Euro adoption and Maastricht criteria: Rules or discretion?

In connection with the prospective euro adoption by the new EU members, the issue of how strictly to enforce the Maastricht criteria for joining the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) has been discussed for some time. Arguments have been made in favor of a more flexible interpretation of some Maastricht criteria to take into account the specific conditions of the new member states (NMS). This paper makes a case for a more flexible interpretation of the Maastricht inflation criterion and proposes a different specification. Further, it examines the compatibility of inflation and exchange rate Maastricht targets and argues that under the specific circumstances of euro adoption, and taking into account the way these targets are defined, meeting both of them during a limited period of time should not pose a problem. Finally, the paper argues that both for short-term cyclical and long-term sustainability reasons, the NMS may aim at somewhat more ambitious fiscal targets before euro adoption than required by the Maastricht fiscal criteria.     

从价值创造的角度看我国合理的MBO定价

我国管理层收购中的焦点问题之一是定价的不合理,本文从并购中价值创造的角度出发,综合考虑管理层收购这种收购形式的特殊性,借鉴国外定价的成功经验,指出我国合理的管理层收购定价不应当以每股净资产作为唯一的定价标准,应以投资资本净现金流为衡量价值的标准,综合考虑控制权溢价和流动性折价,并且引入市场竞争机制,真正实现以市场为舞台的双赢。     

新经济政策下我国民营快递企业发展问题研究

具体分析了新经济政策下民营快递企业发展面临的机遇和挑战以及民营企业自身发展中存在的问题,并在此基础上．提出了民营快递企业发展具体策略。希望在一定程度上为民营快递企业发展决策提供依据。     

上市公司高管股权激励动态博弈

运用博弈论基本原理对上市公司高管的股权激励机制进行了分析,探讨了公司产出与高管的努力程度之间的关系,对股东对高管进行股权激励时的股权比例、股票行权价值等变量的选择进行研究,并针对给高管股权激励现状提出建议。     

THE EQUAL ABSOLUTE SACRIFICE PRINCIPLE REVISITED

Abstract.  We summarize the literature on equal absolute sacrifice income taxes, and make some extensions. We adapt the utilitarian equal sacrifice criterion to a wide class of rank-dependent social welfare functions, and find that liabilities depend on both income and position in the distribution. We investigate whether such taxes need be progressive, using a combination of analytics and simulation, and in the process uncover tax functions not previously recognized as equating sacrifices. Finally, out of horizontal equity considerations a new concept of 'the equal treatment of equals' by an income tax emerges, with implications for future work whose significance is discussed.     

Market reaction to equity offer reasons: What information do managers reveal?

Prior studies have had limited success explaining the negative market reaction to common stock announcements using firm and offer specific variables. We employ apiecewise linear model to test the relationship between announcement returns and firm and offer specific variables by specific offer reason as stated by management. We find evidence that managers are signalling the quality of the new investment when issuing equity for the offer-motive capital expenditures; this is support for the announcement of the equity issue being a signal of wasteful investment. We also find that the announcement of equity issues signals overvaluation when the equity offer is for general purposes.     

Indeterminacy problems and the interpretation of factor analysis results

Abstract  This paper reviews indeterminacy problems for the factor analysis model and their consequences for the interpretation of the results. Two types of indeterminacy are discerned: indeterminacy of the parameters in the model (the number of factors, the specific variances and the factorloadings) and the indeterminacy of the factors, given the parameters in the model. It is argued that parameter indeterminacy is partly to be overcome, provided that a strong underlying theory for the subject matter under research is present. Factor indeterminacy remains a major stumbling-block for the interpretation of results. The G uttman criterion is advocated as a measure of factor indeterminacy.     

Determination of expected cost of equity with the CAPM: Theoretical extension using the law of error propagation

The determination of the expected return on equity based on the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) is an internationally recognized method, although the underlying theory is not without criticism and therefore leaves sufficient room for interpretation. Strictly speaking, the expected return on equity cannot be determined per se, as all parameters of the CAPM have to be estimated and contain measurement errors. The statistical measurement errors would have to be included in the calculation of the expected return on equity. The paper discusses the current view on how the expected return on equity is determined in the Germen‐speaking countries and presents an approach to transfer the measurement errors of the parameter risk‐free rate, market risk premium, and company beta to the calculated return on equity using the Gaussian law of error propagation.     

Association,agreement, and equity

The paper attempts to make a clear distinction between three broad families of statistical indices: association, agreement, and what one may call equity. The need for this distinction arises in social research, for example, where reliability (accuracy, reproducibility, and stability) is assessed by measures of association rather than agreement. In this application, the assumptions built into an association measure conflict with the reality that gives rise to reliability data. A second motivation for this distinction is that association measures tend to express chance as the product of two potentially very different frequency distributions, agreement as the product of two identical distributions, and equity ignores such distributions altogether. A third motivation for this distinction is that the probability distribution of such measures does not depend on whether they are linear or non-linear, symmetrical or asymmetrical, or whether they express predictability or the extremality of a frequency distribution, but on their family membership. Notions of association, agreement, and equity have inherently nothing to do with the (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio) ordering in data. The 2-by-2 case is therefore chosen as the basis of the proposed distinction. All statistical indices, whether they are designed to characterise multivariate data or to identify complex orderings, ought to be applicable to this most reduced case of two variables, making one distinction in each. To test a coefficient's membership in one of the three families, nothing more complex is needed.     

浙江省中小企业信息披露质量与股权融资实证分析

中小企业融资难在融资景气指数下降的环境下更显突出。本文以2010年中小企业板块的浙江公司为样本,研究其信息披露质量与股权融资成本间的关系,采用剩余收益模型计算股权融资成本,通过多元回归证明,中小企业信息披露质量对其股权融资成本同样会产生正面影响,基此提出了应对建议。     

How Do Financial Constraints Relate to Financial Reporting Quality? Evidence from Seasoned Equity Offerings

This paper examines how constraints on firms’ financing capacity relate to managers’ discretionary accounting choices. Three hypotheses of earnings management – the opportunism hypothesis, the rational expectations hypothesis, and the signaling hypothesis – predict that constrained firms engage in greater upward earnings management than unconstrained firms when selling equity. Using a sample of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) announced between 1983 and 2014, I find support for this prediction. The relation between financial constraints and earnings management is robust to including controls such as offer size, growth opportunities, analyst following, and chief executive officer equity holdings, as well as to using the instrumental variable approach. Investors’ reaction around and following the SEO announcement supports the rational expectations hypothesis. I find that aggressive earnings management by constrained issuers is associated with lower SEO announcement returns but is not followed by negative abnormal returns in the long run. The evidence suggests that constrained issuers’ aggressive use of income-increasing accruals is an outcome of managerial myopia caused by capital market pressure, not managerial opportunism intended to mislead investors.     

Bias of OLS Estimators due to Exclusion of Relevant Variables and Inclusion of Irrelevant Variables

In this paper, I discuss three issues related to bias of OLS estimators in a general multivariate setting. First, I discuss the bias that arises from omitting relevant variables. I offer a geometric interpretation of such bias and derive sufficient conditions in terms of sign restrictions that allows us to determine the direction of bias. Second, I show that inclusion of some omitted variables will not necessarily reduce the magnitude of bias as long as some others remain omitted. Third, I show that inclusion of irrelevant variables in a model with omitted variables can also have an impact on the bias of OLS estimators. I use a running example of a simple wage regression to illustrate my arguments.     

快递业进入整合重组时代

中国的快递业已进入新一轮的整合重组时代,而这个阶段不仅有行业间的横向整合,更会出现为数众多的跨行业的纵向整合。"腾讯联姻快递,苏宁抹去电器,阿里四处觅寻,德邦转型快件,顺丰启动代收,飞豹兼并飞鸿,万达正谈协作,韵达寻找伙     

权益净利率的财务管理价值

权益净利率反映了净利润与所有者权益之间的关系,是所有财务指标中综合性最强、最具有代表性的指标。它不仅具有可量性、可控性、层次性和统一性,而且具有易操作的特性,因此,该指标可作为企业进行财务活动的目标。权益净利率指标的分解可以为企业进行财务分析、日常控制、业绩评价和预算编制提供思路。本文将探讨权益净利率在这些方面的作用,并期待能引起企业对该指标的关注。     

Minimax-regret treatment choice with missing outcome data

I use the minimax-regret criterion to study choice between two treatments when some outcomes in the study population are unobservable and the distribution of missing data is unknown. I first assume that observable features of the study population are known and derive the treatment rule that minimizes maximum regret over all possible distributions of missing data. When no treatment is dominant, this rule allocates positive fractions of persons to both treatments. I then assume that the data are a random sample of the study population and show that in some instances, treatment rules that estimate certain point-identified population means by sample averages are finite-sample minimax regret.     

Did Mises Err? Was He a Utilitarian?

A bstract .   Walter Block's critique of my paper fails to address the main argument: that Ludwig von Mises's support for laissez faire comes from a comparison of the systems recommended by the ideologies of socialism, interventionism, and liberalism. Mises compares these systems according to the criterion of their capacity to achieve the goal of satisfying material wants. This goal is either explicit or implicit in the arguments made by those who subscribe to the above ideologies. He uses value-free economic reasoning to determine whether the systems recommended by the three ideologies will achieve the goal. In this reply, I reaffirm the argument in the face of Block's critique. In addition, I address two other arguments. The first is the implicit argument in Murray Rothbard and in Block that Mises erred because he failed to take account of all the goals that policy advocates might have in recommending a policy. I argue that he did not err. The second is that Mises is a utilitarian, an argument also advanced by Leland Yeager. I argue not only that Mises was not but also that he repudiated the idea that his support for laissez faire was based on utilitarian welfare principles. The reply also answers some of Block's more specific criticisms of my paper.     

The ethics of corporate governance in public sector organizations

The current climate of increased accountability in public sector organizations has brought to public attention the ethical dimension of corporate governance. This article presents a conceptually informed method for undertaking of an ethically focused audit corporate governance. The conceptual-theoretical terrain is set out in three dimensions: ethics as applied moral philosophy; equity as social justice; and corporate governance as the moral health of an organization. At an operational level, the conceptual model proposed provides a framework to evaluate the overall integrity of an organization and embraces the inter-related themes of individual responsibility, social equity and political responsibility. A method for ethical audits is also set out. It emphasizes the significance of key personnel in (re)producing and challenging the organizational ethos, while recognizing the necessary limitations placed on researchers' commitment to anonymity and confidentiality in the collection, interpretation and analysis of data, and in the eventual sharing of such data.     

New measure of brand equity status of a basketball club

ABSTRACT

“Brand Status” is defined as a measure that examines the equity “health” and “strength” of a brand in each stage of the brand value chain. A six-stage brand value chain model was developed where Stage I highlights the marketing efforts of the brand equity building; Stage II focuses on the customer’s attitudinal mind-set; Stage III describes actual customer behavioral outcomes (such as attachment and commitment); Stage IV refers to the strength of the brand and its relative advantage in the marketplace (such as brand preference, re-purchase, and premium pricing); Stage V reflects the company gains in sales and profits and the last, Stage VI refers to financial value of the brand for shareholders. Analyzing data obtained from 1,330 fans of basketball clubs gave sufficient evidence to propose a “new” model that can be used to estimate the value scores of the brand’s equity status for each of the various stages in the model and provide the brand’s total brand equity status score.     

上市公司股权集中度影响因素实证分析

本文以上市公司数据为样本,采用主成分法、逐步回归、方差分析等多种分析方法对我国上市公司股权集中度影响因素进行了实证分析。结果表明,上市公司股权集中度的主要影响因素为持股主体、行业分布和规模,在此基础上还对我国上市公司的治理提出了建议。     

Information asymmetry and monitoring in equity private placements

This paper systematically examines the factors that determine price discounts and announcement effects of equity private placements conducted by firms in Taiwan from 2002 to 2008. Different with most studies of private placements using available observations as a whole sample, our study separates the whole sample into subsamples by exchange-listed firms and OTC firms. The results for OTC firms corroborate the information hypothesis; the discounts serve as compensation for investor's costs of assessing firms, while abnormal returns reflect the information about firm quality. On the other hand, the empirical results show that some of our findings support an information explanation and some support a monitoring explanation in the case of exchange-listed firms. It seems that there are different motives behind the exchange-listed firms placing equity privately.