The generation of stock market cycles

This paper demonstrates that the relation between stock market and business cycle dynamics can be conceptualized using a dividend discount model. The interaction of changes in earnings and interest rates throughout the economic cycle are shown to cause changes in the level of stock prices. This implies that monitoring and forecasting these factors can help explain and possibly predict stock price behavior over time.     

新一代个人信贷业务系统

近年来，随着国民经济的持续发展和社会保障体系的健全，个人信贷业务发展迅猛。各家商业银行在制定经营策略时，都把发展个人信贷业务列为重点工作，纷纷抢占这一市场。建设银行存其中占据了相当的市场份额。     

The retirement wealth of the baby boom generation

The paper compares the well-being of the baby boom generation (ages 40-55) in 2001 with the same age group in 1983. I find little evidence that their relative position deteriorated over the period. By some indicators, this generation has seen an improvement. In terms of income, the 40-55 age group was at about the same relative position in 2001 as in 1983. In terms of conventional wealth, there was some slippage over the period. In terms of mean augmented wealth (net worth plus pension and Social Security wealth), their relative position improved somewhat but in terms of median augmented wealth there was again some slippage.     

The impact of the managed care backlash on health care spending

The health spending slowdown associated with the managed care revolution in the 1990s suggests that managed care may have been successful in controlling health care spending. I exploit the passage of state regulation during the “managed care backlash” as well as geographic variation in managed care intensity to measure the impact of managed care on spending. I find that restricting managed care causes a large and significant increase in hospital spending, which cannot be explained by changes in hospital market concentration, other regulatory activity, and multiple other possible explanations. I also do not find effects of the backlash on mortality.     

The public sector and health care

This paper specifies a model of the determinans of total expenditure on health care. The model shows how this expenditure is divided between the public and private sectors when public expenditures are chosen by majority rule.From the theoretical model I derive two equations determining the private and public expenditures on health care as shares of GDP. The equations are estimated using OECD panel data with two-way fixed effects and with simultaneous correction for heteroeskedasticity and serial correlation. The results include estimates of the price and income elasticities of public and private demands for health care as well as estimates of the crowdingout effects of public on private expenditures.Paper presented at the 51st Congress of the International Institute of Public Finance.     

The impact of the review process in hypothesis generation tasks

This paper examines the performance of auditors in generating hypotheses in an analytical review case both prior to and after review. It partitions two possible sources of gain from the review process, namely the discussion effect and the rank effect. The discussion effect compares review groups with and without discussion. The rank effect compares seniors and audit managers. The study found that the review process results in more plausible hypotheses being generated. Discussion within the review process between reviewer and reviewee was found to be one source of gain from the review process. While there was no difference in the performance of the senior and manager reviewers, managers completed the task in less time.     

二代农民工生存条件与新型城镇化

根据改革前后两个不同时期的生育政策和成长环境的客观条件,以1980年为界,将之前出生的农民工称为第一代农民工,之后出生的称为第二代农民工。二代农民工已成为当今农民工的主体,实现二代农民工城镇化最需要关注的是其子女教育、住房保障和收入增长等问题。近60％的二代农民工不愿拿土地换城镇户籍,原因是农民工子女在城市接受教育、农民工稳定就业和住房保障等方面的政策依然不健全、不完善。本文关注的是二代农民工的生存条件与其城镇化的问题,并提出相关政策建议。     

The beancounter stereotype: towards a general model of stereotype generation

The image of the beancounter who is single-mindedly preoccupied with precision and form, methodical and conservative, and a boring joyless character has, until recently, been widely recognized as the clear stereotype of the accountant. Recently the stereotype has been confirmed as applicable in the past, but some have suggested that this long standing stereotype is disappearing. Evidence is provided from a literature search on “beancounter" that this traditional stereotype is not disappearing, but that it is multifaceted, incorporating several very different nuances. Stereotypes may be generated from different sources, transmitted through varied media and associated with a range of subtly different nuances. These nuances can be affected by the nature of the relationship different groups have with the stereotyped group. In order to explore further the different nuances of the beancounter stereotype, we develop a general model of stereotype generation. This accords with the range of ways the word beancounter has been used as a stereotype of accountants in a database of newspapers and magazines published between January 1970 and June 1995. We conclude by examining the implications of this research for analysing stereotyping and the way the stereotype of the accountant has been developing in recent years.     

The learning curve and the health care industry

This article will examine the learning curve and its potential impact on the health care industry. Although the learning curve has traditionally been applied to the manufacturing industry, a labor-intensive industry like health care is a prime candidate for the benefits of the learning curve. Specifically, we will look at past research on the learning curve and discuss what effects learning might have on health care costs and outcomes in the current health care environment.     

新一代数据中心: 行业信息化的未来之路

近年来，各大行业的数据大集中战略在中国蔚然成风，各种规模的数据中心在中国不断涌现。但是面对行业变化速度的不断加快，CIO们发现，当前数据中心因为缺乏适应变化的能力，不仅无法为业务提供实时支持，而且资源利用率低，成本也越来越高昂。     

The environmental disclosures of the electricity generation industry: a global perspective

The electricity generation industry has been under close regulatory and public scrutiny for decades for the significant impacts its activities have on the environment. The industry is responsible for a large proportion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which has intensified public and regulatory scrutiny of late. Therefore, electricity generation firms face immense pressure to show environmental responsibility. Firms respond with environmental disclosures in their annual reports, in stand-alone-reports, and on websites. In this study, we use comprehensive disclosure indices to measure the quality (or comprehensiveness) of the CO₂ emissions related disclosure and the overall environmental disclosure of 205 electricity generation firms in 35 countries. We find that firms in countries with a high commitment towards the environment and a carbon emissions trading scheme (measures of social concern for environmental protection and emissions), are likely to disclose more comprehensive environmental information. In addition, we find that firm size, age of the assets, listing status, and media exposure influence disclosure. Environmental performance, measured by CO₂ emissions, is not significantly related to environmental disclosure among our sample firms. The theoretical implication of these findings is that social beliefs (that are different in different countries) prompt a legitimating disclosure response from firms that is not significantly affected by their performance against that social belief.     

The value of mobile apps in health care

Hospitals should keep three considerations in mind when developing a mobile app or tool: Focus on a tool that can help patients determine whether a physician visit is needed. Have finance professionals play a supporting rather than a leading role in the development of in-house mobile health apps. Keep it simple (for instance, by limiting the number of steps patients have to go through to use a mobile app or tool.     

解决垃圾“围城”的出路在于发展第三代技术产业

随着城镇化进程加快和人们生活水平的提高,城乡垃圾“围城”、“围乡”问题十分突出。全国政协委员、九三学社山东省委副主委、山东大学物理学院教授、山东大学晶体材料国家重点实验室副主任解士杰告诉《国际融资》记者,发展第三代垃圾处理创新技术产业是从根本上解决这一问题的最佳出路。     

Public/private health care: The British scenario

The issue of public versus private health care is too often treated as an ideological issue, with each side unwilling to discuss common problems of cost containment and quality control which have to be faced, no matter what the financial framework. Thus, cost containment will worry the administrators of insurance funds just as much, if not more, than health service administrators. Health care is not, in the economist's sense, a perfect market; it cannot and does not remain unregulated. So what is at issue is whether regulation is carried out by government, by insurance companies, or by the professions, and what the balance between them shall be.

These and other lessons are drawn from a series of studies describing the workings of insurance systems in a number of countries, in Europe, as well as the United States, Canada and Australia. The findings of the book ‐ The Public/Private Mix for Health, edited by Gordon McLachlan and Alan Maynard, and published this autumn by the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust ‐ are too rich to be summarised here. What follows is an extract from the final chapter containing the editors’ own reflections on the material they have brought together.