Clustering and visualization of earthquake data in a grid environment

We present a web client-server service WEB-IS, which we have developed for remote analysis and visualization of seismic data consisting of both small magnitude events and large earthquakes. We show that the problem-solving environment (PSE) intended for prediction of large magnitude earthquakes can be based on this WEB-IS idea. The clustering schemes, feature generation, feature extraction techniques and rendering algorithms form a computational framework of this environment. On the other hand, easy and fast access both to the seismic data distributed among distant computing resources and to computational and visualization resources can be realized in a GRID framework. We discuss the usefulness of NaradaBrokering (iNtegrated Asynchronous Real-time Adaptive Distributed Architecture) as a middleware, allowing for flexibility and high throughput for remote visualization of geophysical data. The WEB-IS functionality was tested both on synthetic and the actual earthquake catalogs. We consider the application of similar methodology for tsunami alerts.     

The social cost problem,rights, and the (non)empty core

We revisit the “Coase theorem” through the lens of a cooperative game model which takes into account the assignment of rights among agents involved in a problem of social cost. We consider the case where one polluter interacts with many potential victims. Given an assignment or a mapping of rights, we represent a social cost problem by a cooperative game. A solution consists in a payoff vector. We introduce three properties for a mapping of rights. First, core compatibility indicates that the core of the associated cooperative games is nonempty. Second, Kaldor‐Hicks core compatibility indicates that there is a payoff vector in the core where victims are fully compensated for the damage once the negotiations are completed. Third, no veto power for a victim says that no victim has the power to veto an agreement signed by the rest of the society. We then demonstrate two main results. First, core compatibility is satisfied if and only if the rights are assigned either to the polluter or to the entire set of victims. Second, there is no mapping of rights satisfying Kaldor‐Hicks core compatibility and no veto power for a victim.     

Board independence and operating performance: analysis on (French) company and individual data

This article studies the relationship between board independence and firm operating performance in French listed companies. We take advantage of an original database, with a time-series dimension that can be used to mitigate heterogeneity and dynamic endogeneity issues. In addition, this database can be disaggregated at the individual (director) level. This design enables us to introduce firm fixed effects and individual fixed effects in firm performance equations, thereby controlling for heterogeneity at the firm and individual levels. Our main result is to document a significant negative relationship between independence and accounting performance. This result suggests that, in the French context, the costs of independence (i.e. the informational gap supported by independent directors compared to insiders and affiliated directors) outweigh the benefits of independence (i.e. the reduction in agency costs).     

经济增长、产业结构与农村劳动力转移——基于中国1978-2004年数据的实证分析

基于岭回归的模型和实证分析创新性地表明:1978年以来我国总体经济增长对农村劳动力转移有较大的促进作用.农业经济增长和农村改革为我国的农村劳动力转移创造了条件,而城市服务业则是我国农村劳动力转移的主要去向,正规工业部门和建筑业的发展虽然对我国农村劳动力转移有促进作用,但相对较弱.进一步发展农业经济,使得更多的劳动力从农村解放出来;大力发展第三产业,使得第三产业能够吸收更多的劳动力,是解决我国农村剩余劳动力的战略选择.     

An empirical analysis of night-time light data based on the gravity model

This article aims to explore the feasibility of applying night-time light data to the study of trade. Based on 61 countries’ panel data from 1995 to 2012, this research used night-time light data, as the substitute for GDP, to study trade development based on the traditional gravity model. The method of ordinary least squares, Poisson pseudo-maximum-likelihood and two-stage least squares were used. The results show that geographical distance, country borders and regional agreements have a significant effect on China’s trade with other Belt and Road countries, which verifies the validity of trade research based on night-time light data analysis. Additionally, comparisons reveal the trade trends predicted by night-time light data from 1996 to 2012, were highly consistent with the actual data. This article stands as the first study to apply night-time light data to the gravity model in the research on trade between China and other Belt and Road countries. Breaking new ground, this research uses night-time light data as an economic indicator to study trade, in combination with micro foundations and the latest findings of the gravity model. Thus, this article deepens the understanding of trade analysis and contributing to the field of related researches.     

我国各省区创业环境综合评价-基于因子分析方法

创业目前成了较为时髦的词汇之一,一方面日益加剧的就业压力迫使人们开始思考创业.另一方面创业的成功也激发越来越多的人去关注创业.本文基于区域经济中的综合竞争力评价理论,设计了一套指标对我国各省区的创业环境进行评价,采用的方法是因子分析法,结果表明我国各省份按照目前的创业环境划分可以分为六类,其中上海和北京处于第一层级.对此结果本文进行了简单的分析,并给出了一些建议.     

Empirical research on monetary policy,asset prices and inflation: an analysis based on provincial panel data in China

In this article, we investigate the dynamic correlations among monetary policy, asset prices and inflation and assess the regional effects of monetary policy in China for the period October 2007 to July 2013. We focus on the interdependencies among monetary policy and asset price fluctuations by using the Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate as the preferred variable for analysing monetary policy movement. In particular, we apply a vector autoregressive model in a panel setting, which allows researchers to examine variations over time or across individual regions. The empirical results presented herein indicate that monetary policy reacts actively to asset prices, although it is still shown to be ineffective. In addition, we find that asset prices display some regional differences in their response to an unexpected monetary policy shock.     

Wage,foreign-owned firms,and productivity spillovers via labour turnover: a non-linear analysis based on Chinese firm-level data

Using firm-level panel data from Chinese manufacturing firms over the period 2004–2007, this article investigates the impact of the wage gap between local and foreign-owned firms on foreign direct investment (FDI) spillovers in terms of total factor productivity (TFP). We find a non-linear threshold effect that: a low-level wage gap threshold exists, below which FDI spillovers are significantly negative. This is because FDI spillovers via labour turnover are blocked due to the low wages of local firms, which jeopardizes the flow of skilled workers from foreign firms to local firms. In contrast, when the wage gap reaches a high-level threshold, local firms can get benefits from FDI spillovers. The reason is that high wages of local firms attract skilled employees to leave foreign firms, which yields a large magnitude of worker mobility from foreign firms to local firms. Our article provides evidence that labour turnover as the channel of FDI spillovers only works when the wage gap is beyond some threshold. Also, these thresholds vary across regions and firm ownerships.     

遥感蒸散估算研究进展

阐述了蒸散遥感估算的基本原理与方法,按不同的作用机理将主要的蒸散遥感估算方法分为基于地表与空气温度温差的经验方法、地表能量平衡模型、基于遥感数据源的Penman模型、基于植被指数和温度综合模型、互补相关模型以及遥感数据与陆面模型同化方法,并对各种方法的优缺点和适用性进行了分析,最后,对遥感蒸散估算面临的困难及发展方向进行了展望。     

Athletic contests and individual robberies: an analysis based on hourly crime data

Using hourly data on individual robberies, this article employs a novel approach to investigate the relationship between athletic contests and individual robberies in Memphis, Tennessee, a well-known entertainment destination, with its iconic Beale Street locale, in the US. Empirical results indicate that home basketball games hosted by the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and those hosted by the University of Memphis Tigers are associated with increases in individual robberies, while away games are not associated with such an increase. This finding is consistent with the hot spot theory of crime, as large numbers of individuals travel to the games, thus providing additional opportunities for crime.     

Industrial development environment and innovation efficiency of high-tech industry: analysis based on the framework of innovation systems

This present paper studies the relationship between the industrial development environment (IDE) and the innovation efficiency (IE) of China’s high-tech industry. First, drawing upon insights from research on regional innovation systems and sectoral innovation systems, the paper proposes a definition of the IDE within which China’s high-tech industry exists. Then, by a factorial analysis, three main components reflecting the IDE are obtained: regional development conditions, regional consumption potential, and interactions between innovation actors. Furthermore, the impacts of various facets of the IDE on three kinds of IE are investigated through the DEA-Tobit regression approach. Based on the results, our analysis can provide information for policymakers to create a favourable environment for China’s high-tech industry.     

Infant mortality in Europe,socio-economic determinants based on aggregate data

A great deal of research has been conducted on the determinant factors of infant mortality. In this work, the focus is placed on the aggregate determinants of infant mortality in the EU. Data is collected from Eurostat and World Health Organization – Health for All databases for the period 2005-12. Robust regressions and panel data regressions are estimated in order to test the main determinants of infant mortality in the EU. Both the GDP and birth before the age of 20 influence infant mortality rate. It is likely that as mothers mean age at the first child increases, the rate of infant mortality decreases. The results found here contribute to the discussion on the factors explaining infant mortality in Europe and to future health policy. In particular, controlling teen motherhood may help to reduce infant mortality rate in the EU.     

Labour-market institutions, (un)employment,wages, and growth: theory and data

We analyse the implications of labour-market institutions on wage inequality in favour of skilled labour, on relative unemployment of unskilled labour, and on the economic growth rate in two clusters resulting from 27 OECD countries: Cluster 1, closely related with the Anglo-Saxon model, and Cluster 2, dominated by the Continental-European model. By linking the unskilled wage to the skilled one in Cluster 2, due to the indexation of social benefits to per-capita income, we accommodate the observed paths of the three variables in both clusters between 1991 and 2008: Cluster 1 presents a higher wage inequality in favour of skilled labour, a lower unemployment of the unskilled labour, and a better economic growth rate.     

Estimation and specification analysis of models of dividend behavior based on censored panel data

Dividends move in discrete jumps. Moreover, some companies pay dividends, others do not. Both these aspects necessitate the use of limited dependent variable models in the analysis of dividend behavior. Models of dividend behavior usually ignore these problems and treat dividends as a continuous variable. The present paper analyzes dividend behavior using panel data on 649 firms for 12 years (1976–1987). The model used is a censored regression model which allows for firm-specific and time effects. It is estimated using the maximum likelihood method under three different error covariance specifications. Based on specification tests, it is argued that it is important to allow for the zero observations, industry effects, and firm-specific and time effects in the estimation of models of dividend behavior.     

Financial cycle and business cycle: An empirical analysis based on the data from the U.S

In this paper, we first study the relationship between the financial cycle and the business cycle in the time and frequency domain. Then we also explore the interactions and dynamic mechanisms of the financial cycle, the business cycle, real interest rate and exchange rate by the VAR model. The empirical results show that the financial cycle is closely related to the business cycle, especially at medium-term frequencies (8–30 years), the business cycle leads the financial cycle with a high positive correlation. However, the relationship between them is not significant during the Great Moderation at business-cycle (2–4 years). In addition, the financial cycle not only becomes a main driver of real interest rate, the financial cycle and the business cycle, but also serves as an important source of the business cycle fluctuations. In general, our results lay some theoretical foundation for the policy practice of financial and economic stability.     

Sunk capital,unions and the hold-up problem: Theory and evidence from cross-country sectoral data

In this paper we study the hold-up problem by considering the effect of union bargaining power on the level of investment per worker across sectors characterised by different levels of sunk capital investment. We develop a search and matching model with heterogeneous sectors and ex-post collective wage bargaining and test the predictions of the model using a difference-in-difference approach on manufacturing sector data in a set of OECD countries during the period 1980–2000. We find that union power reduces investment per worker particularly in sunk capital intensive industries. We refine our empirical analysis showing that the underlying hold-up problem is exacerbated when strikes are not regulated after a collective contract is signed and there is no arbitration, while the presence of social pacts may sustain cooperative equilibria that alleviate the hold-up problem. Our results are robust to a series of controls and possible endogeneity of union power.     

Exports and growth: a causality analysis for the pulp and paper industries based on international panel data

This study examines the causal relations between exports and domestic production in the pulp and paper industries. The issue is whether exports are the engine of growth, or whether exports follow growth. The data were time-series of the 15 main exporting countries between 1961 and 1995. The method was Granger-causality analysis with error correction, based on models estimated in three ways: ordinary least squares by country, least squares with dummy variables (LSDV), and seemingly unrelated regression. Regardless of method, the strongest relation was an instantaneous (within a year) feedback between exports and production. The LSDV results implied average multipliers across countries of 1.2 to 1.4 from exports to production, and 0.20 to 0.25 from production to exports, in both industries. Experiments with monthly data on the pulp industries of Canada and the USA showed that temporal aggregation could affect the Granger-causality test results.     

Interactive software for the capture,management, and analysis of data in Delphi inquiries

Studies utilizing the Delphi method are typically the subject of extensive research design. Such studies also have a reputation for being expensive when compared with some other forms of social research. There is a large class of research that may benefit from the use of off-the-shelf software that is used not only in data analysis but also as a medium of communication and data management.This paper focuses on one such software package that incorporates these three aspects with the aim of streamlining Delphi-based research.     

基于网络环境下知识管理的内容与模式研究

对知识的生产、交流、利用、评价和改进等过程加以管理,充分发挥员工积极性以促进知识创新,从而挖掘并共享隐性知识,是知识管理的主要内容。因此,对知识管理的模式做了有益的探讨。