External commitment mechanisms,institutions, and FDI in GCC countries

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the influence of bilateral investment treaties and domestic institutions on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the GCC countries. Using panel data for the period 1984–2002 and instrumental variables estimation methodology, the paper finds that bilateral investment treaties (BITs) contracted with OECD and upper middle-income countries have a surprisingly negative influence and seem to be prevailed by the significantly positive influence of domestic institutions on FDI. BITs contracted with high-income non-OECD countries have a positive influence and prevail domestic institutions. The results have important institutional reform implications for GCC economic diversification efforts.     

Are labour markets in the new member states sufficiently flexible for EMU?

New Member States (NMS) coming from central planning are often advised against early Euro adoption because of their rigid labour markets. But are labour markets so rigid in these countries? We argue in this paper that this is not the case. Labour market institutions are no more “rigid” than among current EMU Members whilst wage bargaining institutions are actually better equipped for microeconomic wage flexibility than in the EU-15. NMS also achieved substantial reallocation of jobs and workers in the transition to markets, display relatively large job turnover rates and are reducing their regional mismatch. The view that NMS have rigid labour markets is fuelled by the low job content of growth in the region. But there is evidence that the latter is related to productivity enhancing job destruction in the aftermath of prolonged labour hoarding. Reduced-form employment equations estimated in this paper also suggest that tight fiscal policies, rather than being harmful to job creation, may actually improve the employment performance of the region. Our interpretation of this result is that loose fiscal policies weaken the confidence of investors and crowd-out private employment growth through generous pay rises to civil servants.     

Fixing health care from the inside, today

Today, you are about as safe in a U.S. hospital as you would be parachuting off a bridge or a building. But it doesn't have to be that way. Right now, some hospitals are making enormous short-term improvements, with no legislation or market reconfiguration and little or no capital investment. Instead of waiting for sweeping changes in market mechanisms, these institutions are taking an operations approach to patient care. In case after detailed case, the article describes how doctors, nurses, technicians, and managers are radically increasing the effectiveness of patient care and dramatically lowering its cost by applying the same capabilities in operations design and improvement that drive the famous Toyota Production System. They are removing ambiguity in the output, responsibilities, connections, and methods of their work processes. These changes-which can be done in the course of an ordinary workday, sometimes in a matter of hours-are designed to make the following crystal clear: Which patient gets which procedure (output); Who does which aspect of the job (responsibility); Exactly which signals are used to indicate that the work should begin (connection); and Precisely how each step is carried out (method). Equally important, managers are being transformed from rescuers who arrive with ready-made solutions into problem solvers who help colleagues learn the experimental method. Thus, these hospitals are breaking free of the work-around culture that routinely obscures the root causes of so many problems, creates so much waste, and leads to so many unnecessary deaths.     

审计机关购买社会审计服务决策研究

审计机关购买社会审计服务是基于承接单位所提供的审计服务质量可以达到预期、承接人员可以做到勤勉尽责这两个前提。通过服务购买,审计机关与社会中介机构缔结经济契约,弥补自身审计资源的不足。不同社会中介机构所能提供的审计服务在质量和价格上是有差异的;由于信息不对称,社会中介机构作为审计服务的供给方可能会选择性提供审计业务能力相关信息,审计机关可能无法优选目标而出现逆向选择现象。面对质量和成本双重目标约束,在探索协调路径的基础上,运用层次分析法,根据审计机关购买社会审计服务的特点,构建各指标的层次结构模型,从质量和成本两个维度进行量化分析,提出可行性方案,再进行决策,这种方法可以解决目前审计机关购买社会审计服务中可行性方案量化不足的问题。     

Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions: A Data Envelopment Analysis

This study examines the cost efficiency of 39 microfinance institutions across Africa, Asia and the Latin America using non-parametric data envelopment analysis. Our findings show non-governmental microfinance institutions particularly; under production approach, are the most efficient and this result is consistent with their fulfillment of dual objectives: alleviating poverty and simultaneously achieving financial sustainability. However, bank-microfinance institutions also outperform in the measure of efficiency under intermediation approach. This result reflects that banks are the financial intermediaries and have access to local capital market. It may be possible that bank-microfinance institutions may outperform the non-governmental microfinance institutions in the long run.     

Active Institutional Shareholders and Costs of Monitoring: Evidence from Executive Compensation

Although evidence suggests that institutional investors play a role in monitoring management, not all institutions are equally willing or able to serve this function. We present a stylized model that examines the effects of institutional monitoring on executive compensation. The model predicts that institutions' influence on managers' pay-for-performance sensitivity and level of compensation is enhanced when institutions have lower implied costs of monitoring, but that these effects are attenuated when the firm-specific cost of monitoring is high. Our empirical results are broadly consistent with these implications, suggesting that independent investment advisors and investment company managers have advantages in monitoring firms' management.     

An exploration of call centre agents' CRM software use,customer orientation and job performance in the customer relationship maintenance phase

Exploratory research techniques are used to examine the relationships between call centre agents' customer relationship management (CRM) software use, agents' customer orientation, and agents' job performance in the maintenance phase of customer relationships. Maintenance activities, which focus on customer retention and cross- and up-selling, are important to study because prior research suggests they have the strongest effect on company performance. In the financial services industry, CRM software applications supporting retention and cross-/up-selling activities benefit firms by raising revenues and reducing costs. The context for this exploratory research is that of in-bound customer service and sales call centres at three different financial institutions. Based on the analysis of data from key informants across these different contexts, this research suggests that CRM software use is a separate antecedent of call centre agent job performance and has a minimal relationship with customer orientation. Given the suggestive nature of exploratory research results, further research is warranted.     

Post-crisis regulatory reforms and bank performance: lessons from Asia

Based on a large dataset from eight Asian economies, we test the impact of post-crisis regulatory reforms on the performance of depository institutions in countries at different levels of financial development. We allow for technological heterogeneity and estimate a set of country-level stochastic cost frontiers followed by a deterministic bootstrapped meta-frontier to evaluate cost efficiency and cost technology. Our results support the view that liberalization policies have a positive impact on bank performance, while the reverse is true for prudential regulation policies. The removal of activities restrictions, bank privatization and foreign bank entry has a positive and significant impact on technological progress and cost efficiency. In contrast, prudential policies, which aim to protect the banking sector from excessive risk-taking, tend to adversely affect banks’ cost efficiency but not cost technology.     

小国得益于货币联盟

本文回顾了适用于严格固定货币汇率的技术方法，并从对货币联盟通过货币汇率严格固定所获得的利益与付出的代价的研究中给出证明。事实上，丧失货币主权而付出的代价由于有效资本市场和劳动力市场的形成而降低了。本文还讨论了一个被忽略的实行严格货币固定的好处，即小国因此而事受到更好的货币政策。完善的货币政策得以形成是因为小国将其货币主权交托于大型机构（大国央行或是货币联盟央行）后，其货币政策将免受政治因素的影响；另外部分原因在于大型机构拥有更多的金融和人力资源去设计和执行最佳的货币政策。由于在联盟内部实行区内贸易和资本流动，因此即便太央行的货币政策出错。对于它所服务的成员国来说，造成的影响也较小。     

我国金融机构尾部风险影响因素的非线性研究——来自面板平滑转换回归模型的新证据

“十三五”期间,我国防范化解金融风险攻坚战取得决定性成就,而在“十四五”规划开局之际,我国的金融风险形势面临新的挑战,防范风险仍是金融业的永恒主题。在此背景下,本文采用相对重要性分析技术方法,考察机构规模以及相关基本面因素对我国上市金融机构尾部风险的贡献程度。接着,本文结合边际效应分析技术考察机构规模对风险的异质性效应,深入分析“太大而不能倒”假说在中国的适用性。在此基础上,进一步运用前沿的面板平滑转换估计模型,研究机构规模与尾部风险的非线性关系,并分析基本面因素对该异质性效应的影响力度。研究结果表明,我国上市银行等金融机构规模的增加能够有效缓释我国金融系统的尾部风险,但该影响效应将随着特许权价值、资产质量、杠杆水平、成本水平、收入结构、贷款结构等基本面指标的变化而出现显著的非线性转变。在此基础上,对强化我国金融系统中的风险防控薄弱环节、提高金融机构的风险吸收能力提出建议,以期为我国深化金融业改革开放、推动高质量发展提供理论分析与实证检验的参考依据。     

Cost of equity capital,control divergence,and institutions: the international evidence

This study investigates the governance role of a country’s legal and extra-legal institutions in explaining the variations in firms’ cost of equity capital induced by concentrated ownership structures from 21 countries. Using four implied cost of equity proxies, the results show that the large ownership-control divergence of the ultimate owner has a positive and significant impact on the firm’s cost of equity capital. The finding lends support to the entrenchment effect in that the concentrated ownership structure increases the firm’s external financing cost. Further analyses demonstrate that the higher equity cost induced by the ultimate ownership structure is significantly reduced by a country’s stronger legal and extra-legal institutions, highlighting the governance role played by a country’s institutions in reducing the firm’s external financing cost.     

Who said large banks don’t experience scale economies? Evidence from a risk-return-driven cost function

The Great Recession focused attention on large financial institutions and systemic risk. We investigate whether large size provides any cost advantages to the economy and, if so, whether these cost advantages are due to technological scale economies or too-big-to-fail subsidies. Estimating scale economies is made more complex by risk-taking. Better diversification resulting from larger scale generates scale economies but also incentives to take more risk. When this additional risk-taking adds to cost, it can obscure the underlying scale economies and engender misleading econometric estimates of them. Using data pre- and post-crisis, we estimate scale economies using two production models. The standard model ignores endogenous risk-taking and finds little evidence of scale economies. The model accounting for managerial risk preferences and endogenous risk-taking finds large scale economies, which are not driven by too-big-to-fail considerations. We evaluate the costs and competitive implications of breaking up the largest banks into smaller banks.     

稳定土地承包关系视域下土地承包经营权继承的法理阐释与规范路径

土地承包经营权的身份性特征使得其继承与否无论在理论上、立法上还是实践上均未达成共识。土地三权分置改革在立法上的落实，使得土地承包经营权继承与否的问题转变成了土地承包权继承、土地经营权继承还是土地承包经营权继承的新分歧。土地承包经营权继承与否、如何继承，应当从法理基础、规范进路综合分析，平衡政策与法律之间的张力。土地承包经营权与土地承包权在法律属性上的同一性，决定了土地承包经营权继承等同于土地承包权继承。在继承规则构造上，坚持集体成员为权利主体，兼顾土地承包经营权的身份性，限定其继承主体为本集体成员。在继承方式上以法定继承为主，赋予尚未取得土地承包经营权的户内集体成员以优先性，遗产分割区分“分户”与“未分户”的情形，并予以变更登记。     

Do credit unions use their tax advantage to benefit members? Evidence from a cost function

This paper examines whether the credit union income tax subsidy is passed along to members or consumed by managers. To that end, we estimate a translog cost function for credit unions and mutual thrifts that is tailored to the unique objectives of mutually owned depository institutions. We find that credit unions with residential common bonds have higher costs than mutual thrifts, but single common bond occupational and associational credit unions are more cost efficient. Thus, it appears that residential credit unions engage in expense preference behavior and hence redirect some portion of their tax benefit away from members.     

机构投资者独立性对代理成本的影响

本文以2006~2009年沪深两市A股上市公司为样本,在根据投资目标对机构投资者进行类型划分的基础上,探讨了机构投资者独立性对代理成本的影响。研究发现,独立机构持股比例越高,公司管理层代理成本和控股股东代理成本越低,而非独立机构持股对两类代理成本影响有限。在进一步考虑了控股股东持股比例的影响后,发现独立机构持股在控股股东偏好控制权私有收益的情况下更能降低管理层代理成本,表明在此情况下,独立机构对管理层自利行为有更大的监督作用。     

Which Microfinance Institutions Are Becoming More Cost Effective with Time? Evidence from a Mixture Model

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) play a key role in many developing countries. Utilizing data from Eastern Europe and Central Asia, MFIs are found to generally operate with lower costs the longer they are in operation. Given the differences in operating environments, subsidies, and organizational form, this finding of increasing cost effectiveness may not aptly characterize all MFIs. Estimation of a mixture model reveals that roughly half of the MFIs are able to operate with reduced costs over time, while half do not. Among other things, we find that larger MFIs offering deposits and those receiving lower subsidies operate more cost effectively over time.     

涉农贷款边际成本的测算及影响因素分析——基于湖南省87个县（市）农商行的经验数据

涉农业务边际成本过高是农村金融机构目标偏移的根本原因.依据2011-2014年湖南省87家县(市)农商行(含农信社)的经营数据,考量涉农贷款边际成本及影响因素.结果显示:微观方面,农商行的涉农贷款比重增加推高了涉农贷款的边际成本,提升资产中的贷款比重有助于降低涉农贷款边际成本,农商行的风险管理能力越强,涉农贷款的边际成本越低;宏观方面,县域金融发展水平的提升有益于降低涉农贷款的边际成本,城乡收入差距较大的县域,涉农贷款的边际成本也越高,提升县域融资市场的流动性有助于降低涉农贷款边际成本.     

金融危机中处置有问题银行的政策选择研究

选择有效处置有问题金融机构和不良资产的政策是政策制定者在应对金融危机时的关键问题,政策选择不仅影响处理危机的财政成本,也会影响金融机构未来的风险承担行为。本文提出了一个在信息不对称条件下分析政府处置有问题银行的各种政策选择的模型,通过考察各种政策的事后道德风险和事后财政成本,对这些政策进行了比较分析,并结合美国不良资产救助计划(TARP)实施重点的转变,说明了为什么股权注资比收购不良资产更有效。     

Choosing a System of Unemployment Income Support: Guidelines for Developing and Transition Countries

Mounting evidence suggests that excessive job protection reducesemployment and labor market flows, hinders technological innovations,pushes workers into the informal sector, and hurts vulnerablegroups by depriving them of job opportunities. Flexible labormarkets stimulate job creation, investment, and growth, butthey create job insecurity and displace some workers. How canthe costs of such insecurity and displacements be minimizedwhile ensuring that the labor market remains flexible? Eachof the main unemployment income support systems (unemploymentinsurance, unemployment assistance, unemployment insurance savingsaccounts, severance pay, and public works) has strengths andweaknesses. Country-specific conditions—chief among themlabor market and other institutions, the capacity to administereach type of system, and the size of the informal sector—determinewhich system is best suited to developing and transition countries.      

制度、增长与收敛——一个基于索洛模型的分析框架

标准的经济增长理论把制度看作是既定不变的并且不存在交易费用的,所以无法认识到制度对经济增长的重要性.将制度作为一个变量引入索洛模型,可以构造一个包含制度的、技术内生的增长模型.通过模型的推导可以得出这样的结论:制度质量越好,人均产出增长率越高;人均产出存在关于制度的条件收敛.并进一步得出这样的推论:欠发达国家想获得"后发优势"赶超发达国家,前提条件是具备良好的制度或能够持续改善其制度.