The case of labour time reduction without wage compensation: More or less employment?

Summary In this paper a model of a closed economy, including a market sector and a public sector, is presented to analyse the consequences of a reduction of labour time with and without wage compensation. It turns out that a policy of labour time reduction without wage compensation is a very strong instrument to improve production and employment, if the economy is characterized by the Keynesiandemand model. But if the economy is characterized by the neoclassicalsupply model, a relatively large drop in wages is necessary to prevent a policy of labour time reduction from causing a process of stagflation.     

Coexistence of large firms and less efficient small firms under price competition with free entry

This study constructs a game of technology selection and Bertrand-like price competition in a market with free entry. It demonstrates the existence of a Nash equilibrium in which a small number of firms adopting a large-scale technology coexist with, and charge a lower price than, a large number of firms adopting a small-scale technology. In this equilibrium, both available technologies and resources are allocated efficiently. This result provides a new economic rationale for antitrust law in general and, in particular, the US Sherman Act, wchich regards free entry and price competition as of foremost importance for maintaining market quality.     

明确服务型政府的转型目标

在市场经济大环境下,服务型政府的构建已经迫在眉睫。然而由于长期计划体制下管制型政府的影响,我国在构建服务型政府的过程中还存在很多误区。因此,我们有必要明确服务型政府的转型目标,建设一个民主、法制、有限、透明、负责、高效的政府。     

“雅痞”俞敏洪

他究竟是一个不错的教师？还是一个偶然成功的商人？抑或是一个被逼无奈的“痞子”？俞敏洪在当代中国知识分子的“下海”潮中，有着标志性意义     

Trial experience,satisfaction and incentive to bring another lawsuit: Does aspiration level influence winners and losers?

This paper used individual level data in Japan to explore how a complainant's past trial experience influences their satisfaction and incentive to bring a future lawsuit. Controlling for kinds of incidents and a complainant's individual characteristics, the major findings were; (1) there is a positive relationship between the experience and satisfaction for winners, whereas there is a significant negative relationship for losers, and (2) experience exerts a positive effect on the intention to bring a future lawsuit, not only for winners but also for losers. These results imply that, for losers, a past experience enhances the incentive to bring a future lawsuit, although the experience decreases a complainant's satisfaction.     

现代企业家是一种团队制度

现代企业家不是一个人,而是一种团队制度;企业家团队制度是自组织制度、人力资本交易制度、价值管理制度、全息集成制度。     

Minimum wage,trade and unemployment in general equilibrium

The path‐breaking work of Card and Krueger, showing that a higher minimum wage can increase employment, turned the age‐old conventional wisdom on its head. This paper demonstrates that this apparently paradoxical result is perfectly plausible in a competitive general equilibrium production structure of a small open economy with a non‐traded good, without recourse to monopsony, spatial heterogeneity, heterogeneity of consumers and so on, the usual theoretical drivers behind the result. Following Jones and Marjit, we build a simple general equilibrium model with production complementarity and we show that a higher minimum wage can raise aggregate employment. Expansion in the non‐traded sector following a wage hike may be consistent with the overall expansion of the export sector in a multi‐good framework, an unlikely outcome in a conventional two‐good model which cannot accommodate with production complementarity.     

Monetary basis of trade imbalance

The purpose of this paper is to lay simple yet elegant, formal microeconomic foundations for the theory that monetary policy is a principal determinant of international trade imbalance. Foreign exchange is a different form of real liquidity, not a perfect substitute for domestic currency. As a result, foreign money is traded as a commodity in exchange for consumption goods. If the monetary policies of two countries differ, a permanently unbalanced flow of goods may arise. Specifically, this paper argues that a high-inflation regime is likely to induce a perpetual trade deficit.     

Skilled-Labor Intensity Differences Across Firms,Endogenous Product Quality,and Wage Inequality

This paper proposes a theory to explain the relative wage-rate increase for skilled labor that results from trade liberalization that relies on within-sector reallocations of production resources (skilled and unskilled labor) across firms. Motivated by some stylized facts, in a model with firm heterogeneity, including firms that differ in their skill intensity even within a narrowly defined industry, firms with relatively high skill intensity that are more likely to be exporters, and a positive association between a firm’s skill intensity and its product quality, I develop a general equilibrium model where firms with a higher skill intensity endogenously choose a higher-quality product, and tend to be more profitable. In this framework, a reduction in trade costs allows members of the workforce to reallocate to more efficient firms that produce higher-quality products, using their skilled labor more intensively, resulting in a rising skill premium. The main sources of the increasing wage inequality that followed trade openness are a positive link between a firm’s skill intensity, its product quality, and quality competition.     

《严子陵》:好戏别开生面

<正>记得,读完《严子陵》剧本的初稿后,原市文化局的一位领导激动地说:"严子陵心系苍生,不为官实为官,看得我热泪盈眶。东标兄又写了一个好戏。"于是,也借来一阅。关于严子陵的史料甚少,《后汉书》中对他的记载也就392字,他生前又没有留下任何文字。编剧杨东标在尊重史实的情况下,合理地发掘想象的空间。精神意境的开拓以及唱词的唯美都不是问题,但我还是隐隐有点担忧:一个很有文化底蕴的戏,用乡土味极重的姚剧搬上舞台,会不会好看?     

Remittances,Monetary Policy,and Partial Sterilization

Remittances play a large and important role in certain economies, where they became a significant share of GDP. Official government records of these flows have been systematically improved since governments realized their importance, but a significant percentage of remittances remain unrecorded. This, together with the shadow economy, may pose a problem for monetary policy. This article uses a limited participation model to examine the differential effect that higher shares of remittances can have on monetary policy and describes the impact of remittances on a small open economy under partial sterilization. It demonstrates how a typical monetary shock will lead to a more pronounced liquidity effect when remittances become a higher proportion of GDP. It also shows that a positive remittance shock improves consumption and lowers interest rates, but as it also reduces work effort it momentarily lowers output. Such dynamics are exacerbated as the degree of partial sterilization is accentuated.     

The Effect of Joint Auditor Pair Composition on Audit Quality: Evidence from Impairment Tests

Using a sample of firms from France, where the law requires the use of two auditors, we study the effect of auditor pair composition on audit quality by examining a specific account, goodwill impairment. We document that firms audited by a Big 4–non‐Big 4 auditor pair (BS) are more likely to book an impairment and book a larger impairment than firms audited by a Big 4–Big 4 auditor pair (BB) when low‐performance indicators suggest a greater likelihood of impairment. Moreover, firms audited by a BB pair reduce impairment disclosures when they book impairments, while firms audited by a BS pair do not, suggesting lower transparency for firms audited by a BB pair. Our results inform investors and firms in mandatory joint audit regimes, as well as regulators who are considering requiring joint audits.     

冲突是最美的和谐——文艺心理学视角下的《荷塘月色》解读

文学艺术的世界是一个“心理的世界”，文学作品就是作家的心灵，作品中的冲突其实是一种最高境界的和谐，最美的艺术是包含丑的艺术，最高的智慧是神韵写意的境界。用文艺心理学的角度来解读作品，我们可以更加深入地理解与丰富作品所蕴含的内容，也可以为广大读者提供一个新的阅读视野。     

IS EAST ASIA FIT FOR AN OPTIMUM CURRENCY AREA? AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY OF A HIGHER DEGREE OF MONETARY COOPERATION IN EAST ASIA

This paper attempts to make a contribution to the recent search for a suitable assessment of the economic feasibility of a higher degree of monetary cooperation in East Asia. By using a structural vector autoregression approach as well as a generalized purchasing power parity approach, we find that a larger group of appropriately selected East Asian economies does satisfy the macroeconomic conditions for forming an Optimum Currency Area (OCA). The East Asian group consists of four ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand) and four Northeast Asian economies (Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Taiwan). This finding presents a striking contrast to the existing research results whose policy recommendation has generally been that countries in East Asia should start with a smaller subgroup currency area. It is time that many East Asian economies as a region made a serious effort to pursue a higher degree of monetary cooperation among themselves for forming an OCA.     

利用世博契机,把崇明打造成为“未来岛”——基于城市品牌定位的思考

伴随沪崇苏大桥的开工及中央提出科学发展观,具有国际生态岛地位的崇明如何发展正吸引着大家的关注,地方政府在集思广益基础上将崇明定位为国际现代化生态岛。文章认为这只是完成了基础定位,建议崇明以城市品牌定位理论为指导确立＂未来岛＂的品牌定位,并以婚庆业举例说明此定位发展的巨大前景。进而结合当前迎世博背景,针对利用世博契机,促进崇明建设未来岛,提出若干建议。     

Persistence of Output Fluctuations Under Different Exchange Rate Regimes

In a recent paper, Giugale and Korobow (2000) present evidence that suggests that the time required by output to return to trend following a financial shock is faster under a flexible exchange rate regime than under a fixed exchange rate. In this paper, we use vector autoregression models to measure the persistence properties of output for a number of countries in the Asia–Pacific region. Our results suggest that output persistence is not uniquely related to a country's choice of exchange rate regime. The two countries in our sample with the least persistent output following a financial shock are Australia, where the exchange rate is fully flexible, and Hong Kong, where it is rigidly fixed via a currency board.     

Uncertainty and the arbitrage pricing theory

This paper tests the economic importance of income uncertainty in the context of a measured factor arbitrage pricing theory model. This provides a test of the importance of uncertainty using a different methodology and data set than are traditionally used. If income uncertainty affects the investment climate, a statistically significant risk premium will be associated with assets that are affected by uncertainty. The empirical work in this essay finds that a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity measure of income uncertainty is a priced factor in a model of the arbitrage pricing theory. The risk premium between a baa-rated 10-year corporate bond and a 10-year government bond, as well as the term structure, also are priced factors.     

有压力,玩游戏

现在生活水平大发展,人们也从＂吃饱饭＂向＂吃好饭＂逐步迈进,这是值得欣喜的事情,但是人们却发现,日子过好了,可精神上却没有之前＂吃饱饭＂时期那么美好。存款多了,住房大了,车开上了,可为此要背上诸多的压力来生活,这是城市人普遍存在的问题。     

Consumer discrimination,duopoly, and black firm entry: The welfare effect of subsidies

Consumer discrimination, to the extent that it lowers expected profit for black owned firms, discourages the entry of new black firms. From a social welfare perspective, consumer discrimination may be welfare reducing, since market output is lower than otherwise. If so, a policy intervention that subsidizes new black firms may improve social welfare. This article presents a simple model of duopoly where consumer discrimination exists with uncertainty, and the only cost of production is a “loss of sales” cost. Given the Nash equilibrium, in which a black and white firm must select a price to charge, conditions are derived for which a profit subsidy to a new black firm increases, decreases, or has no effect on social welfare.     

略论小额贷款公司可持续发展的对策研究——以浙江省小额贷款公司运行情况为视角

作为融资的一种新途径,近些年来小额贷款公司已经在全国各地展开试点工作并且得到了空前的发展,文章从小额贷款公司产生的背景、产生的必然性出发,结合浙江省作为首个开展小额贷款公司试点的省份当前运行情况为分析视角,尝试寻求小额贷款公司可持续发展的对策。