我国农产价值链竞争力具有重要的意义。［方法］通过微观调研数据，构建超越对数成本函数和要素需求函数，采用似不相关回归法（Seemingly Unrelated Regression）实证分析我国水稻加工厂的成本及要素投入的影响因素。［结果］（1）稻米加工厂存在规模报酬经济，扩大规模可以降低稻米加工平均成本。（2）建立品牌、与农户形成合同关系、鼓励多元主体经营、公司成立时间、企业能够获得政府支持对降低加工厂的平均加工成本具有正向显著影响。（3）建立品牌、与稻农签订合同、企业负责人的年龄、受教育年限越高对提高加工厂资本投入，促进结构升级具有显著影响。［结论］应采取相关政策措施鼓励稻米加工产扩大加工规模，与上下游形成更为紧密的利益共同体，加强稻米加工企业的品牌意识进而提高我国稻米加工产业的成本竞争力，并鼓励具有更为丰富管理经验、接受更高教育水平的管理者担任企业负责人，在促进我国稻米加工行业的升级转型的同时，提高我国稻米副产品的深度开发利用。     

Doing more and doing better are two different entities: Different patterns of family control and environmental performance

Family firms bear two types of agency costs, including type I and type II agency problems, in corporate environmental practices: (1) Outside executives at family firms hesitate to engage in environmental strategies, which can lead to drops in profits; (2) Controlling families employ opportunistically environmental management to achieve their interests. We argue that a primary cause for the agency problems lies on ineffective internal corporate governance at family firms, which can cause loss of managerial (or power) balance between outside executives and family executives. Our findings show that family firms with ownership and strategic control (FSC), which family executives and outside executives monitor and constrain each other, can achieve the highest environmental performance. Moreover, external controls, including product market competition and provincial environmental regulations, substitute effective internal control of FSC. The environmental performance premium of FSC is more prevalent when the production market competition is lower. Family firms with ownership, operational, and strategic control (FOSC) can achieve higher environmental performance within a province with more stringent environmental regulations.     

Do goodwill impairments affect audit opinions? Evidence from China

There has been a steady growth of goodwill impairments in the Chinese stock market since the adoption of the impairment approach in accounting. The influence of goodwill impairments on a firm’s financial position and profitability give reason to doubt its current and future performance. We examine whether auditors, as a crucial external monitor, identify the information risks of goodwill impairments and express their concerns about financial reporting quality in their audit opinions. Using a sample of firms listed on China’s A-share market from 2007 to 2017, we test the association between goodwill impairments and the type of audit opinion received in the same financial period. Our findings are as follows. First, the probability of receiving a modified opinion increases with the amount of goodwill impairments. Second, the positive association between goodwill impairments and modified audit opinions is driven primarily by earnings management risks. Third, this positive association is more salient when auditors are industry experts and there is no auditor–client mismatch. Fourth, auditors are more sensitive to the amount of goodwill impairments than to their mere existence. Overall, we document that auditors perceive goodwill impairments as a signal of information risks and communicate their concerns to investors to avoid litigation.     

大数据能力对企业创新绩效的影响——IT-业务融合与双元环境的调节作用

基于动态能力理论和权变理论，以IT-业务融合、双元环境为调节变量，探究大数据能力与企业创新绩效间的作用关系，结果发现：大数据能力对创新绩效具有正向促进作用；IT-业务融合调节大数据能力与创新绩效的关系，IT-业务融合水平越高，大数据能力对创新绩效的正向影响就越显著；双元环境能够调节大数据能力与创新绩效间关系。其中，环境动态性在大数据能力与创新绩效关系间起正U型调节作用，而环境竞争性在大数据能力与创新绩效关系间起倒U型调节作用。从内外部情境视角解释大数据能力的创新转化，对中国企业大数据应用具有指导意义。     

Stochastic non-smooth envelopment of data for multi-dimensional output

The proposed method of Stochastic Non-smooth Envelopment of Data (StoNED) for measuring efficiency has to date mainly found application in the analysis of production systems which have exactly one output. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to examine the applicability of StoNED when a ray production function models a production technology with multi-dimensional input and output. In addition to a general analysis of properties required by a ray production function for StoNED to be applicable, we conduct a Monte Carlo simulation in order to evaluate the quality of the frontier and efficiencies estimated by StoNED. The results are compared with those derived via Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We show that StoNED provides competitive estimates in regard to other methods and especially in regard to the real functional form and efficiency.     

Patterns of Investor-State Dispute Settlement Decisions

This paper examines the pattern of settlements, investor wins and state wins in investor-state dispute settlement cases, focusing on the impact of arbitration rules, the resources and experience of the litigants, the type of treaty breach under investigation, and the pattern of state intervention. Logistic regression results show that settlements are more likely when investors do not disclose their allegations publicly, when the host state has been involved in a greater number of past cases, and when the respondent state has a higher control-of-corruption rating. Panel awards to investors are more likely in cases of alleged direct expropriation and less likely for indirect expropriation. Panel decisions favoring the state increase with higher per capita income and rule-of-law ratings.     

Liking what others “Like”: using Facebook to identify determinants of conformity

In this paper we explore the micro-level determinants of conformity. Members of the social networking service Facebook express positive support to content on the website by clicking a Like button. We set up a natural field experiment to test whether users are more prone to support content if someone else has done so before. To find out to what extent conformity depends on group size and social ties we use three different treatment conditions: (1) one stranger has Liked the content, (2) three strangers have Liked the content, and (3) a friend has Liked the content. The results show that one Like from a single stranger had no impact. However, increasing the size of the influencing group doubled the probability that subjects expressed positive support. Friendship ties were also decisive. People were, on average, four times more likely to press the Like button if a friend, rather than a stranger, had done so before them. The existence of threshold effects in our experiment clearly shows that both group size and social proximity matters when opinions are shaped.     

Mapping global sustainability report scoring: a detailed analysis of Europe and Asia

This study maps the General Reporting Initiative (GRI) relations for a set of global enterprises. Enterprise interrelationships are built using the Mutual Information (MI) of the data reported by enterprises. From the MI topology, we describe interrelationships among the enterprises using chord diagrams to represent the inter- and intra-connectivity between geographical regions and economic sectors globally, by continent and country. Detailed maps are presented for European and Asian regions/sectors, including the relationship between Europe and Asia’s top reporting countries. Our findings reinforce previous research regarding the role of Europe as a driver of sustainability and its influence worldwide. We also determined that Spain is a major player in Europe and that Northern Europe does not have the assumed leading role mentioned in related studies. Eastern Asia is, by far, the leader of the region, and the GRI maps demonstrate the preponderant role of China in the region and the minimal role of India. MI topology maps outline the behavior of the economic sectors, for all the studied regions. Furthermore, a measure that relates the inter- to intra-connections is presented to describe the internal an external relationships among regions/sectors.     

Cuba,Trade Dependency and the GATT/WTO System

Cuba sought economic independence from the U.S. and its reliance on sugar exports after its 1959 revolution, but subsequently developed new dependency relationships. In the meantime, Cuba remained inside the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), despite conducting most of its trade outside it. This paper explores the political economy of Cuba’s participation in the GATT and later the World Trade Organization (WTO). Documents show that Cuba sought to use its participation to gain new markets and influence in the developing world. While Cuba has gained little economically from its participation, in recent years it has diversified its exports and trade partners, and its trade interests now align more closely with WTO rules. Economic reforms will be necessary in order for Cuba to benefit.