A Critical Review of the Literature on Nutritional Labeling

A comprehensive overview and critique of the nutrition labeling literature is provided. Studies examining the design and features of label formats and their impact on consumers being better informed and engaging in healthier behaviors are examined to summarize available knowledge in the field. The review suggests that while the extant literature has provided worthwhile critiques of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act in terms of meeting its stated goals, as well as other general insights, it allows only for very tentative and conditional statements about factors related to the “bottom line” effectiveness of nutritional labeling. The outcome of the review suggests that a more holistic view of nutritional labeling is needed. Suggestions for future research that focus on both conceptualizations of the studies as well as methodology are made.     

沪深股市月股价指数变动的方差比检验分析

基于沪深股市自建立以来的月A股价指数序列,采用方差比检验法,对两市A股股价指数是“随机游走”,还是存在“均值回复”的假设进行实证分析。一般性数据分析结果表明沪深两市的A股月收益序列都不是一个白噪声过程;方差比检验的经验结果不能拒绝沪市A股月股价指数随机游走的假设;但拒绝了深市的这一假设;而且随着采样间隔q的增加,两市A股收益的方差比有着不同的变化趋势。     

金融服务外包研究综述

近几年来服务外包是一个热门话题,国内外学者从不同视角进行研究,但对金融服务外包的研究较少。本文回顾了国内外关于金融服务外包方面的研究成果,系统阐述了金融服务外包研究的主要观点和研究方向;并对研究成果从研究主题、研究视角和研究方法等方面进行评价;最后对研究前景进行展望。     

Perspectives on Advertising From the Geographical Literature: A Critical Review

In recent years, geographers have been devoting increasing attention to the field of advertising, and in particular to advertising imagery. The authors of this article offer a critical review of articles with substantial advertising content that have appeared in geography journals, and assess their relevance to advertising practitioners, scholars and students. These writings are reviewed under three headings: considerations of place and space; issues related to gender and race, and aspects of international advertising. Although many geographers are critical of advertising, there is nevertheless much in their work to interest an advertising readership.     

An Exact Test of the Improvement of the Minimum Variance Portfolio

I propose an exact finite sample test of the risk reduction of the global minimum variance (GMV) portfolio. The GMV test statistic is proportional to the reduction in the variance of the GMV portfolio and has a straightforward geometric and portfolio interpretation and complements the celebrated GRS test in Gibbons et al. (1989). In practical applications, the GMV test leads to a rejection of the null hypothesis of no improvement in the GMV portfolio more often than the GRS test rejects the null hypothesis of no improvement in the risk‐return profile of the tangent portfolio. The power of the GMV test increases with the variance reduction of the GMV portfolio. Using test asset returns scaled by predetermined predictive variables is equivalent to increasing the overall number of test assets and leads to substantial power gains.     

Development of the Service Sector: A Critical Survey of Macro-economic Models

The slow-down in the economic growth and the rise in unemployment have revived the discussion about the oppor- tunities for growth through the development of the service sector. This article reviews what models tell us about the mechanism of the development of the service industries. An attempt b made to specify the relative importance of demand and supply aspects of the service economy and to indicate the black holes in our knowledge.     

基于有界协整方法的中国进口需求弹性研究

有界检验是由Pesaran等(2001)新提出的一种协整分析方法,本文利用这一方法对改革开放以来中国进口贸易与其决定因素之间的长期关系和需求弹性进行了分析。结果表明,无论是长期还是短期,中国的进口需求相对于价格缺乏弹性,但相对于收入具有较高的弹性。这一结论具有重要的政策含义:其一,某些国家力图通过促使人民币升值来缓解其贸易赤字的做法是缺乏论据支持的;其二,中国经济的增长是世界经济的积极贡献因素。     

中国的政府支出:基于边界检验的Wagner法则有效性检验

为了估计政府支出与产出之间的长期关系,本文采用中国1978-2008年的时间序列数据检验了Wagner法则,回归分析的结果表明,在1978-2008年期间,中国的经验不支持瓦格纳法则;于是我们采用基于非限制性误差修正模型的边界检验方法进行了检验,结果表明,政府支出与产出在中国不存在长期稳定的关系.     

贸易增长二元边际的演化与检验:一个文献综述

二元边际研究是源于微观经济学的结构性分解方法,将该方法用于国际贸易分析,对贸易流量进行集约边际与扩展边际上的分解,有助于深刻理解贸易变化的内在结构、决定机制、各种影响因素及福利效果,从而可以为现实贸易政策的制定提供依据和指导。文章从理论根源、概念提出与发展、二元边际的决定因素以及二元边际的实证检验四个方面综述代表性文献,指出该领域的研究重点、难点、研究前沿以及不足。     

'Beyond the M-form': Towards a Critical Test of the New Form

This paper critically examines Bartlett and Ghoshal's claim that a radical new organizational form, distinctly different from the M-form both in terms of its structure and psychological underpinnings, may be observed among transnationals. The main theoretical dimensions of the M-form and the 'New Form' are delineated and compared within the context of the discourse between Transaction Costs Economics (TCE) and the Knowledge Based Approach on organizational advantage. Thereafter empirical evidence centred on ABB is extended and re-examined. On the basis of this analysis the thesis of an emergent new form is found to be unsupported. It is thus reasonable to assume that any organizational advantage transnational companies may possess still resides in hierarchical governance as identified by TCE and outlined in its multinational M-form application. To the extent to which it exists, normative social control has a secondary status.     

基于有界检验方法的外商投资与我国就业效应的实证分析

采用自回归分布滞后模型(ARDL)和Pesaran等有界检验(boundtest)方法,对我国外商直接投资(FDI)与就业的长、短期关系进行了协整估计。结果表明,从长期来看,FDI对就业具有一定的负面作用,但在短期内,对就业具有比较明显的扩大作用。从就业的角度看,针对FDI要采取更加审慎的政策,充分考虑其动态影响,趋利避害。     

环境法规对国际贸易的影响:国外研究综述

环境法规对国际贸易的影响综述主要包括以下四个问题:环境法规是否会削弱一国产业的竞争力,环境法规是否会引起污染产业转移到发展中国家,各国不同的环境法规严厉程度是否会引起"生态倾销"以及环境法规与国际贸易之间的协调。文章通过对现有文献的梳理发现:环境法规虽然会对国际贸易的各方面产生负面影响,但是没有得到实证研究的支持。     

消除海外上市的价值差异

面对各种沟通障碍的存在,中国上市公司应该采取更加积极的方式与海外投资者沟通,而不是仅仅依赖传统的财报发布和投资者大会。     

Norm Bounds and A Homographic Approximation for the Wage–Profit Curve

This paper provides lower and upper norm bounds for the wage–profit curve in linear single‐product systems. Thus, it also constructs an algebraically simple (i.e. homographic) and empirically powerful approximation to that curve. The results finally suggest that actual economies tend to behave as ‘corn‐tractor’ systems with respect to the shape of the wage–profit curve and, at the same time, behave as three‐industry systems with respect to the shape of the production price–profit rate curves.     

网络口碑研究述评

消费者之间的口碑传播对消费行为具有强大的影响力,随着互联网的发展,传统口碑出现了网络化趋势,网络口碑成为近年来的研究热点之一。目前的网络口碑研究主要按网络口碑传播的构成要素从口碑传播者、接收者和传播信息3个方面展开。本文针对这3方面主要对网络口碑传播的特征、网络口碑传播者的发送动机、传播意愿,接收者的搜寻动机、网络口碑的说服效果等进行文献梳理,概述了网络口碑的研究现状,同时还分析了未来的研究趋势。     

A Critical Assessment of Libertarian Paternalism

This paper tries to assess to what extent libertarian paternalism lives up to its libertarian credentials, and whether this “softer” version of paternalism is more or less desirable than the traditional, more coercive (but also more transparent) form. Since much is made in the libertarian paternalistic programme of the ease of reversibility of “nudges,” it is argued that the distinction between effective and nominal ability to reverse a nudge is more important than its theoretical ease of reversibility—the more so, if anchoring, framing and status quo bias are as powerful as the libertarian paternalists maintain. If the libertarian paternalistic nudges are effective, but not always transparent, it is argued that this raises some questions (which do not seem to have been adequately addressed in the current literature) about the legitimacy of the interventions; about how the true preferences of the “consumer” can be guessed by the choice architect (and the role played by rationality in this process) and about the effective respect of her autonomy. Finally, this paper highlights some alternatives to “nudging” which place a greater emphasis on the full process of choice—rather than just on its outcomes—and can therefore better preserve true autonomy of choice.     

我国房价与银行信贷关系研究——基于面板数据的边限协整分析

房价在历史上的信贷危机中大都表现出巨大的起伏变化,在本次美国爆发的次贷危机中尤为明显。从理论上来说,房价与银行信贷之间存在多层次的双向因果关系,但目前国内外的相关研究却相对缺乏且结论不一。因此,文章结合相关面板数据分析我国房价与银行信贷间的联动关系,并从货币政策、银行经营及监管等角度探讨维护金融稳定的措施。     

South African Complaint Forums in the Retail Industry: a Survey of Literature and Some Lessons from the EU

South African consumers receiving poor service in the retail industry want to complain, but have limited or no knowledge of the available consumer complaint forums. The consumer complaint forums in the retail industry can generally be divided into those established in terms of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and other complaint forums. Before consumers can decide which forum they want to lodge their complaint with, they first need to identify possible complaint forums and then measure each forum according to certain factors. This study made a unique contribution by identifying possible factors which a consumer can refer to in this regard. In developing these factors, guidance was taken from the EU Consumer ADR Directive and the ODR Regulation. The factors suggested in this study included the following: the cost of and time spent on lodging a complaint, the effective functioning of the complaint forum, transparency in the operation of the complaint forum, the relief that a consumer may obtain from the complaint forum, and the user-friendliness of the complaint process. The National Consumer Tribunal, the National Consumer Commission, the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud, and ordinary civil courts were assessed using the above factors. A limitation of this study was that not all complaint forums could be assessed in terms of these factors, due to the lack of publicly available information. This study found that even though South Africans now have more complaint forums at their disposal, this does not translate into positive outcomes for aggrieved consumers. The strength of these forums lies in the buy-in received from both consumers and retailers. True consumer power arises through collective action after careful investigation, and resolving individual complaints may not result in the change of consumer policy which is actually what is required in the long run.