公共债务、财政可持续性与经济增长

各国为应对全球金融危机纷纷出台扩张性财政政策刺激经济复苏,这种导致政府债台高筑的财政政策影响着财政的可持续性,也影响着经济稳定增长.以中国数据进行的实证检验表明:长期低水平的基本赤字对经济增长产生较强的促进作用,且其经济增长效应与公共债务水平息息相关,二者呈倒U型关系,并存在一个最优组合关系.因此,在实行扩张性财政政策刺激经济增长的过程中,应该维持合理的赤字水平与国债规模,以保证财政的可持续性,有效发挥财政政策促进经济稳定增长的作用.     

Revealed comparative advantages in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain

Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain were all hit by the economic downturn in the course of the financial crisis and have been struggling with national debt crises and recession. A problem common to all of these countries is the collapse of national demand. Foreign trade might seem a logical way to restore economic strength, but little is known about the international competitiveness of these countries’ industries. This paper sheds light on their export structures using the revealed comparative advantage indicator.     

The Economics of Fiscal Rules and Debt Sustainability

Intereconomics - Because they exert cross-border spillover effects, fiscal policies of individual EU member states are a common concern for the entire EU.     

“一带一路”债务可持续的软法路径

债务可持续是推动一带一路高质量发展的关键议题之一,其实质是保障一带一路借款国融资需求和还款能力间的平衡。2017年起渲染至今的债务陷阱问题,与新冠肺炎疫情期间达成的一系列G20公共债务倡议,都说明这个议题的现实重要性。国际社会应对公共债务可持续问题的传统思路是软法规制,包括联合国贸易和发展会议(UNCTAD)制定的《负责任的主权借贷原则》、世界银行和国际货币基金组织(IMF)共同制定的《债务可持续框架》及巴黎俱乐部制定的债务重组基本原则,中国倡议的《一带一路债务可持续分析框架》是这一领域的最新成果。软法路径符合国际社会规制公共债务的传统,也是中国致力于一带一路债务可持续的可行选择。建议推动《一带一路债务可持续分析框架》多边化,推广亚洲基础设施投资银行分析债务的做法,适时启动加入巴黎俱乐部谈判工作,建立应对债务危机的全球援助机制,创造政府和社会资本合作(PPP)最佳国际实践。     

Debt Literacy and Debt Literacy Self‐Assessment: The Case of Poland

It is well documented that financial literacy is at best moderate around the world and that the cost of ignorance in this field may be high on both microeconomic and macroeconomic levels. We surveyed a representative sample of Poles to measure their debt literacy—a little‐studied aspect of financial literacy—and therefore obtain insight into the factors predicting it. Our study evidenced low levels of debt literacy and its overestimation by respondents in their self‐reports. We also confirmed some of the patterns found in former studies, including the gender gap and a positive relationship between the level of educational attainment and debt literacy. Finally, our examination provides compelling outcomes with regard to the segmentation of the sample on the basis of objective and subjective debt literacy scores. They show large heterogeneity of debt literacy and thus confirm the need for far‐reaching customization of debt‐oriented education.     

The impact of EC membership on Portugal and Spain

While the case for Spanish and Portuguese EC membership is largely political, for membership to be a political success it must also be an economic success. Indeed it is economic factors which have ensured that six years after the applications were made, negotiations have not been concluded and that the target date of membership by January 1, 1984, will not be met. What will be the impact of EC membership on the applicants' economies?     

Firm Shutdown During the Financial and the Sovereign Debt Crises: Empirical Evidence from Portugal

This paper examines Portuguese firms’ survival over the business cycle and investigates whether the effect of firm size varies across the phases of the cycle and with the type of shock associated with periods of economic contraction. Our results show that smaller firms are more likely to shut down than larger firms. Within each size band, however, we found that during the two crises examined, micro firms experienced hazards of closing (relative to large firms) at least similar to those observed in the pre-crisis period, while medium-sized firms were found to have been more vulnerable during the financial crisis period but showed more resilience during the sovereign debt crisis. The results suggest that during the sovereign debt crisis, firms faced a higher probability of closing than they did during the financial crisis.     

Agricultural problems of the accession of Greece,Portugal and Spain to the EC

Apart from other issues raised by the inclusion of Greece, Portugal and Spain in the European Community, it will make the Common Agricultural Policy more difficult rather than easier. Georg Gallus, Secretary of State of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forests, discusses the new agricultural problems the Community, the acceding states and third countries will have to live with.     

Eco-Enterprise Strategy: Standing for Sustainability

Enterprise strategy provides an accepted theoretical framework for integrating the moral responsibilities of organizations into their strategy formulation and implementation processes. We argue that, when extended to the ecological level of analysis, enterprise strategy provides a sound theoretical framework for ethically and strategically accounting for the ultimate stakeholder, planet Earth. Within the framework of enterprise strategy, a value system based on sustainability can provide a sound ethical basis for developing ecologically sensitive strategic management systems which allow organizations to satisfy the demands of the myriad green stakeholders that represent the planet in the immediate business arena. This provides a new "flavor" of enterprise strategy in which organizations "stand for sustainability." We call this new flavor "eco-enterprise strategy."     

Sustainability marketing research: past,present and future

Abstract

This paper provides a synthesis and critical assessment of the sustainability marketing literature, from the period 1998–2013, building on a previous assessment from 1971 to 1998. It details research within major marketing journals and critically assesses this research in relation to the on-going conversation which focuses on marketing’s relationship with the natural environment. Differences in the content and depth of sustainability coverage in marketing journals are considered. Potential avenues for future sustainability marketing research are proposed, with a particular call for theoretical and managerial reflections which tackle broader systemic and institutional issues within the discipline.     

GHG Reporting and Impression Management: An Assessment of Sustainability Reports from the Energy Sector

The objective of this study was to analyze the quality of climate information disclosed by companies and the impression management strategies they have developed to justify or conceal negative aspects of their performance. The study is based on a qualitative content analysis of the sustainability reports of 21 energy-sector companies that use the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) with A or A+ application levels over a period of 5 years (n = 105). It contributes to the literature on climate disclosure by demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the external assurance process in ensuring the quality and representativeness of the data. Significant non-compliance with GRI standards was identified in 86 of the 93 reports audited by a third party. In addition, six of the 21 companies surveyed were found to disclose increasingly opaque information over time, concealing information on the measurement and methodology used. Through this study, four impression management strategies were identified. These are employed either to justify certain information (by minimizing impacts, excuses and commitment) or to conceal it (through strategic omissions and manipulation of figures). In exposing the high incidence of non-compliance in GRI reporting and the use of impression management strategies by companies, this study shows that it will be difficult or impossible for stakeholders to reasonably assess, monitor and compare companies’ climate performance on the basis of these reports.     

A Next Step in Debt Enforcement: the Merger of Debt Help and Debt Collection

Since the 1990s, each Member State of the European Union designed a policy that infused the liberal American fresh start policy into its own social institutions and legal culture. Especially in countries with a civil law tradition, the legal position of the consumer has improved. The paradigm of lifelong liability of debts has been replaced by a form of limited liability. Discharge of debts has established itself as a firm legal principle in all European jurisdictions. In most European countries, the new approach consists of a combination of legal and extrajudicial instruments. Under the umbrella of the courts, social workers, trustees, and administrators perform a broad range of activities in monitoring and helping debtors. The so-called new-chance approach has dramatically changed the playing field amongst debtors and creditors. The new legal equilibrium worked rather well in most European countries in the 1990s and 2000s. However, the systems are obviously far from perfect as almost all European governments are still fine-tuning their laws. Recently, two innovations have appeared on the European stage: Some Nordic countries have opted for a centralized state-controlled enforcement system, while in the UK, commercial debt management plans were developed, mainly by commercial suppliers. In 2005, the US Bankruptcy Code was changed in favour of the creditors. The 2008 credit crunch and its aftermath present a window of opportunity for the next step in the modernization of debt enforcement policy. I will suggest a merger of the fields of debt relief and debt collection, with a pivotal role for independent trustees.     

可持续发展报告:可持续发展的催化剂

可持续发展报告,是指一个组织向公众披露它的经济、环境和社会业绩,正在迅速成为世界上的领袖企业和组织的标准实践,它有利于企业和组织提高内部管理和改善外部关系。全球报告倡议组织(GRI)可持续发展报告指南越     

Foreign vs domestic ownership on debt reduction: An investigation of acquisition targets in Italy and Spain

This paper examines the role of foreign versus domestic ownership in reducing the debt levels of acquired firms in Italy and Spain over the period 2002–2010. Acknowledging that lower debt levels can mitigate the risk of failure and thus enhance the chances for a positive post-acquisition performance and survival, we particularly examine the causal effect of foreign and domestic acquisitions on two firm-level debt measures: gearing and short-term leverage. To estimate causal relationships, we control for selection bias by applying propensity score matching techniques. Our results indicate that foreign acquisition leads to a significant and steady reduction in the debt ratios of the target companies. In contrast, the relationship between domestic acquisition and debt reduction appears to be smaller and statistically less robust.     

Credit, Debt and Consumer Protection

Should credit consumers always be deferred to? Dr Tom Sorell contributed to the British Open University Business School MBA programme, and is Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Essex.     

Stakeholder Relationships,Engagement, and Sustainability Reporting

The concept of sustainability was developed in response to stakeholder demands. One of the key mechanisms for engaging stakeholders is sustainability disclosure, often in the form of a report. Yet, how reporting is used to engage stakeholders is understudied. Using resource dependence and stakeholder theories, we investigate how companies within the same industry address different dependencies on stakeholders for economic, natural environment, and social resources and thus engage stakeholders accordingly. To achieve this objective, we conducted our research using qualitative research methods. Our findings suggest that the resource dependencies on different stakeholders lead to development of different stakeholder relationships and thus appropriate resources within the company to execute engagement strategies that are informing, responding, or involving. Our research explains why diversity exists in sustainability disclosure by studying how it is used to engage stakeholders. We find that five sustainability reporting characteristics are associated with the company’s stakeholder engagement strategy: directness of communication, clarity of stakeholder identity, deliberateness of collecting feedback, broadness of stakeholder inclusiveness, and utilization of stakeholder engagement for learning. Our study develops the literature by providing insight into companies’ choices of stakeholder engagement strategy thus explaining diversity in sustainability reporting based on the characteristics and relationships with specific stakeholders.     

International Debt Shifting: The Value-Maximizing Mix of Internal and External Debt

Abstract

We study the capital structure of multinationals and expand previous theory by incorporating international debt tax shield effects from both internal and external capital markets. We show that: (i) multinationals’ firm value is maximized if both internal and external debt are used to save tax; (ii) the use of internal and external debt is independent of each other; and (iii) multinationals have a tax advantage over domestic firms, which cannot shift debt across international borders. We test our model using a large panel of German multinationals and find that internal and external debt shifting are of about equal importance.