Impact of modern communication infrastructure on productivity,production structure and factor demands of US industries: Impact revisited

This study investigates the contribution of modern communication infrastructure characterized by high speed broadband access network on the productivity growth, production structure and factor demands for US industries and for the aggregate economy. To evaluate such contribution, we modify the traditional cost function by incorporating communication infrastructure as input in production process in conjunction with other public infrastructures. The network externality and spillover effect of broadband access technology are captured by introducing broadband penetration rate as a shift factor in industry level production function. Empirical results show that the increased use of modern communications infrastructure increases the productivity of all industries with wide variations across industries. Estimated impacts on input demands show that increase in use of communications infrastructure service saves labor and materials and increase the demand for private capital. Finally, aggregate social rate of return on such investment has been estimated for policy implications.     

董事利益保护刍议

董事会中心主义的确立，董事义务与责任体系的完备，使得对董事利益的保护成为公司经营管理效率提高的必要前提。如何建立符合中国实际的董事利益保护机制是摆在法学研究者面前一个紧迫而重要的课题。     

Integrating local ecological services into intergovernmental fiscal transfers: The case of the ecological ICMS in Brazil

Local conservation efforts are often related to benefits at higher governmental levels. On the one hand, these efforts are strongly connected to local land-use decisions. On the other hand, activities such as sustainable water management or biodiversity conservation are associated with regional, national or even global public goods. Therefore, spatial externalities or spillovers exist, which—if not adequately compensated for—lead to an underprovision of the public goods and services concerned. This article investigates intergovernmental fiscal transfers as an innovative instrument for compensating local jurisdictions for the ecological goods and services they provide across local boundaries. From a public finance perspective, fiscal transfers are a suitable instrument for internalising spatial externalities. However, most federal states use this instrument predominantly for social and economic public sector functions rather than for ecological ones. This article investigates the case of the ecological “ICMS” that was first introduced by a few states in Brazil during the 1990s. Part of the revenue from this value-added tax is redistributed to the local level on the basis of ecological indicators. In this way, the state level uses fiscal transfers to compensate municipalities for the existence of protected areas and other ecological services provided within their territories. The Brazilian experience illustrates that such fiscal transfers can represent both a compensation for land-use restrictions and an incentive to value and engage in more conservation activities at the local level.     

Relative Guarantees

Many real-world financial contracts have some sort of minimum rate of return guarantee included. One class of these guarantees is so-called relative guarantees, i.e., guarantees where the minimum guaranteed rate of return is given as a function of the stochastic return on a reference portfolio. These guarantees are the topic of this paper. We analyse a wide range of different functional specifications for the minimum guaranteed rate of return, hereunder both so-called maturity and multi-period guarantees. Several closed form solutions are presented.     

农村税费改革相关问题的深入思考

针对进一步扩大农村税费改革试点的要求，章从农村税费改革成功与否的衡量标准入手，对农村税费改革中难点问题的根本症结进行了深入分析．指出问题的根本源自不同利益主体间利益的重新分配，并在此基础上提出了解决问题的基本思路。     

辽宁东部水源涵养林计量指标体系及其效益评估

对辽东山区水源涵养林产生的各种效益进行计量评价研究,制定了水源涵养林计量效益评价指标体系,包括3级结构、16项指标、49项因子;依各功能因子的重要性并经测算,对各项指标赋予权重和排序,森林的蓄水、减少径流、改善水质功能的权重值较高;采用条件价值法,估算辽东山区水源涵养林的各种功能价值,森林的林副产品和木材收益的功能价值较高。辽东山区水源涵养林按整体处在一般经营状态下计算,年均创造功能价值约为30.2亿元。     

在铁路货运营销中运用价格策略的探讨

价格是市场营销组合的重要因素。铁路货物运价制度运用得当与否直接关系着吸引运量的多少和使路运输企业利润的高低。并影响着运输市场营销组合的其它因素。根据营销环境的变化，灵活调整价格，科学制定价格策略，才能使企业获得最佳的经济效益。本文通过分析现行运价体系存在的问题，就如何在铁路货运营销活动中运用价格策略进行了探讨。     

The Dangers of Misclassifying “Employees”: Microsoft Litigation Emphasizes Distinctions Between Employees and Nontraditional Workers

In the past decade, businesses, for reasons such as greater flexibility and lower total costs, have increased their use of nontraditional workers such as independent contractors and temporary agency employees. The Internal Revenue Service's crackdown on misclassifying employees slowed this growth. Additionally, recent lawsuits by nontraditional workers against employers such as Microsoft Corporation have resulted in some client employers being forced to pay more benefits to nontraditional employees because of employment misclassification and coemployment rulings. Such rulings might reduce or even eliminate the use of some types of nontraditional employees. This paper analyzes the vast array of types of workers that have evolved into the nontraditional work force and the difficulty of defining employee with respect to entitlement to employer benefits. Possible recommendations for employers include auditing present use of nontraditional workers, accurately classifying employees, and taking proper actions to minimize problems in the future.     

森林生态效益价值会计核算研究

森林生态效益是有价值的无形资产,这些价值不仅可以计量,而且应作为会计核算的对象。随着人们日益关注环境问题,营林企业应该将纳入企业会计核算的范围。本文着重研究了不同性质的营林企业如何进行森林生态效益价值的会计核算。     

东中西协力联动 推进西部大开发

东中西合作可分为对口支援和互惠互利的区际贸易经济技术协作两类;互利双赢是东中西合作常青不衰的关键.中央和地方各级政府应共同努力,从政策上促进东中西合作,规范跨区合作规则,降低合作风险与交易费用,提高合作各方的投资回报预期和合作项目的成功率.