Social identity,inequality, and conflict: correction and extension

This paper corrects and extends the analysis in Social Identity, Inequality, and Conflict by James Robinson (Economics of Governance, 2(1), 2001). For conflict along class lines, Robinson finds the total impact of mobility on conflict to be ambiguous. Contrary to his result, I show that, under his assumptions, the effect of social mobility on class conflict is unambiguous. Higher mobility always decreases conflict. In my extension to Robinsons model, I explore mobilitys impact on class conflict in a society where the tax rate is not fixed. I demonstrate that if the tax rate is proportional to the population of the group in power relative to the total population of the society, then the effects of social mobility on class conflict are indeed ambiguous.Submitted: February 2002, Accepted: July 2003,I am grateful to an anonymous referee and Amihai Glazer for their comments. I would also like to thank Herschel Grossman for his help along the way.     

Internal and external restructuring over the cycle: a firm-based analysis of gross flows and productivity growth in Portugal

This paper discusses the role played by internal restructuring vis-à-vis external restructuring in industry productivity growth, arguing that the contribution of these two components is expected to be sensitive to the economic cycle. The study describes gross flows (job and output) over a period of one decade, and analyses the productivity differential among continuing, entering and exiting firms in the Portuguese manufacturing sector. The results of the decomposition of industry productivity growth suggest that the share of external restructuring is stronger in recession, while internal restructuring seems to be predominant in expansion. The strong and positive contribution of the net entry effect, in 1991–1994, was not followed by any between and cross effects of equivalent magnitude in the 1994–1997 sub-period. The within effect is, as expected, stronger when output growth is at its peak, but in no case large enough to turn productivity growth procyclical.

Consumption, house prices, and collateral constraints: a structural econometric analysis

If borrowing capacity of indebted households is tied to the value of their home, house prices should enter a correctly specified aggregate Euler equation for consumption. I develop a simple two-agent, dynamic general equilibrium model in which home (collateral) values affect debt capacity and consumption possibilities for a fraction of the households. I then derive and estimate an aggregate consumption Euler equation, and estimate its structural parameters. The results provide robust support for housing prices as a driving force of consumption fluctuations.     

所有制特征、人力资源战略与企业绩效:战略柔性的视角

随着环境动态性增强,传统以“匹配性”为中心的战略人力资源(SHRM)框架必须让位于以“柔性”为中心的新框架,以战略柔性为基准能够对人力资源战略和企业绩效的关系进行新解释。论文按照内部化和外部化程度将企业人力资源战略分为内部型、市场型、联盟型和模糊型四种。本文以114家制造业企业为样本,通过实证研究表明,企业所有制特征对人力资源战略选择具有显著影响,并且联盟型绩效最高,模糊型绩效最低。     

所有权性质、盈利能力与商业信用的提供——基于再分配理论的实证研究

商业信用是企业最重要的短期外部融资来源之一,对于无法获得银行贷款的企业更是其最重要的外部融资渠道。文章通过对我国A股制造业上市公司的实证研究,发现在控制了规模、成立时间、行业竞争性等因素后,银行短期借款越多的公司提供了更多的商业信用,支持了商业信用的"再分配"观。研究结论还表明,利用银行信用提供商业信用再分配的现象只在非国有上市公司中存在,盈利状况较差的非国有上市公司在银行信用的基础上提供了更多的商业信用。     

在职消费、股权制衡及其经济后果——来自中国上市公司的经验证据

实证检验了股权制衡对上市公司高级管理人员在职消费的影响作用。研究发现:第一大股东持股比例越大,对高级管理人员在职消费的抑制作用越为明显;上市公司股权越为制衡,高级管理人员的在职消费越高。同时发现股权制衡度高的上市公司,其在职消费的激励效率较低。     

The costs of suboptimal dynamic asset allocation: General results and applications to interest rate risk, stock volatility risk, and growth/value tilts

The recent theoretical asset allocation literature has derived optimal dynamic investment strategies in various advanced models of asset returns. But how sensitive is investor welfare to deviations from the theoretically optimal strategy? Will unsophisticated investors do almost as well as sophisticated investors? This paper develops a general theoretical framework for answering such questions and applies it to three specific models of interest rate risk, stochastic stock volatility, and mean reversion and growth/value tilts of stock portfolios. Among other things, we find that growth/value tilts are highly valuable, but the hedging of time-varying stock risk premia is less important.     

Nationality,social network and psychological well-being: expatriates in China

Expatriate social networks constitute an under-emphasized area in expatriate literature. The current study contributes to the expatriate adjustment literature by empirically testing the relationship between expatriate personal networks and psychological well-being. The current study also investigates the hypothesis that expatriates from different cultural backgrounds will establish different social networks and adjust differently in China. A survey of 166 expatriates in China from North America, Europe and other countries in Asia showed significant support for the hypothesis that expatriate network characteristics have a direct and significant influence on expatriate psychological well-being. In addition, as predicted, expatriates in China from different cultural backgrounds (Overseas Chinese, other Asian, North American and European) established personal networks with different characteristics.     

Bridging the barriers: knowledge connections,productivity and capital accumulation

The paper contributes to the explanation of the large differences in cross-country productivity performance by modelling and testing the effects of social barriers to communication on productivity and capital accumulation. In an optimal growth model, social barriers to communication, which impede the formation of knowledge connections, are shown to reduce both transitory and steady-state levels of total factor productivity (TFP), per capita consumption and reproducible capital. Empirical testing yields a robust and theoretically consistent result: linguistic barriers to communication reduce productivity and capital accumulation. The findings provide an explanation for cross-country differences in TFP, and fresh insights into how productivity ‘catch up’ may be initiated.

Growth,Agglomeration and Convergence: a Space-time Analysis for European Regions

Abstract

This paper sheds empirical light on the relationship between agglomeration and economic growth and its impact on the convergence hypothesis. Using a sample of 208 European regions over 25 years, ‘standard’ growth regressions are estimated using panel data techniques. Both the effect of agglomeration within one's own region and the interregional aspect of agglomeration are looked at. The estimation results show that, on average, denser regions grow slower than other regions, indicating a net negative effect of agglomeration. However, being located close to other growing regions is found to stimulate growth in one's own region. The implied convergence rate is also affected when the inter- and intraregional aspects of agglomeration are taken into account, where the former (latter) results in lower (slightly higher) convergence estimates.     

Soft budget constraints and strategic interactions in subnational borrowing: Evidence from the German States, 1975-2005

Cooperative federations are usually characterized by the existence of bailout guarantees and intergovernmental transfer schemes. This paper explores whether such features of cooperative federations lead to subnational soft budget constraints using panel data from the German States covering the 1975-2005 period. The methodology is based on the premise that subnational governments’ borrowing will exhibit vertical and horizontal strategic interactions if they operate under soft budget constraints. Therefore, a test for strategic interactions in subnational borrowing can be used to infer whether a cooperative federation like Germany is susceptible to soft budget constraints. The results suggest that state borrowing in Germany exhibited horizontal but not vertical interactions during the time-frame of the analysis. This indicates (i) that German States faced soft budget constraints and (ii) that they were more concerned about the likelihood of a bailout than about its volume.     

Financial Markets, Development and Economic Growth: Tales of Informational Asymmetries

Abstract.  The development of financial systems is very often characterised by the development of innovative financial contracts which allow a more efficient allocation of resources and a higher level of capital productivity and economic growth. By exploiting the microeconomic theory of the optimal financial contract under asymmetric information, economists have recently managed to shed new light on the well studied issue of the relationship between financial market development and economic growth. This paper reviews the most recent progress of this literature which shows that the amount of information asymmetry in the credit market and the degree of heterogeneity between borrowers (typically firms) and lenders (typically workers or savers) determine the nature of the financial system. Differences in endowments and in the level of information distribution can give rise to very different financial contracts which affect, and in turn are affected, by capital accumulation and growth.     

增长、创值、防险: 现金流战略管理三维世界

文章就现代企业发展过程中至关重要的增长、创值、风险防范与现代企业战略现金流管理间的关系进行深入探索。现代企业应关注战略现金流的匹配,防范现金流断流的风险,引入新的投资选择理念,方能持续创造价值。     

公司成长性、审计质量与会计稳健性——来自中国上市公司的经验证据

以2007-2012年中国A股上市公司为样本,从会计稳健性的视角检验审计质量和公司成长性对公司财务报告行为的综合影响。研究发现,公司成长性对会计稳健性具有显著的负向影响,但高质量审计能够削弱这一影响。研究结果表明,尽管高成长性公司具有更为激进的财务报告行为,但是高质量审计能够有效抑制公司的这一行为,从而提高公司财务报告质量。     

Productivity,Technology and Economic Growth: What is the Relationship?

The relationship between productivity, technology and economic growth has been debated extensively in the endogenous growth, growth accounting, New Economy and policy literature. This paper briefly surveys the literature on total factor productivity (TFP) calculations – the various techniques and problems associated with it. We argue that TFP is not a measure of technological change and only under ideal conditions does it measure the supernormal profits associated with technological change. The critical driving force of economic growth is not the super normal profits that technological change generates but rather the continuous creation of opportunities for further technological development. Six illustrations of when TFP fails to correctly measure these super normal profits are provided. A version Carlaw and Lipsey's (2003b) model of endogenous general purpose technology‐ driven growth is then utilized to make some progress toward answering Prescott's (1998) call for a theory of TFP. The model is used to simulate artificial data and connect theoretical assumptions of returns to scale and resource costs to the conditions under which TFP miss‐measures the actual growth of technological knowledge.     

Individual, organizational and environmental determinants of new firm employment growth: evidence from Latin America

New ventures are increasingly playing an important role in Latin American economies. However, little is known about the determinants of new firm growth in this context. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the factors influencing new firm growth in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Individual, organizational and environmental factors are included in an empirical model, which is tested using data collected by face-to-face interviews with 582 entrepreneurs. Different specifications of employment growth and regression approaches are employed. Results suggest that growth strongly depends on the characteristics of the entrepreneur. National environment and firm-related factors are also important factors in determining growth.

金融发展、经济增长及政府职能——文献综述和基于中国经济的分析

简要回顾了改革开放以来中国金融发展历程;介绍了两种经济增长理论,即平衡增长理论和非均衡增长理论;阐述了金融发展与经济增长的关系;并对政府作用的三种理论:亲善市场理论、国家推动发展论,市场增进论进行了探讨与分析;最后提出了政策建议。通过对经济增长模式、金融发展的衡量指标,以及传统的政府职能理论方面的分析,为中国转型阶段的政府职能导向提出一些初步的见解。     

金融发展、FDI技术溢出与中国经济增长——基于省际面板数据的实证分析

基于1990年-2008年中国省际面板数据,就金融发展水平决定的FDI溢出效应对中国经济增长影响的实证研究表明,样本期内FDI通过其资本积累效应,对中国经济增长产生了显著的促进作用,且这一作用有随时间而强化的趋势;金融发展具有放大FDI技术溢出效应的作用,并由此对中国经济增长产生正面影响,但目前来看这一影响还比较小;"金融抑制"现象依然存在并对中国经济增长产生了不利影响,但在经历了多年的金融体制改革之后,"金融抑制"现象已有所减轻,其对经济增长的负面影响趋于减弱。     

European Technology,Trade and Income Changes for 1975–85: An Intercountry Input–Output Decomposition

This paper refines, develops and applies input–output (IO) decomposition analysis: by providing it with a unique intercountry perspective, by concentrating on explaining income growth, and by systematically separating the effects of trade structure changes from the effects of technology and preference changes. The resulting matrix formula distinguishes six components and is applied to a set of European Community (EC) intercountry IO tables for 1975 and 1985 with 25 sectors and eight EC countries. Because GDP growth is analyzed in nominal terms, macro-economic demand growth is found to be the most important component. The other five components relate to the effects of coefficient changes. Their sizes are smaller, but significant and widely different between sectors and countries, which shows that there is clear potential for effective sector policies.