Test of the J-curve for the DR-CAFTA countries and policy implications

There is evidence of a J-curve for the Dominican Republic and lack of support for a J-curve for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. The trade balance responds to real depreciation positively for Costa Rica and El Salvador, negatively in the short run and positively in the long run for the Dominican Republic, negatively for Guatemala, and positively in the short run and negatively in the long run for Honduras. In response to real depreciation, the trade balance between the Dominican Republic and the U.S. adjusts from a negative to positive value very slowly.     

The Value of Housing Characteristics: A Meta Analysis

This paper provides a meta regression analysis of the nine housing characteristics that are appear most often in hedonic pricing models for single-family housing: square footage, lot size, age, bedrooms, bathrooms, garage, swimming pool, fireplace, and air conditioning. Meta regression analysis is useful for comparing the estimated regression coefficients from different studies. The goal in this study is to determine if the estimated coefficients vary by geographical location, time, type of data, and model specification. The results show that the estimated coefficients for some characteristics vary significantly by geographical location. These include square footage, lot size, age, bathrooms, swimming pool, and air conditioning. Controlling for time shows that the effects of these housing characteristics on house price have not changed over time. Controlling for type of data produces differences in coefficients for bathrooms. Controlling for wealth as measured by median household income has no significant impact on the coefficients for the housing characteristics. If the study controlled for square footage, the coefficients for lot size decrease. Controlling for the size of the hedonic model affects the coefficient for square footage.     

企业社会责任研究

企业社会责任是构建企业与社会和谐关系的基本思想,然而我国企业在履行社会责任方面还存在一些问题,人们对企业社会责任的认识还存在误区,企业没有树立正确的生产经营意识和经营理念,企业在建立企业社会责任体制方面不够健全,政府和企业社会责任划分不清,因此企业要转变观念以提高承担社会责任的意识,政府要加强法制建设,抓紧研究制定企业社会责任的法律法规,强化政策导向,形成企业社会责任的激励机制。     

The Empirical Distribution of UK and US Stock Returns

There is now substantial evidence that daily equity returns are not normally distributed but instead display significant leptokurtosis and, in many cases, skewness. Considerable effort has been made in order to capture these empirical characteristics using a range of ad hoc statistical distributions. In this paper, we investigate the distribution of daily, weekly and monthly equity returns in the UK and US using two very flexible families of distributions that have been recently introduced: the exponential generalised beta (EGB) and the skewed generalised- t (SGT). These distributions permit very diverse levels of skewness and kurtosis and, between them, nest many of the distributions previously considered in the literature. Both the EGB and the SGT provide a very substantial improvement over the normal distribution in both markets. Moreover, for daily returns, we strongly reject the restrictions on the EGB and SGT implied by most of the distributions that are commonly used for modelling equity returns, including the student- t , the power exponential and the logistic distributions. Instead, our preferred distributions for daily returns are the generalised- t for the US and the skewed- t for the UK, both of which are members of the SGT family. For weekly returns, our preferred distributions are the student- t for the UK and the skewed- t for the US, while for monthly returns, our preferred distributions are the EBR12 for the UK and the logistic for the US. We consider the implications of our findings for the implementation of value-at-risk, a risk management methodology that rests heavily on the distributional characteristics of returns.     

The demand for eurozone stocks and bonds in a time-varying asset allocation framework

This paper analyzes the short and long-run demand for traditional financial asset classes in eleven founding eurozone members. Our sample period starts from the introduction of euro till 2017. We calculate the welfare losses stemming from ignoring the demand for domestic and eurozone equities and bonds, for various levels of risk aversion. Our results show that the bonds of eurozone countries are, in general, desirable for short-run only. However, in Ireland, Portugal and Spain the bonds are desirable for both short-run and long-run investment horizons. Stocks exhibit both short-run and long-run desirability for all countries except Greece. The Greek stocks are desirable for short- run only.     

Accounting for Accountability and Management in NPOs. A Comparative Study of Four Countries: Canada, the United Kingdom, the USA and Spain

Financial and non–financial information are developing issues in the NPO field. Countries such as Canada, the UK, the USA and Spain have recently updated their accounting systems for NPOs through the implementation of full accrual basis to enhance their accountability and the usefulness of accounting information for decision–making purposes. The information provided by accrual accounting will be incomplete until performance indicators are developed. The performance indicators are essential for making budgets, for planning and forecasting, for evaluating the financial needs, for carrying out benchmarking with other NPOs or governmental entities, and for explaining the welfare activities realised to donors.     

Modeling Sovereign Yield Spreads: A Case Study of Russian Debt

We construct a model for pricing sovereign debt that accounts for the risks of both default and restructuring, and allows for compensation for illiquidity. Using a new and relatively efficient method, we estimate the model using Russian dollar-denominated bonds. We consider the determinants of the Russian yield spread, the yield differential across different Russian bonds, and the implications for market integration, relative liquidity, relative expected recovery rates, and implied expectations of different default scenarios.     

浙江省残疾人托养照料模式：评估、比较与展望

残疾人托养照料是社会保障和社会工作的重要内容。在全国大力推进残疾人社会托养照料起步阶段,浙江省探索走出了残疾人托养照料模式,在回顾这一模式形成与实施的基础上,开展了浙江省残疾人托养照料模式评估,对浙江与上海、北京、江苏、福建、广州等地残疾人托养照料模式进行比较,最后从对策建议的角度提出了展望。     

How to deal with dissent among experts. Risk evaluation of EMF in a scientific dialogue

This article describes the results of a scientific discourse which aimed at exploring the reasons for differences in expert health risk assessment of radio frequency electromagnetic fields of mobile telephony.

It starts with describing the structure of the discourse. Then, the reasons for the conflicting risk assessments are discussed. Differences are due to the selection and evaluation of relevant scientific studies by applying different scientific quality standards, to the methods used for generating a research synthesis and an overall risk evaluation. Consensus could be achieved regarding the selection of and the quality requirements for the scientific studies used for risk assessment as well as their significance for risk evaluation. However, dissent remained about the synthesis of scientific evidence into an overall risk evaluation and about the relevance of the precautionary principle for risk evaluation and its implications for the risk assessment framework.

Based on the analysis of these problems, a transparent, consistent and rational procedure for risk assessment is suggested to facilitate a risk characterization which better meets the demands of policy making and the public for an appropriate risk evaluation.     

Academic Dishonesty: An Exploratory Study Examining Whether Insurance Students Are Different From Other College Students

This exploratory study compares academic dishonesty scores for insurance students in one insurance program to those for other college students using survey data from business and nonbusiness students at two universities. Academic dishonesty was measured using a modified version of a scale developed by McCabe and Trevino , with a higher score indicating greater academic dishonesty. The average score on total academic dishonesty was significantly higher for insurance students than for other business students and lower, but not significantly so, than the scores for nonbusiness students. Regression analysis indicates that a significant predictor of academic dishonesty for both insurance students and other business students is the perceived relevance of the work to the student's major coursework. There were some differences, however, in the other significant predictors for insurance students versus other business students. Specifically, year in school was significant only for insurance majors, while membership in a Greek social organization and a belief that there was a low risk of getting caught were significant only for other business majors. Furthermore, the significant predictors of academic dishonesty were different for insurance students and nonbusiness students. Overall, the results indicate that insurance students are more likely to engage in academically dishonest behavior than other business students, and the motivation for academic dishonesty differs for insurance students and other students (both nonbusiness and other business). This suggests a need for insurance educators to address academic dishonesty using an approach that is somewhat different than that used for other students.     

Equity financing capacity and stock returns: Evidence from China

We examine the relation between the capacity for financing through rights and seasoned public offers of equity and subsequent stock returns in China. The results show that the capacity for rights and public offers is reliably negatively related with future returns for firms that met regulatory criteria. Further, the capacity for rights offers is strongly negatively related with returns for firms that met the criteria and applied for approval, and for firms that issued equity after meeting the criteria and obtaining approval. Thus, there is clear evidence of a negative relation between equity financing capacity and stock returns in China.     

公务员养老金制度并轨改革的设计思路与精算评估

我国公务员与企业职工的退休待遇存在巨大差距,养老保险制度的公平性备受质疑,由制度差异带来的阻碍人才流动等弊端日益凸显,已成为近年来社会关注的焦点问题,本文在分析公务员的职业特点及其养老保障特殊性的基础上,借鉴国际经验,并基于融入全国统一的养老金体系和保护公务员既得权益的考虑,给出了公务员养老金改革应采取“基本养老金＋职业年金”的设计思路和具体方案,测算分析了改革方案对个人和财政支出的影响以及在实施上的可行性。     

公私合作制在我国电信融资中的应用研究

多元化融资渠道,吸引更多的民间资本参加电信建设,是提高我国电信融资的一种有效方式。本文将在分析电信基础设施特征、政策环境、实践经验和电信融资需求的基础上提出公私合作制（PPP）在我国电信融资中的应用思路,完善法律法规,选择合适的PPP类型,并通过设计合理的定价机制和风险分担机制来推进PPP模式在我国电信融资中的应用。     

SECURITY RETURN DISTRIBUTIONS AND MARKET STRUCTURE: EVIDENCE FROM THE NYSE/AMEX AND THE NASDAQ MARKETS

This paper documents significant and persistent deviations from normality in security return distributions for the NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ from 1974 to 1988. Controlling for January and size effects, we find that the deviations of security return distributions from normality decline with increasing portfolio size and investment horizon for the NYSE and AMEX, especially for daily returns. Deviations appear to be greater for the NASDAQ than for the two exchanges even for firms of the same size. Ratios of monthly to daily variances are also larger for the NASDAQ. These results suggest that nonparametric or other robust statistical techniques should be used when valuing equity options and other derivatives, especially when examining NASDAQ security returns. They further imply that trading strategies based on market inefficiencies are more likely to succeed on the NASDAQ.     

中国城镇居民医疗保险和新型农村合作医疗衔接路径探讨——基于湖北省武汉市的实证分析

中国城镇职工医疗保险、新型农村合作医疗和城镇居民医疗保险的建立标志着全民医保体系的确立,但是基本医疗卫生服务仍然表现出明显的城乡二元化特征。湖北省武汉市作为中部经济发展水平较高的大城市,在城市化和人口流动加快的背景下,迫切需要实现城乡医疗卫生资源的整合和基本医疗保险制度的衔接。首先实现城镇居民医疗保险和新农合衔接,进而探索城乡居民医疗保险和城镇职工医疗保险衔接,分两步走实现城乡三大医疗保险制度衔接。     

The marginal cost of public funds is one at the optimal tax system

This paper develops a Mirrlees framework with skill and preference heterogeneity to analyze optimal linear and nonlinear redistributive taxes, optimal provision of public goods, and the marginal cost of public funds (MCF). It is shown that the MCF equals one at the optimal tax system, for both lump-sum and distortionary taxes, for linear and nonlinear taxes, and for both income and consumption taxes. By allowing for redistributional concerns, the marginal excess burden of distortionary taxes is shown to be equal to the marginal distributional gain at the optimal tax system. Consequently, the modified Samuelson rule should not be corrected for the marginal cost of public funds. Outside the optimum, the marginal cost of public funds for distortionary taxes can be either smaller or larger than one. The findings of this paper have potentially important implications for applied tax policy and social cost–benefit analysis.     

Covariance of discounted compound renewal sums with a stochastic interest rate

Formulas have been obtained for the moments of the discounted aggregate claims process, for a constant instantaneous interest rate, and for a claims number process that is an ordinary or a delayed renewal process. In this paper, we present explicit formulas on the first two moments and the joint moment of this risk process, for a non-trivial extension to a stochastic instantaneous interest rate. Examples are given for Erlang claims number processes, and for the Ho–Lee–Merton and the Vasicek interest rate models.     

Private Rentenversicherung, Besteuerung und adverse Selektion

Adverse selection is commonly regarded as an important explanation for the limited size of voluntary annuity markets. Annuitants tend to be longer-lived than the population at large, thus making annuities too expensive for average individuals. Because German tax law discrimates between annuities and other forms of investment, privileged taxation of annuities might compensate for the cost of adverse selection. A major change in the taxation of annuities has been passed recently: From 2005 on, premium payments for deferred life annuities will be tax-deductible and annuities paid out will be fully taxable, if the annuitant cannot opt for an endowment. Premiums for other contracts are not tax-deductible and annuities are partly taxable. Unlike today, endowment payments won’t be tax free, anymore. We evaluate the cost of theoretical, fairly priced contracts for annuitants and non-annuitants using the money’s worth ratio. Therefore, the money’s worth concept is extended to the case of deferred annuities. Our calculations suggest that, under current legislation, average individuals have no incentive to annuitize. In contrast, under new legislation, the tax advantage of the deferred annuity without endowment option more than compensates for the cost of adverse selection. Single premium annuities will remain too expensive for average men, but may become advantageous for average women in some cases.     

McClelland's trichotomy of needs theory and the job satisfaction and work performance of CPA firm professionals

This paper examines the ability of McClelland's trichotomy of needs theory (need for affiliation, need for power, need for achievement) to provide a conceptual explanation of the job satisfaction and work performance of CPA firm professionals. Seventy-seven of the 89 professionals at an office of a large international CPA firm participated in the study. For partners and managers, need for affiliation correlated negatively with job satisfaction. For partners and managers, junior-level audit/tax specialists and junior-level management consultants, need for power correlated positively with job satisfaction. Job satisfaction correlated positively with the intent to remain with their current firm for all three categories. Need for achievement correlated positively with hours devoted to work for junior-level audit/tax specialists, and with the firm's work performance ratings for partners and managers and junior-level audit/tax specialists. The results suggest that McClelland's theory, which has not been previously applied to examine job satisfaction, might provide a conceptual explanation of why some individuals experience relatively high job satisfaction in an environment where their contemporaries experience relatively low job satisfaction.     

政策法规

外汇局等三部门宣布改革货物贸易外汇管理制度 日前,国家外汇管理局、国家税务总局、海关总署联合发布公告．决定改革货物贸易外汇管理制度．优化升级出口收汇与出口退税信息共享机制,并自2011年12月1日起,在江苏、山东、湖北、浙江（不含宁波）、福建（不含厦门）、大连、青岛等省（市）进行试点。