Labor productivity forecasts based on a Beveridge–Nelson filter: Is there statistical evidence for a slowdown?

In this paper, I assess the evidence for a structural break in labor productivity growth in the years before the Great Recession with the use of out-of-sample forecasting exercises for the years 2010 to 2019 and the recently developed Beveridge–Nelson filter. Models based on a Beveridge–Nelson filter with no structural breaks outperform those allowing for a structural break, and there is statistically significant evidence that they outperform the random walk, though all models were too optimistic about labor productivity growth. Recently developed statistical tests do point to the presence of a structural break before the Great Recession, but uncertainty about the data-generating process for labor productivity growth or the timing and magnitude of the break may be too great to be helpful in forecast preparation.     

Growth,Distribution, and External Constraints: A Post-Kaleckian Model Applied to Brazil

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research is to analyze whether the Brazilian economy behaved under a wage-led or profit-led regime between 1960 and 2011, considering a Post-Kaleckian model in a context of external constraints. The time span is limited by data availability (i.e., 2011). To answer the question of whether the Brazilian economy works under a wage-led or profit-led regime, we propose a simple Post-Kaleckian model. The model suggests that a profit-led regime is more probable for Brazil. Moreover, a wage-led regime occurs when a balance of payments constrained growth model is taken into consideration. Likewise, the real exchange rate has a positive impact on economic growth through the export channel. This result is a novelty in the recent literature about the relationship between real exchange rate and economic growth within a Post-Kaleckian model. The Brazilian economy was chosen as it is one of the biggest economies in Latin America.     

Sentiment-scaled CAPM and market mispricing

This study explores the conditional version of the capital asset pricing model on sentiment to provide a behavioural intuition behind the value premium and market mispricing. We find betas (β) and the market risk premium to vary over time across different sentiment indices and portfolios. More importantly, the state β derived from this sentiment-scaled model provides a behavioural explanation of the value premium and a set of anomalies driven by mispricing. Different from the static β–return relation that gives a flat security market line, we document upward security market lines when plotting portfolio returns against their state βs and portfolios with higher state βs earn higher returns.     

我国省域农业隐含碳排放及其驱动因素时空动态分析

[目的]我国区域农业发展模式由于气候、环境的不同存在较大的差异,而目前针对农业隐含碳的时空动态研究较为缺乏,导致对于区域减排目标的设定缺乏全面的考虑,无法实现农业碳减排的效率性和公平性。因此,有必要分析农业隐含碳排放在不同省域的特征并分析其驱动因素,为制定体现地区间公平性且有效率的碳减排政策提供依据。[方法]文章利用2002年、2007年和2012年3年的投入产出表估算我国各省(市、区)农业隐含碳排放量,根据Kaya恒等关系将其分解为经济规模、经济结构、一般农业技术进步和低碳农业技术进步4类影响因素,并利用LMDI分解分析法对这4类影响因素的驱动力进行了分析。[结果]2002—2012年我国大部分地区农业隐含碳排放量呈上升趋势,空间上呈现从西到东、从南到北逐渐增加的分布规律,经济规模效应在各省份均呈正向驱动,且在经济发展较为迅速、经济增长后劲较强的地区驱动效应逐渐增强;经济结构效应在大部分省份呈负向驱动,且在重型工业的聚集区域负向效应逐渐增强;一般农业技术因素正向驱动区域逐渐扩散,且在农业大省正向驱动效应逐渐增强;低碳农业技术进步因素在东部发达地区负向的驱动效应较强,在西部驱动效应较弱。[结论]在未来的农业减排政策制定过程中,需要充分考虑不同地区的经济发展、产业结构、农业生产等特点。     

The economic burden of depression among adults with rheumatoid arthritis in the United States

Aims: Depression is the most frequent comorbidity reported among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Comorbid depression negatively impacts RA patients’ health-related quality-of-life, physical function, mental function, mortality, and experience of pain and symptom severity. The objective of this study was to assess healthcare utilization, expenditures, and work productivity among patients with RA with or without depression.

Materials and methods: Data from adult patients who had at least two visits each related to RA and depression over a 1-year period were extracted from the Truven Health MarketScan research databases. Outcomes comprised healthcare resource utilization, work productivity loss, and direct healthcare costs comparing patients with RA with depression (n?=?3,478) vs patients with RA without depression (n?=?43,222).

Results: Patients with RA and depression had a significantly greater relative risk of hospitalization and number of all-cause and RA-related hospitalizations, utilization of emergency services, days spent in the hospital, physician visits, and RA-related surgeries compared with RA patients without depression. Patients with RA and depression had a higher risk of and experienced more events and days of short-term disability compared with patients without depression. The incremental adjusted annual all-cause and RA-related direct costs were $8,488 (95% CI = $6,793–$10,223) and $578 (95% CI = –$98–$1,243), respectively, when comparing patients with RA and depression vs RA only.

Limitations: The current analysis is subject to the known limitations of retrospective studies based on administrative claims data.

Conclusions: This study suggested increased healthcare utilization, work productivity loss, and economic burden among RA patients due to comorbid depression. These findings emphasize the importance of managing depression and including depression as a factor when devising treatment algorithms for patients with RA.     

江苏省农业绿色发展水平区域差异及趋势分析

［目的］农业绿色发展是保证我国农业可持续发展的有效方式，探究江苏省农业绿色发展水平和地区差异，为我国其他地区农业绿色发展研究提供参考。［方法］文章采用熵权法和层次分析法确定农业绿色发展水平评价指标权重，运用锡尔指数对区域内和区域间农业绿色发展水平差异进行测度。［结果］2012—2017年江苏省农业绿色发展水平有明显提高，绿色供给的得分最高，环境友好和生态制度的得分最低。各市农业绿色发展水平综合指数分析结果表明，苏州农业绿色发展水平最高，南京、无锡次之，连云港、淮安和宿迁农业绿色发展水平较低。锡尔指数分析结果表明江苏省区域内农业绿色发展水平差异都在逐渐缩小。［结论］农产品绿色供给是江苏省农业绿色发展的最大优势，资源节约利用和环境友好发展方面较低，由于经济发展对资源利用强度在持续增加，资源节约利用仍是绿色发展的短板，因此江苏省资源效益利用仍有上升的空间，且区域内发达地区农业绿色发展的带动效应明显。     

组织场域视角下水利水电工程BIM技术扩散的影响因素 ——基于TOE框架的分析

在梳理国内外BIM采纳与扩散相关研究的基础上，从新制度主义理论出发，提出了水利水电工程组织场域并分析了其特征；进而运用技术-组织-环境(TOE)框架和匹配理论，分别讨论了水利水电工程组织场域BIM扩散的主要影响因素，形成一个整体的理论分析框架。分析表明，水利水电工程组织场域BIM扩散的影响因素主要包括:相对优势、兼容性和复杂性等技术因素，组织沟通、资源就绪度和高层领导支持等组织因素，以及制度环境、市场环境等环境因素。     

农产品供应链重构风险传导SIR建模与仿真研究

[目的]利用动力学SIR模型模拟农产品供应链重构内生风险传导过程,以期在有效把握核心重构风险传导规律基础上为整体管控重构进程风险提出前瞻性思路。[方法]基于农产品供应链重构风险整体构架和重构进程风险传导复杂网络,以湖北省243家大型连锁超市生鲜农产品供应链2007—2017年重构样本数据为研究对象,建立重构进程内生风险传导SIR模型和规划演化模式,利用Matlab软件对模型仿真得到有效管控状态下演化趋势。[结果]在以战术性重构为主导组织结构战略性重构中进程风险传导安全边际X1s超过50%,决定了其净风险阈α0(i)、β0(i),相应的业务单元和功能模块重构进程风险预警和风险恢复能力提高值是主控指标,对进程风险传导感染率x1(i)和恢复率x2(i)起主导作用。[结论]近年来土地流转驱动农产品供应链重构中组织结构重构整体具有战略性,在以战术性重构为主导风险传导管控中重点应加强业务单元和功能模块重构进程在重构易感状态(S)、感染传播状态(I)管控能力,能有效降低波动幅度。     

新农科建设背景下江西高校涉农专业人才培养的思考

新农科建设是新农业新乡村新农民新生态建设的必然要求,顺应了新时代社会的发展规律,致力于培养爱农业、懂技术、善经营的高水平实用技能型卓越农林新人才。"新农科"建设宣言的提出对高等院校涉农专业人才的培养提出了更高的期许和要求。目前江西高校存在涉农专业人才数量紧缺且离农化趋势严重,涉农专业精品课程少、设置不够合理,涉农专业人才培养结构与行业需求脱轨,科研成果转化率不高的问题。本文从新农科建设的角度出发,针对江西高校在涉农专业人才培养过程中出现的问题提出了相应的对策。     

Analysis of Bitcoin prices using market and sentiment variables

This paper proposes an empirical model for analysing the dynamics of Bitcoin prices. To do this, we consider a vector error correction model over two overlapping periods: 2010–17 and 2010–19. Price discovery is achieved through the Gonzalo–Granger permanent‐transitory decomposition. The pricing factors are endogenous linear combinations of the S&P 500 index, gold price, a Google search variable associated to Bitcoin and a fear index proxied by the FED Financial Stress Index. Our empirical analysis shows that during the first period, a linear combination of four pricing factors describes the efficient Bitcoin price. The S&P 500 index and Google searches have a positive effect whereas gold prices and the fear index have a negative effect. In contrast, during the second period, the efficient price behaves idiosyncratically and can be only rationalised by individuals' search for information on the cryptocurrency. These findings provide empirical evidence on the presence of a correction in Bitcoin prices during the period 2018–19 uncorrelated to market fundamentals. We also show that standard empirical asset pricing models perform poorly for explaining Bitcoin prices.