Valuing Mortality Risk in Kuwait: Stated-Preference with a New Consistency Test

We report stated-preference estimates of the value per statistical life (VSL) for Kuwaiti citizens obtained using an innovative test to identify respondents whose survey responses are consistent with economic theory. The consistency test requires that an individual report strictly positive willingness to pay (WTP) for mortality-risk reduction and that his responses to binary-choice valuation questions for two risk reductions be consistent with the theoretical requirement that WTP is less than but close to proportional to the change in risk reduction. Our estimates of VSL, $18–32 million, are approximately two to four times larger than values accepted for the United States. These values may reflect cultural factors as well as the substantially larger disposable income of Kuwaiti citizens.     

On Risk and Uncertainty,and Objective versus Subjective Probability

In this paper, we use the algebra to characterise decision‐makers’ representations of risk and uncertainty. We show that risk can be represented by objective probabilities on one part of the algebra, and that uncertainty can be represented by subjective probabilities on the other part. Decision‐makers are shown to maximise a generalised form of rank‐dependent expected utility. Their occasionally anomalous behaviour is discussed.     

Mind the Gap: Inconsistencies Between Subjective and Objective Financial Risk Tolerance

Investors' financial risk tolerance is crucial in the formulation of suitable financial advice; in the past, assessment efforts relied on multiple approaches and techniques, but their consistency is still an issue. The authors focus on 2 metrics traditionally proposed (self-assessment and portfolio composition) and test their mutual consistency on a sample of 2,374 investors. The approach allows them to discriminate between inconsistencies due to wrong portfolio compositions and those arising from wrong self-assessments. The authors show that low financial literacy, high income, no children, and incautious economic behavior are commonly associated with such inconsistencies.     

参与贫困治理与企业风险水平

政府与市场是建设国家治理体系和实现治理能力现代化的重要主体,理顺二者关系以更好地发挥治理功能成为学者们关注的研究话题.利用中国的贫困治理背景,实证检验上市公司参与精准扶贫对其风险水平的影响.结果显示,上市公司作为市场治理单元参与政府主导的扶贫工作能显著降低其风险水平,且企业声誉的增强是导致上述影响的重要渠道.进一步研究表明,这种风险抑制作用在国有企业、融资约束较低、内部控制质量较差的企业中更加显著.以上结果为政府鼓励、企业参与的协同治理模式的有效性验证提供了经验证据,说明精准扶贫的实施中有为政府与有效市场的联动治理既符合企业自身利益,又有助于扶贫资源配置效率的提升.这对于上市公司总结参与精准扶贫的相关经验以及市场力量参与乡村振兴等国家战略具有重要启示.     

Valuing Provisioning Ecosystem Services in Agriculture: The Impact of Climate Change on Food Production in the United Kingdom

This paper provides an estimate of the contribution of the ecosystem to the provisioning services generated by agriculture. This is achieved by valuing the changes in productivity generated by a marginal alteration in ecosystem inputs. As an example, we consider the variation in rainfall and temperature projected by the recent UK Climate Impacts Programme. The analysis implements a spatially explicit, econometric model of agricultural land use based on the methodology recently developed by Fezzi and Bateman (Am J Agric Econ 93:1168–1188, 2011). Land use area and livestock stocking rates are then employed to calculate farm gross margin estimates of the value of changes in provisioning ecosystem services. Findings suggest that the variation in ecosystem inputs induced by climate change will have substantial influence on agricultural productivity. Interestingly, within the UK context climate change generates mainly positive effects, although losses are forecasted for those southern areas most vulnerable to heat-stress and drought.     

Using Meta-Analysis and GIS for Value Transfer and Scaling Up: Valuing Climate Change Induced Losses of European Wetlands

There is growing policy and academic interest in transferring ecosystem service values from existing valuation studies to other ecosystem sites at a large geographic scale. Despite the evident policy demand for this combined transfer and “scaling up” of values, an approach to value transfer that addresses the challenges inherent in assessing ecosystem changes at a national or regional level is not available. This paper proposes a methodology for scaling up ecosystem service values to estimate the welfare effects of ecosystem change at this larger geographical scale. The methodology is illustrated by applying it to value the impact of climate change on European wetlands for the period 2000–2050. The proposed methodology makes use of meta-analysis to produce a value function. The parameters of the value function include spatial variables on wetland size and abundance, GDP per capita, and population. A geographic information system is used to construct a database of wetland sites in the case study region with information on these spatial variables. Site-specific ecosystem service values are subsequently estimated using the meta-analytic value function. The proposed method is shown to enable the adjustment of transferred values to reflect variation in important spatial variables and to account for changes in the stock of ecosystems.     

我国中小上市公司规模及成长率密度分布研究

文章以82家中小上市公司为实证样本,通过相关统计分析发现,我国中小上市公司标准化规模服从正态分布,且具有相对稳定性;中小上市公司标准化规模逐年递增,而成长率轻微递减,且都具有过原点性;中小上市公司成长率服从拉普拉斯分布;而且中小上市公司的成长性具有较强的行业特色.这些结果表明我国中小上市公司的整体发展比较健康,但要特别注意所出现的衰退迹象.     

Risk Attitudes of Children and Adults: Choices Over Small and Large Probability Gains and Losses

In this paper we examine how risk attitudes change with age. We present participants from age 5 to 64 with choices between simple gambles and the expected value of the gambles. The gambles are over both gains and losses, and vary in the probability of the non-zero payoff. Surprisingly, we find that many participants are risk seeking when faced with high-probability prospects over gains and risk averse when faced with small-probability prospects. Over losses we find the exact opposite. Children's choices are consistent with the underweighting of low-probability events and the overweighting of high-probability ones. This tendency diminishes with age, and on average adults appear to use the objective probability when evaluating risky prospects.     

Size,Non-Performing Loan,Capital and Productivity Change: Evidence From Indian State-Owned Banks

While the relationship between portfolio risk and capital and its interrelationship with operating efficiency has been extensively studied, little work has been forthcoming on the interrelationships among credit risk, capital and productivity change. The paper makes an attempt to examine the same in the Indian context. Using data on state-owned banks (SOBs) for the period 1995–96 through 2000–2001, the paper finds capital, risk and productivity change to be intertwined, with each reinforcing and to a degree, complementing the other. The results imply that inadequately capitalized banks have lower productivity and are subject to a higher degree of regulatory pressure than adequately capitalized ones. Finally, the results lend support, especially for medium-sized banks, to the belief that lowering Government ownership tends to improve productivity.

     

外部风险对中国地方政府规模的影响

本文利用我国28个省市区1978—2006年的数据,分析了我国外部风险对地方政府规模的影响。研究发现,在当前我国更为开放的市场经济中,外部风险导致了地方政府规模的扩大,且外部风险与社会保障和社会福利支出显著正相关。为了抵御外部风险,必须把一部分经济资源配置到政府部门,以增加社会保障和社会福利等方面的支出。     

家族企业董事会规模价值再研究——基于绩效波动与绩效水平的整合分析

本文利用2002～2007年间127家家族上市公司和818家非家族上市公司的数据研究了董事会规模同绩效波动性之间的关系。研究发现,我国家族上市公司中董事会规模的增大有利于减少公司财务业绩的波动;这种负相关关系与由于沟通协调问题所导致的大型董事会较少做出极端决策的观点相吻合;董事会规模影响绩效波动的途径在一定程度上是由于拥有较大规模董事会的公司经营性操控应计的变动较小所致。     

Counting Care Work in Social Policy: Valuing Unpaid Child- and Eldercare in Korea

This study demonstrates the usefulness of quantifying and valuing time spent on unpaid care work and explores the links between social policies, unpaid care work, and gender equality in the context of recent social care reforms in the Republic of Korea. Using information provided by two nationally representative surveys, this article elaborates on the gendered organization of care provision and the total costs of care services for children and the elderly, including unpaid family care, family expenditures on care services, and state support in the form of public expenditures. The study finds that omitting the role of family care services overestimates the state's role in caring for children and elderly adults. A closer look at the impact of long-term care insurance reveals the need for integrated analyses of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the social organization of care, especially in regard to gender equality.     

山东省县域经济发展的时空动态研究

以109个县（市）为基本单元,从经济发展水平、发展活力和发展潜力三方面进行县域经济综合发展水平评价,并应用ESDA等分析法揭示1990-2008年山东省县域经济的时空动态。结果表明：山东经济快速发展,县域经济差异先扩大再缩小,但整体变化幅度较小;城市辖区的发展速度明显快于其它地区,平原区经济发展缓慢;鲁东和鲁中地区的经济发展水平高、提升速度快,经济发展重心向东北部偏移;县市经济发展空间自相关显著,高一高集聚区集中分布在山东半岛,低一低集聚区主要分布在鲁西南黄淮平原区和鲁中南山地丘陵区,东西差异仍是导致山东省内经济差异的主要因素。     

国际联盟中的学习与当地知识保护:改变知识模糊性

中国企业在利用国际战略联盟获取海外先进技术和管理经验时,常常处于学习和保护当地知识的两难境地。改变联盟双方的知识模糊性可以有效平衡这两个目标。通过降低海外伙伴投入到联盟中知识模糊性,降低其转移的难度,促进中国企业学习;同时通过增加中国企业投入到联盟中当地知识的模糊性,增加其转移的难度,减缓海外伙伴的学习速度,从而达到学习和知识保护这看似矛盾的双重目标。     

Valuing environmental and health risk in agriculture: A choice experiment approach to pesticides in Italy

The widespread use of pesticides in agriculture shows a complex ramification of multiple negative externalities, ranging from food safety-related effects to the deterioration of farmland ecosystems. Recent research has demonstrated that the assessment of the economic implications of such negative processes is fraught with many uncertainties. This paper presents the results of an empirical study recently conducted in Northern Italy aimed at estimating the economic value of reducing the wide-ranging impacts of pesticide use, by deploying a Choice Experiment approach. The experimental design provides a meaningful tool to assign monetary values to the negative environmental effects associated with agrochemicals use. In this connection, the paper addresses in particular the reduction of farmland biodiversity, groundwater contamination and harm to human health. The resulting estimates confirm that, on average, respondents demonstrate a substantial willingness-to-pay a premium for agricultural goods (in particular, foodstuffs) produced in environmentally-benign ways.     

Valuing environmental and health risk in agriculture: A choice experiment approach to pesticides in Italy

The widespread use of pesticides in agriculture shows a complex ramification of multiple negative externalities, ranging from food safety-related effects to the deterioration of farmland ecosystems. Recent research has demonstrated that the assessment of the economic implications of such negative processes is fraught with many uncertainties. This paper presents the results of an empirical study recently conducted in Northern Italy aimed at estimating the economic value of reducing the wide-ranging impacts of pesticide use, by deploying a Choice Experiment approach. The experimental design provides a meaningful tool to assign monetary values to the negative environmental effects associated with agrochemicals use. In this connection, the paper addresses in particular the reduction of farmland biodiversity, groundwater contamination and harm to human health. The resulting estimates confirm that, on average, respondents demonstrate a substantial willingness-to-pay a premium for agricultural goods (in particular, foodstuffs) produced in environmentally-benign ways.     

Valuing cultural heritage in developing countries: comparing and pooling contingent valuation and choice modelling estimates

A substantial part of the United Nation’s World Heritage Sites (WHSs) can be found in developing countries, but many of them are in a bad state. Thus, there is a need to document the social benefits of these global goods in order to justify the costs of restoration and preservation programmes (RPPs). This study adds to the scarce literature on economic benefits of WHSs in developing countries, and reduces the need to perform very uncertain benefit transfers from European or US valuation studies. We apply Contingent Valuation (CV) and Choice Modelling (CM) to estimate the social benefits of RPPs for the My Son world cultural heritage site in Vietnam; both to foreign visitors and the local residents. We then compare the estimates from the CV and CM methods, and pool the results from the two methods. The results show that both CV and CM are suited to estimating the economic benefits of preserving cultural heritage of My Son. The two methods produce very similar results, which can be interpreted as a test of convergence validity. The pooling results give evidence to show that the CV and CM models have the same underlying preference structures. Thus, these valuation models can be successfully used in cost-benefit analyses to assess the benefits to cultural heritage of measures to reduce air pollution, soil erosion, climate change and other causes to deterioration of cultural heritage sites.

Satire and Geopolitics: Vulgarity,Ambiguity and the Body Grotesque in South Park

Humour and laughter have become the subject of recent geopolitical scrutiny. Scholars have explored the affirmative and liberatory possibilities of humour, and the affective bodily dimensions of laughter as tools for transformative action in critical geopolitics. Humour that is vulgar and politically ambiguous is yet to be explored as a potent geopolitical avenue of enquiry. Studies of satire have suggested that rather than contesting entrenched geopolitical beliefs, satirical shows can serve to further divide audiences both amenable and antagonistic to the satire in question. I argue that this should not involve a wholesale rejection of satirical shows, as humour that uses irony, subversion, and other discursive techniques is just one way satirical media becomes an effective commentator on political issues. I examine the show South Park and argue its satire combines bodily and scatological humour with more traditional satirical techniques to produce a comedy that ridicules contemporary issues by reducing complex politics to the most basic and crass condition possible. This is defined in a Bakhtinian sense of the body grotesque, a social inversion through reference to the common bodily functions of all human beings.