MARRIAGE,DIVORCE, AND ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION

We use data on people's valuations of options outside marriage and beliefs about spouses' options. The data demonstrate that, in some couples, one spouse would be happier and the other spouse unhappier outside of some marriages, suggesting that bargaining takes place and that spouses have private information. We estimate a bargaining model with interdependent utility that quantifies the resulting inefficiencies. Our results show that people forgo some utility in order to make their spouses better off and, in doing so, offset much of the inefficiency generated by their imperfect knowledge. Thus, we find evidence of asymmetric information and interdependent utility in marriage.     

Household bargaining and the design of couples’ income taxation

This paper studies the design of couples’ income taxation when consumption and labor supply decisions within the couple are made by maximizing a weighted sum of the spouses’ utilities; bargaining weights are given but specific to each couple. Information structure and labor supply decisions follow the Mirrleesian tradition. However, while the household's total consumption is publicly observable, the consumption levels of the individual spouses are not observable. With a utilitarian social welfare function we show that the expression for a spouses’ marginal income tax rate includes a “Pigouvian” (paternalistic) and an incentive term. The Pigouvian term favors a marginal subsidy (tax) for the high-weight (low-weight) spouse, whose labor supply otherwise tends to be too low (high). The sign and the magnitude of the incentive term depends on the weight structure across couples. In some cases both terms have the same sign and imply a positive marginal tax for the low-weight spouse (who may be female) and a negative one for the high-weight spouse (possibly the male). This is at odds with the traditional Boskin and Sheshinski results. Our conclusions can easily be generalized to more egalitarian welfare functions. Finally, we present numerical simulations based on a calibrated specification of our model. The calculations confirm that the male spouse may well have the lower (and possibly even negative) marginal tax rate.     

Marriage and employment participation with wage bargaining in search equilibrium

We build an equilibrium search model where married couples make joint decisions on home production and labour market participation and analyse the implications of our results for a frictional marriage market. A worker's bargaining position reflects their productivity, and the productivity and employment status of their spouse. People sometimes accept transitory jobs only to raise the spouse's long-term wages. Firms sometimes reduce turnover by unilaterally increasing a worker's wage, ensuring that the spouse stays at home.     

R&D Returns,Spillovers and Firm Incentives: Evidence from China

Using a new data set of 12,000 firms in China, this paper estimates the returns to R&D investment and its spillover effects, and investigates how the returns to R&D depend on firm incentives. For the firms in the sample, the results show that on average firm output increases around 0.4 yuan for each additional 1 yuan spent on R&D in the previous year, and there is high R&D return regardless of whether the endogeneity of R&D intensity is dealt with or not. Interestingly, the marginal return to R&D is significantly higher in firms whose CEOs were not appointed by the government, and lower when CEO pay is directly related to annual performance. The return to R&D is higher in relatively poor regions and for firms with worse access to finance. There are also non-trivial R&D spillover effects.     

股权结构、经营业绩与高管人员报酬的相关性研究——基于江苏高技术上市公司的实证分析

笔者运用江苏高技术上市公司的年报数据来综合考察股权结构、经营业绩与高管报酬之间的关系.结果表明:国有股比例与经营业绩呈现正方向影响,企业规模与经营业绩呈现负方向影响,净资产收益率和每股收益均与高管报酬呈现高度正相关,高管年度报酬与企业经营业绩、企业规模并不存在显著的正相关关系,与国有股比例的负相关程度也不显著.高技术企业应构建基于经营业绩的高管人员综合激励制度.     

Household bargaining over fertility: Theory and evidence from Malaysia

We develop and test a model of household bargaining over fertility when transfers between spouses are possible. The model makes precise how the fertility preferences of each spouse translate into fertility outcomes. We show this depends on whether or not spouses can commit to their future actions within marriage. If couples bargain with commitment, fertility outcomes take account of both spouses' fertility preferences and do not depend on the threat point in marital bargaining. If couples bargain without commitment, the influence of each spouse's fertility preference on fertility outcomes depends on the relevant threat point in marital bargaining, and the distribution of bargaining power. We test the models using household data from the Malaysia Family Life Survey. This data set contains information on each spouse's desired fertility level, as well as fertility outcomes. We exploit differences in threat points in marital bargaining across ethnic groups to help identify the underlying bargaining model. The evidence suggests couples bargain without commitment.     

制度距离对中国上市公司跨国并购绩效的影响

跨国并购是现阶段中国企业“走出去”的重要模式。随着中国企业跨国并购事件的迅速增长，从制度距离层面对跨国并购整合效果与并购绩效的研究成为热点。然而，不同学者对制度距离影响跨国并购绩效的实证研究却得出不同结论，其作用机制与效果仍待进一步探究。以中国上市公司成功实施的60起跨国并购案例为研究样本，以样本企业并购事件发生前后两年总资产收益率变化为因变量，通过剖析制度距离不同层面及并购母公司国际经验与知识吸收能力的中介作用，明确了制度距离不同维度影响跨国并购绩效的路径与机制。     

Husbands,Wives, and Housework: Graduates of Stanford and Tokyo Universities

Barbara Bergmann argues that economic gender equity requires equity not only in paid employment, but also in household work. We examine the household task arrangements of a sample of married 1981 graduates of Stanford and Tokyo (Todai) Universities, about a decade after their graduation. No less than 43 percent of Stanford graduates shared household tasks about equally with their spouse, a much higher sharing rate than for the whole U.S. population. However, only 12 percent of Todai women and 8 percent of Todai men had egalitarian household task arrangements, a sharing rate about equal to that of the whole Japanese population. Holding other variables constant, Stanford men who did at least half of household tasks paid an earnings penalty of about 10 percent. Women who did more than half of household tasks did not pay an earnings penalty. Our examination of task arrangements among dual-career couples provides support for bargaining power theories of the division of household tasks, but suggests that societal ideology plays a critical role in defining the scope for bargaining.     

Should I stay or should I go? An econometric analysis of retirement decisions by couples

This article analyses retirement decisions from a household perspective, treating the retirement timing of spouses as potentially interdependent choices. To identify the determinants of retirement decisions by couples and the effects of spousal retirement, this research estimates bivariate probit models in a multi-country setting. The results show a significant joint retirement trend: both men and women are more likely to retire if their spouse already has retired. Strong asymmetric behaviours arise by gender though, with high crosscountry heterogeneity, reflecting institutional differences in both pension and public health systems.     

国内外原油市场收益率及其波动性的双长记忆性测度

本文基于我国原油现货价格和欧洲Brent原油现货价格的数据,运用多种计量模型对原油市场收益率及其波动性的长记忆性进行测度。研究发现,我国原油市场收益率序列不存在长相依性特征,波动率序列则存在长记忆性效应;国外原油市场收益率及波动率序列均存在显著且较强的长记忆性。同时,检验结果表明,采用Student-t分布来刻画"尖峰厚尾"分布性质并利用TGARCH模型来描述"杠杆效应"是非常必要的。     

Executive compensation in government-linked companies: evidence from Malaysia

The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of executive pay, equity ownership incentives and pay–performance relationship in government-controlled firms. Data were hand-collected from the annual reports of 179 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. The results show that executive pay is lower in government-linked companies. Positive pay–performance relationship is also not evident for this category of firms, which indicates that their executives were largely guaranteed with certain level of pay irrespective of performance. The level of equity ownership incentives provides the executives in government-controlled firms with very little incentive to produce effort that can improve firm performance. Overall, our findings are consistent with the inefficient pay hypothesis developed in this study.     

Migration Policy in a Small Open Economy with a Dual Labor Market

The paper uses a two–sector efficiency–wage model to analyze the consequences of immigration for a small open economy with a dual labor market. Immigrants are characterized by an (exogenous) return probability. Legal regulations impose preferential hiring of natives or "old" immigrants. As a result, there is sectoral segregation between natives and immigrants, leading to discrimination of the type equal pay for equal work,but unequal "work." In the short run (with sector–specific capital), immigration has a positive first–order impact on natives' welfare if migration policy favors segregation through high return rates or restrictive hiring practices ("guest–worker system"). In the long run, its effect is only determined by factor intensities (2 ¥ 2 model). Finally, the improved integration of migrants yields efficiency gains and improves aggregate welfare of all residents.     

转型期欠发达地区农村家庭养老问题研究——基于人口流动的视角

人口流动严重削弱了欠发达地区农村家庭养老功能，具体表现在：老年人获得的经济支持相当薄弱且极不稳定，其日常生活照料主要依靠自己和老伴来完成，在精神慰藉方面老人们内心呈现出孤寂失落感与满足感并存的双重特点。另外，农村劳动力外流降低了老年人的社会经济地位，还导致家庭和整个社区尊老养老文化基础动摇。构建和完善农村家庭养老保障制度应从家庭、社区和政府三个层面着手。     

Is Australia One Recession Away from a Disability Blowout? Lessons from Other Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development Countries

A blowout in disability‐based cash transfer programmes resulted in fundamental reforms over the last decade in several Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development countries. Similar reforms are being proposed in the United States in the wake of its disability programme growth following the Global Financial Crisis. We compare trends in US and Australian disability receipt with those of the Netherlands and Sweden and argue that Australia's current Disability Support Pension programme is vulnerable to the same forces that caused unsustainable programme growth in these countries. Absent fundamental reforms focused on return to work over benefit receipt means that Australia could be one recession away from disability benefit blowout.     

A computable general equilibrium model of the southern region of Taiwan: the impact of the Tainan science-based industrial park

This paper examines the impact of productivity on pay within academia, drawing upon a detailed dataset of academics from five old established universities. Results outline the importance of publication; grant receipt and teaching quality in the determination of pay. A large financial penalty to time out of the profession is revealed, which, with productivity variables, explains away the gender salary gap. The relationship between teaching and research is investigated, and we find some evidence in support of the hypothesis that productive researchers are successful teachers. Results on reservation salary suggest that the best academics are willing to stay within the profession.     

四大会计师事务所能提供高质量的审计服务吗?———基于高管薪酬契约有效性的经验证据

以财务报告为主体的财务信息可在公司治理中发挥重要作用.高质量的审计服务能够提高薪酬—业绩的敏感性,从而保证薪酬契约的达成和实现.本文以沪深两市2002年-2009年度上市公司为研究样本,分析外部审计治理效应对薪酬—业绩敏感度的影响,考察四大会计师事务所审计过的上市公司是否具有更高的薪酬—业绩敏感度.通过全样本、转换样本以及HECKMAN自选择偏误校正等方法发现：在薪酬—业绩敏感度上,四大会计师事务所与非四大会计师事务所审计过的上市公司并不存在显著差异,国内六大会计师事务所审计过的上市公司具有更高的薪酬—业绩敏感度.     

IT能力与企业创新绩效关系研究——双元学习的调节作用

近年来IT能力对企业创新绩效的影响愈发受到关注,然而,关于双元学习对两者关系作用的研究较少。基于组织学习理论,构建理论模型,探讨IT基础能力和IT体系惯例对企业创新绩效的影响,以及双元学习的调节效应。对313家企业问卷调查的分析表明：IT基础能力和IT体系惯例两种IT能力均能促进企业创新绩效提升。调节作用结果显示：探索式学习、利用式学习均能加强IT能力对企业创新绩效的促进作用。     

Long‐term care and pay‐for‐performance programs

Pay‐for‐performance programs are gradually spreading across Asia. This paper builds on the longer experience in the United States to offer lessons for Asia. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has introduced several pay‐for‐performance programs since 2012 to encourage hospitals to improve quality of care and reduce costs. Some state Medicaid programs have also introduced pay‐for‐performance for nursing homes. Long‐term care providers play an important role in hospital pay‐for‐performance programs because they can affect the readmission rate and also total episode payments. A good pay‐for‐performance program will focus on improving quality of care that affects health outcomes. In addition, that quality must vary across providers and be measurable. Furthermore, it is important that the measures be reported in a timely way, that both demand and supply respond to the measures, and that the measures be risk adjusted. Empirical data from Medicare beneficiaries in the state of Michigan show that mean episode payments and readmission rates in skilled nursing facilities vary widely and are sensitive to the number of observations. These practical matters create challenges for implementing pay‐for‐performance in practice. There is an extensive literature review of pay‐for‐performance in long‐term care in the United States and in Asia.     

Private pay clients in adult day services

Data collected for all 3,992 participants in Maryland's adult day care programs as of December 31, 1993 showed that the majority of clients were supported by publicly supported "welfare" funding sources. The authors examined the differences in characteristics and service needs between the public payer population and private pay patients, including those who were charged on a sliding scale. They found that private pay clients were not dependent on others to "initiate service arrangements when they want and can find them." Private pay clients were twice as likely to be self or family referrals and more likely to be older, white, and living with a spouse or adult child. Private pay patients were also much more likely to have a history of the recent onset of cognitive impairment and associated memory loss but less likely to fall into the more ADL dependent categories. The nuclear families of private pay clients who are primary caregivers are described as the "critical marketing targets" and that services specifically for the cognitively impaired should be developed.     

An empirical analysis of assortative mating in India and the U.S.

This paper uses a conditional logit model to analyze empirically how individuals sort themselves through marriage into households in India and the U.S. The results support positive assortative mating of spouses with respect to age and schooling. We find no evidence in favor of Becker's theory of labor market specialization in couples. Moreover, while similarity in age is the strongest predictor of marital choice in India, education of a prospective spouse plays a more important role in the U.S. Finally, we find that while dowry increases the likelihood of women marrying men with characteristics dissimilar to their own, availability of a mate has a positive effect on the degree of stratification in India.