The impacts of investor sentiment and price uncertainty on the effects of open-market share repurchase announcements

This study probes into relationship between investor sentiment and cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) of share repurchase announcements, and it treats market return as threshold variable. By threshold regression model, it tries to find the effect of market situations on relation between investor sentiment and CAR. According to empirical result, in share market of Taiwan, investor sentiment can explain CAR. When share market is extremely pessimistic (market return lower than ?16.0053%), relation between investor sentiment and CAR will change to some degree. In addition, relation between price risk of announcement company and CAR will disappear with the extremely pessimistic situation of market.     

Demand effects of the falling wage share in Austria

This paper aims at empirically estimating the demand effects of changes in functional income distribution for Austria. Based on a Post-Kaleckian macro model, this paper estimates the effects of a change in the wage share on the main demand aggregates. The results for the behavioral functions for consumption, investment, prices, exports and imports are compared with the specifications of the WIFO macro model and the IHS macro model. A reduction in the wage share has a restrictive effect on domestic demand as consumption decreases more strongly than investment increases. Because of the strong effects on net exports the overall effects of a decrease in the wage share are expansionary. However the latter effect operates only as far as the fall in the wage share increases competitiveness. As wage shares were also falling in Austria’s main trading partners, the effect seems to have been neutralized.

Energy taxation in Southern Europe: The case of Portugal

We investigate whether or not the imposition of a common EC energy-tax will penalize more the poorer Southern European economies and if this will harm convergence at the EC level. We start by surveying briefly the existing studies and empirical evidence. Then we exploit the results obtained when using the macroeconometric HERMES models to simulate the introduction of an energy-tax. Unfortunately, as we only have HERMES results for one Southern European economy, Portugal, our conclusions are limited. Finally, we investigate convergence in Europe and the effects of energy taxation on convergence. We conclude that energy taxation will harm growth all over the EC, penalizing more one of the less developed countries, Portugal, and having most probably adverse effects on convergence.This paper was prepared for presentation at the Conference Energy Tax in Europe organized jointly by the SEO-University of Amsterdam and the DG XII of the CEC and held in Amsterdam on 13th December 1991. I would like to thank the participants in the Conference and two anonymous referees for helpful comments. Of course, the usual disclaimer applies.     

Resource integration of regional economic development in northwest China

Northwestern area is the most arid and underdeveloped area in China. Lots of researches have been doneto find the approaches to alleviate poverty. But there are some problems, for example, how to invest, how to use capital,and why the utilization rate is ambiguous. Water, capital and human resources are analyzed in this paper to be comparedwith their Utilization rates. As a result, according to the dependences of economic growth on those resources, a newapproach has been selected to organize the integration ways among these resources for economic development innorthwestern China. The efficient ways to develop northwestern China are： firstly, use the wanting resources mosteffectively to make an efficient integration model of multiple resources. For example, enhance the utilization rate of waterto raise the value of other resources. Secondly, invest more in basic factors for economic development to upgrade thecompetitiveness in the western China. For example, invest more in primary education and sustainable development ofbasic natural resources in order to have more power for sustainable development.     

Investing in innovation to enable global competitiveness: The case of Portugal

The concept of leveraged innovation to create wealth within regions, countries and economies is not a new concept. Competitiveness of regions in the increasingly global economy now requires not only that innovation be present within a regional economy, but also that mechanisms exist to effectively transfer those developed innovations from the research laboratory to the marketplace. It is surmised that increased innovation, and the transfer of this innovation, can lead to increased prosperity of regions (Porter). As such, many developing countries around the world are looking at investments in innovation as a means to spur regional economic development and wealth creation while preserving national competitiveness. That said, innovation investment is by no means an exact science. Historically, typical “innovation investments” have been focused on “tangible” capital infrastructure projects such as the establishment of incubators and science parks. While many regions point to the existence of such tangible innovation assets as proof of investment in innovation, it has been discovered that in some cases, an investment in the capacity building of human networks to engage in technology transfer and commercialization related activities can act as a stronger facilitator for the transformation of economies and produce a larger return on investment in innovation for the country. Given not only Portugal's, but other regions throughout the EU-Zone, recent financial and economic woes, it bears examination on whether investing in the innovation and technology transfer knowledge and “know how” of key human networks within a struggling economy is a worthwhile investment for financially struggling countries during the current times of fiscal crisis.     

The dangers of extended, but incomplete, accounting for measures of economic performance in a world of imperfect knowledge

The conventions currently employed by national statistical agencies for income and wealth accounting leave out many things relevant to economic performance and human well-being. This has lead to proposals for, and attempts at, more comprehensive accounting. Fully comprehensive accounting is impossible, and the question addressed in this paper is whether a fuller, but incomplete, accounting is guaranteed to be nearer to the truth than the conventional accounting. The answer to this question is ‘no’. In general, for example, we cannot be sure that ‘genuine saving’ would be more accurately measured by extending the list of assets that it covers. The paper sets out the conditions under which greater accuracy would be assured.     

人民币汇率变动的价格传递效应——基于协整与误差修正模型的实证研究

文章使用协整与误差修正模型研究中国的汇率变动对进口价格的传递效应。研究结果表明人民币汇率变动对国内消费者价格的传递是不完全的,而且传递过程存在时滞。进口价格对人民币汇率变动的弹性远高于消费者价格对汇率变动的弹性。     

Constitutional protection of economic rights: The Swiss and U.S. experience in comparison

This paper analyzes the contribution of the Swiss and the U.S. Constitution to protect economic liberties, and compares the different strategies that both constitutions rely on to achieve this goal. Pertinent provisions in the Swiss Constitution are rather precise but relatively easy to change, whereas the U.S. Constitution is characterized by vaguely formulated constraints that are difficult to amend formally and that are interpreted by the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, the substantial constitutional changes that did occur in both countries seem to have followed strikingly similar patterns: Initially, regional integration through reciprocal market opening within both countries facilitated the constitutional protection of economic liberties. Subsequently, the constitutional protection of economic liberties eroded in both countries, especially against federal legislation, due to changes in the interpretation of the constitution through the courts, or by formal amendment. Lastly, both constitutions were not immune against sudden demands by special interest groups that were being raised during times of crisis or war. I wish to thank Beat Blankart, Ludger Schuknecht and Barry Weingast for helpful comments.     

The effects of fiscal policy on economic activity in Finland

This study analyzes whether fiscal policy decisions have real effects on the economy of Finland, and if they do, what are the strength and durations of the effects. We utilise the Vector Stochastic Process with Dummy Variables (VSPD) method in our empirical work. This approach is a suitable tool to study event-based episodes. Fiscal policy shocks do have an effect on the economic activity of Finland when the time period 1990–2007 is investigated. A positive tax shock (or a policy that increases public sector revenues) seems to have a positive effect on Investment and GDP but the response of private consumption is mixed. Results clearly indicate that increase in Government spending crowds out private sector activity, and the effect takes place sooner than with the Revenue variable in question. This is a clear evidence for the crowding out effect.     

The structure of optimal tariff rates in a large country with market power

We theoretically analyze the optimal tariff problem that arises in a large country with market power. By using a model with more than two traded goods, we derive (1) the condition for optimal import tariff rates to be ranked, and (2) the condition under which the optimum import tariff becomes uniform. These conditions are established in a three-good model and in an N-good model. The results are evaluated on the basis of compensated excess demand elasticity, and hence do not require information on income effects. I would like to thank Tatsuo Hatta, Makoto Okamura, Katsuhiko Suzuki and two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and suggestions.     

The emergence of property rights enforcement in early trade: A behavioral model without reputational effects

The present article focuses on the conditions that allow governments to increase property rights protection because they expect enough income from such action. We develop a behavioral explanation, according to which the answer lies in the growth in the importance, size and wealth of merchant guilds in the medieval era in Western Europe as well as a somewhat surprising effect of volatile price structures. We add to prior research by showing that even uncoordinated embargo pressures among multiple guilds could get medieval rulers to offer high levels of property rights protection.     

The effects of structural change and economic liberalisation on gender wage differentials in South Korea and Taiwan

This paper investigates the sources of divergent trends in genderwage differentials in two important newly industrialised economies(NIEs), South Korean and Taiwan. As these economies have enteredthe 'post-industrial' phase of development, gender wage differentialsin Taiwan's manufacturing sector have widened, while in Koreathey have narrowed. Decomposition analysis is used to broadlyidentify sources of change in gender wage differentials. Multivariateregression analysis is relied on to differentiate the impacton the gender wage gap of (1) macro-levels policies, (2) institutionalfactors, and (3) shifts in labour demand and supply. In additionto the predictable effects of several standard supply-side variables,in Taiwan physical capital mobility is found to have contributedto a wider gender earnings gap. Women's greater concentrationin industries where capital is mobile may explain this result.The effects of capital mobility in Korea appears to differ,which may be due to the dissimilar characters of outward FDIfrom that country.     

Evaluating the effects of area closure for recreational fishing in a coral reef ecosystem: The benefits of an integrated economic and biophysical modeling

This paper presents an integrated agent-based model of recreational fishing behavior within a reef ecosystem as a platform for the evaluation of recreational fishing management strategies. Angler behavior is described using econometrically estimated site choice models, with site choice among anglers driven by site attributes and angler characteristics. The biophysical model represents the marine reef environment as a system with different trophic levels identifying algal and coral growth as well as two types of fish (piscivores and herbivores). Ecosystem dynamics are driven by interactions within the trophic levels and interaction between fish populations and fishing activities.The model is used to simulate recreational fishing activities and their interactions with the environment. Recreational fishing sites from the Ningaloo Marine Park, an iconic coral reef system in Western Australia, are used as a case study. A set of management strategies, including “business-as-usual” and different site closure durations, are assessed for two different levels of fishing pressures. The results show that not only the effectiveness but also the distribution of management impacts across space and over time can be very different from what one would expect without the benefit of integrated modeling.