Guaranteed renewable life insurance under demand uncertainty

Guaranteed renewability (GR) is a prominent feature in many health and life insurance markets. We develop a model that includes unpredictable (and unobservable) fluctuations in demand for life insurance as well as changes in risk type (observable) over individuals' lifetimes. The presence of demand type heterogeneity leads to the possibility that optimal GR contracts may have a renewal price that is either above or below the actuarially fair price of the lowest risk type in the population. Individuals whose type turns out to be high risk but low demand renew more of their GR insurance than is efficient due to the attractive renewal price. This results in imperfect insurance against reclassification risk. Although a first‐best efficient contract is not possible in the presence of demand type heterogeneity, the presence of GR contracts nonetheless improves welfare relative to an environment with only spot markets.     

投连险与基金信息披露的比较分析

与国际通行做法相比,我国投连险投资账户多履行了一个资产组合管理职能,这就使得投连险投资账户与基金具有了一定的可比性。本文基于投连险与基金信息披露的比较视角,指出了我国投连险信息披露存在的问题,并从保险公司、监管部门、社会力量三个方面提出了相应的对策。     

保险公司偿付能力风险信息对称性与市场供求

保险公司偿付能力充足性是保险监管的内容之一,但是这一信息却往往不被投保人所获知,造成保险供给(保险公司)和保险需求(投保人)两方信息的不对称.本文以保险公司存在偿付能力风险为基本假定,以累积性预期理论和风险调整资本收益率构建保险需求和供给模型,分析在信息对称条件下和信息不对称条件下保险需求的变化及其对保险供给和保险公司...     

The Spillover effect of compulsory insurance

The assumption usually made in the insurance literature that risks are always insurable at the desired level does not hold in the real world: some risks are not—or are only partially—insurable, while others, such as civil liability or health and workers' injuries, must be fully insured or at least covered for a specific amount. We examine in this paper conditions under which a reduction in the constrained level of insurance for one risk increases the demand of insurance for another independent risk. We show that it is necessary to sign the fourth derivative of the utility function to obtain an unambiguous spillover effect. Three different sufficient conditions are derived if the expected value of the exogenous risk is zero. The first condition is that risk aversion be standard—that is, that absolute risk aversion and absolute prudence be decreasing. The second condition is that absolute risk aversion be decreasing and convex. The third condition is that both the third and the fourth derivatives of the utility function be negative. If the expected value of the exogenous risk is positive, a wealth effect is added to the picture, which goes in the opposite direction if absolute risk aversion is decreasing.     

比较法视野中的欧洲保险合同法如实告知义务评析

为构建统一欧洲保险市场,保险合同法重述小组于2009年8月公布了《欧洲保险合同法基本原则》,该原则将成为未来欧洲统一保险合同法的蓝本。该原则在如实告知义务的履行方式上由传统的主动告知转变为被动告知,并根据主体违反如实告知义务时的主观状态与违反如实告知义务的时间规定了有区别的法律责任。其既体现了现代保险法如实告知义务制度的发展趋势,又考虑到了欧盟各成员国的承受能力。     

我国货币供应量变动对保险需求传导效应的实证分析

本文通过建立STR模型,实证分析了1999年第一季度至2010年第一季度我国货币供应量变动对保险需求的传导效应。结果表明：货币供应量变动对保险需求的影响具有显著的非对称性和非线性特征,即扩张性货币政策对当期保险需求的影响显著,而紧缩性货币政策对当期保险需求的影响有限。具体来讲,宽中趋紧与紧中趋紧的货币政策都将导致当期保...     

中国保险需求地区差距的实证研究

本文分别构建了我国地区人身险和财产险影响因素的实证模型,使用1996年～2008年的省际面板数据,重点采用动态系统GMM估计方法,检验人身险和财产险需求地区差异的动态形成机制。研究发现：与人身保险需求相比,财产保险需求近年来的“习惯形成”特征更为显著,收入水平的增长更有利于加快当前财产保险市场的发展;东部省份的经济发展...     

The effect of recognition vs. disclosure on investor valuation: The case of pension accounting

Whether or not the format of financial reporting influences user assessment of the reported information is an important issue to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and managers. Do investors, in determining security prices, differentiate between information recognized in the balance sheet and that disclosed in the footnotes? The findings indicate that investors appear to consider pension information disclosed in the footnotes as value-relevant, given that an accrued (prepaid) pension liability (asset) is also recognized in the balance sheet. Second, investors attach equal importance to both sorts of pension information.     

中国城镇失业保险的供求矛盾及对策研究

失业保险是指个人在失去工作或等待就业期间能从政府或社会得到保证基本生活需要的物质帮助。我国的失业保险制度从无到有逐渐发展壮大到今天,虽然已初步形成体系,但伴随着我国失业人口的与日俱增,现行的失业保险供给远远满足不了实际需求,在政府资金缺口的约束下,这一供求矛盾还将继续存在甚至有扩大的趋势。将失业保险制度的创新与促进就业的政策措施相结合,对于解决城镇失业保险的供求矛盾,实现标本兼治有着重要的意义。     

The effect of trade secrets protection on disclosure of forward-looking financial information

Using the recognition of the Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine (IDD) by US state courts as an exogenous shock to the risk of losing trade secrets, this study examines the effects of trade secrets on disclosure of forward-looking financial information. We find that management earnings forecast frequency and forecast horizon increases after the US state where a firm is headquartered starts to recognize IDD. We also find that the effect of IDD recognition on management forecasts is more pronounced for firms that have larger market shares, higher product market competition, more intensive R&D, shorter distance to their industry rivals, and more employees who possess knowledge of the firms’ trade secrets.     

The effects of information disclosure regulation on stock markets: Evidence from Vietnam

This paper investigates the effects of regulation pertaining to information disclosure on the Vietnam stock market. Using the event study methodology, we examine sectoral reactions, in terms of risk and return, following the announcements on information disclosure regulation in Vietnam. To validate the results, we also conduct several robustness tests such as the removal of firm-specific information and the use of a wide variety of ARCH models such as GARCH (1,1). We find evidence indicating that when the market anticipates a piece of regulation on information disclosure, most sectors experience negative reactions two and five days before the first announcement. Positive reactions are observed on the event date, as well as two and five days afterwards. Furthermore, we document a difference between the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in terms of market reaction. The results also show that the sectors experience changes in short-term systematic risk. Our contributions to the literature are threefold. First, we focus on a complete and more updated set of the Vietnam stock market’s information disclosure regulation. Second, our study examines the effects of a series of events on a single regulation at sectoral and firm levels in an emerging market. Third, in addition to sectoral analysis, we analyse the Vietnam stock market reaction at the firm level.     

How information and communication technology affects decision‐making on innovation diffusion: An agent‐based modelling approach

We introduce a computational agent‐based model of innovation diffusion that allows us to analyse the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) development on decision‐making. Model dynamics are based on local emulation between pairs of individuals that generate an evolving social network on which an innovation is virally spread (by word of mouth). Results suggest that ICT development affects the data usefulness for decision‐making by changing the topology of the social network (the means whereby the innovation is propagated). Paradoxically, a higher level of ICT development (providing a larger volume of data) narrows the differences between better and worse launch strategies, thus reducing data‐driven decision‐making usefulness, which then shows diminishing returns on the ICT level.     

Impact of earnings performance on price‐sensitive disclosures under the Australian continuous disclosure regime

This study examines the relation between accounting earnings and the frequency of price‐sensitive corporate disclosure under Australia's statutory continuous disclosure requirements. Despite low litigation threats and excepting loss‐making firms, results show that firms with earnings declines (bad news) are more likely to make continuous disclosure than firms with earnings increases (good news). This suggests that market forces and regulators’ scrutiny are sufficient to induce a ‘bad news’ disclosure bias. This study also examines the ‘materiality’ requirement under the continuous disclosure requirements and finds a positive relation between disclosure frequency and the magnitude of earnings news. The earnings–return correlation is positively associated with disclosure frequency for the financial services industry.     

The effect of predation risk on cash holdings: Empirical evidence from the U.S. property‐liability insurance industry

Corporate cash holdings play a significant role in the U.S. property‐liability insurance industry yet the topic of insurer cash holdings policy has largely been overlooked by prior empirical research. While a number of studies have investigated firm‐specific factors related to cash holdings in the insurance industry, prior research has not examined how market concentration and potential predation risk impact cash holdings. We propose a new measure of market concentration and provide evidence in support of the predation risk theory. Specifically, we show that insurers exposed to more concentrated markets tend to hold more cash. Furthermore, the relation between market concentration and cash holdings is influenced by access to internal capital. While unaffiliated insurers without access to internal capital hold greater levels of cash in more concentrated markets, group insurers with access to internal capital do not hold greater levels of cash to mitigate predation risk.     

Asymmetric news responses of high‐frequency and non‐high‐frequency traders

Using NASDAQ trade and Reuters news data, I show that the response of aggressive non‐high‐frequency traders (nHFTs) to news is stronger than that of aggressive high‐frequency traders (HFTs). Classifying news into quantitative (“hard”) and less quantitative (“softer”) news, the trading response of aggressive nHFTs to softer news exceeds HFTs’ response. Positive news elicits greater return and nHFT responses than negative news during the 2008 financial crisis period. As this phenomenon persists even after excluding the 2008 short‐sale ban, the results support the hypothesis of nHFTs exhibiting stronger asymmetric responses during crisis periods.     

The effect of globalization and legal environment on voluntary disclosure

We examine how interactions with foreign capital, product, and labor markets affect the disclosure practices of non-U.S. multinational firms. Drawing on literature related to multinationals, country-level legal institutions, and accounting disclosures, we expect that the relation between globalization and voluntary disclosure will be conditioned by the legal environment in a firm's home country. Specifically, while firms from countries with a strong legal environment (e.g., common-law countries) already face pressure for good disclosure, globalization can increase the benefits associated with good disclosure to firms from weak legal environments (e.g., civil-law countries). We use a self-constructed voluntary disclosure index and hand-collected disclosure and foreign activity data for 643 non-U.S. firms from 30 countries for 2003. We find a significant interaction between globalization and the legal environment. This indicates that for the same level of globalization, there is more voluntary disclosure for firms based in weak legal environments. Our results suggest that globalization is an important variable that has been overlooked in much of the previous cross-country research.     

经济政策不确定性对人寿保险需求的影响

根据背景风险理论推测,经济政策不确定性作为一类不可保的宏观政策风险,可能对保险需求变动产生影响。本文利用Baker等(2013)测算的中国经济政策不确定性指数,实证检验了经济政策不确定性对中国各省人寿保险需求变动的影响,以及在不同异质性条件下的影响差异。结果发现:第一,经济政策不确定性对寿险需求有显著正影响,且其在经济周期的不同阶段存在显著差异;第二,教育水平的提升会一定程度促进经济政策不确定性对寿险需求的正影响;第三,经济政策不确定性对不同类型寿险需求的影响存在差异,具有保障功能的普通寿险和投资收益灵活稳健的万能险需求受到显著正影响;最后,经济政策不确定性对人寿保险保费增长的影响主要集中在新单保费。因此,政府部门应在保证经济政策连贯性的同时,提升民众的教育水平和避险意识,引导其主动购买保险,尽量降低政策波动产生的影响,分类推进不同类型人寿保险市场的扩大。     

The determinants of high‐interest entrusted loans in China

We examine the determinants of high‐interest entrusted loans in China from the perspective of corporate risk‐taking. The results of a baseline model illustrate that the propensity to offer high‐interest entrusted loans increases with loose monetary policies, corporate cash holdings and firm age, and it decreases with firm size and growth opportunity. These findings support the claim that firms offer high‐interest entrusted loans mainly for short‐term profits. Other determining factors include CEO behavior traits, market imperfections and the intensity of corporate governance. Specifically, market imperfections create an opportunity for risk‐taking while CEO behavior and the intensity of corporate governance affect a firm's tendency to take risk and engage in high‐interest entrusted loans.     

Asymmetric effects of voluntary disclosure on stock liquidity: evidence from 8‐K filings

This paper examines whether the change in stock liquidity subsequent to voluntary disclosure is different between good news and bad news. Using voluntary 8‐K filings, we find that the increase in stock liquidity is more pronounced for firms with good news disclosure than for firms with bad news disclosure. In addition, such findings are stronger when a firm is less visible and when the short‐selling costs are high, suggesting that these two factors play an important role in increasing stock liquidity. Overall, this paper provides evidence that the tone of voluntary 8‐K news is an important determinant of stock liquidity.     

The effect of stock-based incentives and governance mechanisms on voluntary disclosure of intangibles

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of stock-based incentives in encouraging more voluntary disclosures about firm-specific intangibles. I also examine whether corporate governance, previously found to be related to voluntary disclosures, is a complement to or substitute for stock-based incentives. Using content analysis of annual reports of a sample of high-tech firms, I find that stock-based incentives are positively associated with firms' voluntary disclosures about intangibles. With regard to the effect of governance mechanisms, I find that corporate governance does not have a relationship with disclosures when stock-based incentives are low. On the other hand, better governance will strengthen the positive effect of stock-based incentives on disclosures, suggesting that governance and incentives mechanisms are complements instead of substitutes. The results also show that this complementary effect primarily results from the internal monitoring provided by the board of directors.