HOUSING PRICE AND FUNDAMENTALS IN A TRANSITION ECONOMY: THE CASE OF THE BEIJING MARKET

This article develops a dynamic rational expectations general equilibrium framework that links house value to fundamental economic variables such as income growth, demographics, migration, and land supply. Our framework handles nonstationary dynamics as well as structural changes in fundamentals that are commonplace in transition economies. Applying the framework to Beijing, we find that the equilibrium house price and rent under reasonable parameterizations of the model are substantially lower than the data. We explore potential explanations for the discrepancies between the model and the data.     

A FURTHER EXAMINATION OF THE PRICE AND VOLATILITY IMPACT OF STOCK DIVIDENDS AT EX‐DATES*

We examine the price and volatility reaction around stock dividend ex‐dates for an Australian sample, over the period January 1992 to December 2000. We find that price reaction around stock dividend ex‐dates provides positive abnormal returns both prior, and subsequent, to the abolishment of par value of shares in July 1998. When we partitioned the sample into financial, industrial non‐financial and mining firms, the price reaction is found to be positive and significant only for industrial non‐financial companies. Volatility of daily returns for periods subsequent to ex‐dates is significantly greater than corresponding periods prior to announcement dates, while cumulative raw returns subsequent to ex‐dates are significantly lower than periods prior to announcement dates for industrial non‐financial companies. The magnitude of the price reaction is statistically significantly related to an increase in the volatility of daily returns and to a reduction in cumulative raw returns subsequent to the ex‐dates, for industrial non‐financial companies. These findings support buying pressure hypothesis suggested by Dhatt et al. (1994, 1996 ).     

财富偏好、习惯形成和消费与财富的波动率

本文构造了基于财富和习惯的消费—资产组合投资模型,其中代表性投资者的效用函数不但依赖于投资者的消费历史,还依赖于其财富水平。本文所提出的模型是对Merton(1971)、Bakshi和Chen(1996)、Sundaresan(1989)和Constantinides(1990)的消费—资产组合投资模型的推广。我们使用随机动态规划求解模型,并给出了最优的消费和组合投资规则。我们使用此模型计算了消费与财富的波动率,发现习惯形成和较弱的财富偏好均能导致更加平滑的消费行为,从而解释了消费平滑之谜。     

城市地价空间自相关分析——以宿州市为例

运用全局和局域自相关统计量及地统计学半变异函数分析方法,对宿州市商业和住宅地价的全局自相关、各项异性及局域自相关特征进行了全面分析.结果表明:在2 800m范围内,宿州市商业和住宅地价均存在较强的正自相关性且趋于高值集聚,随着相关距离的增大,地价半方差按球状模型曲线增长,自相关性逐渐减弱;在不同方向上,地价的空间自相关特征不尽相同,南北方向上的空间自相关范围要大于东西方向,但随机性较强,自相关程度较东西方向弱;在全局呈显著自相关的情形下局域地价也主要呈空间集聚格局,但部分地区表现出异质性.     

THE APPLICATION OF THE CONSTANT PRICE METHOD FOR EVALUATING THE TRANSFER RELATED TO INFLATION: THE CASE OF FRENCH HOUSEHOLDS

The constant price method is used here to evaluate transfers related to inflation either between households and other economic agents (essentially enterprises) or among groups of households defined by occupation, age class and so on. The results obtained are only fragmentary due to a lack of many pieces of information. The method requires in fact the splitting up of every value variation into a price component and a size component.
Nevertheless, some interesting results are shown. In recent years, if the total productivity surplus has always been positive, the wealth surplus of households is sometimes positive, sometimes negative. Concerning the distribution of the productivity surplus among household groups, it has not been possible to find significant distortions, other than those which are related to differences in the propensity to save. On the contrary, marked distortions appear in the distribution of the wealth surplus due to wide differences in estate composition and indebtedness level.     

EXPORTS AND JOBS: THE CASE OF JAPAN, 1975–2006

This paper asks how much employment is created by increasing goods and services exports and how the export dependence of employment has changed over time. Using the newly developed Japanese input‐output table for 1975–2006, this paper estimates the effect of exports on an industry's employment (i.e., direct effect) and the effect on other industries' employment (i.e., indirect effect). One of our major findings is that the magnitude of the indirect effect exceeded that of the direct effect over almost the entire period. This implies that more than half of the effects of exports appeared through intraindustry linkages. We also found the indirect effect of goods exports is not limited to goods industries. As a result, the increases in the export dependence of employment are not limited to major Japanese export‐oriented industries such as electrical machinery, motor vehicles, and general machinery. In identifying the potential risks of negative external shocks, it is important for policy makers to estimate how much employment is indirectly as well as directly dependent on exports. (JEL F16, F14)     

波动率微笑、相对偏差和交易策略-基于非线性生灭过程的股价波动一般扩散模型

对股票收益的波动率微笑和股票指数相对偏差稳定的观察,引入期权定价理论的新方向.描写群体行为的非线性随机过程,比几何布朗运动为主的代表者模型能更好地描写股价波动.行为金融学中,我们将投资者简化为两类不同交易策略的投资群体--反转投资者和动量投资者,引入生灭过程来直观刻画他们产生的股价涨落,并取极限得到一般扩散过程.我们建立的一般框架可以统一理解目前已经熟知的几何布朗运动、广义方差常弹性、残余波动率、利率的期限结构等理论模型,也能描写观察到的波动率微笑和稳定的相对偏差.用S&P500数据对这些模型进行了参数估计和检验的结果很好;有可能在期权定价中取代流行的BLACK-SCHOLES模型.     

UNDERSTANDING MEMBER CHARACTERISTICS AND COOPERATIVE PRICE EFFECTS: THE CASE OF THE ARGENTINEAN DAIRY SECTOR

Since the 1990s, Argentinean dairy‐processing cooperatives have lost considerable amounts of members and market share. We analyse their current role by investigating the characteristics of farmers who continue delivering to them and price differentials between cooperatives and investor‐oriented firms (IOFs). A probit regression model applied to 917 farmers suggests that cooperative farmers are more disadvantaged than farmers delivering to IOFs in terms of education, farm size and productive technology. Moreover, t‐tests applied to data representing 70 per cent of national volume indicate that farmers delivering to cooperatives are between 11 per cent and 29 per cent smaller than those delivering to IOFs, depending on province. A hierarchical multilevel regression model applied to 9,720 transactions among farmers and processors shows that, after controlling for quantity and quality, cooperatives pay lower (3.5%) but more stable prices than IOFs. In a context of rapid structural change, we observe a market in which larger farmers deliver to IOFs and smaller farmers deliver to cooperatives and conclude that, at the expense of paying lower prices, cooperatives may act as buyers of last resort for otherwise disadvantaged farmers.     

DYNAMIC CORRELATION BETWEEN STOCK RETURNS AND EXCHANGE RATE AND ITS DEPENDENCE ON THE CONDITIONAL VOLATILITIES – THE CASE OF SEVERAL EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The objective of the paper is to determine whether the linkage between stock returns and exchange rates in several Eastern European countries was in accordance with the flow oriented model or the portfolio‐balance approach. The dynamic interdependence between exchange rate and stock returns is determined using the Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC) framework. The results pointed to a negative dynamic correlation which is in line with portfolio‐balance approach. Rolling regression revealed that conditional correlation was affected primarily by conditional volatility of currency, while the impact of stock returns volatility was negligible.     

THE WEALTH OF NATIONS: GROWTH, IDEAS, AND TECHNOLOGY

In the following articles Freedman and Jordan examine institutional arrangements that promote high and rising incomes. The quality of institutions may be as important as human capital, investment, and population growth in determining which nations are most prosperous.     

THE PRICE LEVEL, THE QUANTITY THEORY OF MONEY, AND THE FISCAL THEORY OF THE PRICE LEVEL

This paper examines price‐level determination from the perspective of portfolio choice. Arbitrages among money balances, bonds, and investment goods determine their relative demands. Returns to real balance holdings and after‐tax returns to investment goods determine the relative values of nominal and real assets. Because expectations of government policies ultimately determine the expected returns to both nominal and real assets, the price level depends on interactions among current and expected future monetary and fiscal policies. The quantity theory and the fiscal theory emerge as special cases produced by restricting both the margins and the policies considered.     

WEALTH AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME, CANADA 1969–70

This paper explores the sensitivity of the size distribution of family income in Canada to alternative definitions of income. These alternative definitions examine both wealth generally in the form of an annuity equivalent, and home ownership in the form of imputed rent. An adjustment for family size differences is also made. The impact of these adjustments is assessed for average incomes, inequality, and the incidence of low income for different age groups. The adjustments do have significant effects that vary by age; in particular, the economic position of the elderly seems understated by the usual data. Also, methodological considerations, such as the direct use of micro data and the choice of inequality indicator are shown to be significant.     

PARTIES, ELECTIONS AND STOCK MARKET VOLATILITY: EVIDENCE FROM A SMALL OPEN ECONOMY

This paper examines whether movements in the stock prices on the Athens stock exchange can be partly explained by the dynamics of the political environment. On the basis of a partisan structure, with two main political parties and a high density of elections, we find that the conditional mean and variance of the stock market index are affected by political developments in Greece. In particular, we find that different political regimes affect the conditional variance of the stock market index, and also that the stock market index is asymmetrically affected by past innovations.     

年轻高管与企业股价崩盘风险：来自“代理冲突观”的证据*

在企业纷纷实施高管年轻化战略的背景下,本文从股价崩盘风险的视角分析和检验了年轻高管风险偏好的经济后果及其作用机理。本文基于“个体认知观”和“代理冲突观”展开理论推演,采用中国沪深A股非金融上市公司的数据,检验发现,年轻高管会显著加剧企业未来的股价崩盘风险,且这种影响主要存在于民营企业,在国有企业并不显著。进一步针对具体作用机制的检验发现,年轻高管在投资决策中选择了更多能迅速提升个人收益的风险性投资项目,但在不能迅速提升个人收益的风险性投资项目上与年长高管没有显著差异。同时,年轻高管对股价崩盘风险的加剧效应仅仅存在于高管在上市公司领取薪酬的样本企业,且更高的独立董事比例能显著抑制年轻高管的股价崩盘风险加剧效应。这表明,年轻高管个体认知层面的风险偏好被其追求个人私利最大化的代理冲突所扭曲,进而为年轻高管风险偏好的“代理冲突观”提供了实证证据。     

年轻高管与企业股价崩盘风险：来自“代理冲突观”的证据*

在企业纷纷实施高管年轻化战略的背景下，本文从股价崩盘风险的视角分析和检验了年轻高管风险偏好的经济后果及其作用机理。本文基于“个体认知观”和“代理冲突观”展开理论推演，采用中国沪深A股非金融上市公司的数据，检验发现，年轻高管会显著加剧企业未来的股价崩盘风险，且这种影响主要存在于民营企业，在国有企业并不显著。进一步针对具体作用机制的检验发现，年轻高管在投资决策中选择了更多能迅速提升个人收益的风险性投资项目，但在不能迅速提升个人收益的风险性投资项目上与年长高管没有显著差异。同时，年轻高管对股价崩盘风险的加剧效应仅仅存在于高管在上市公司领取薪酬的样本企业，且更高的独立董事比例能显著抑制年轻高管的股价崩盘风险加剧效应。这表明，年轻高管个体认知层面的风险偏好被其追求个人私利最大化的代理冲突所扭曲，进而为年轻高管风险偏好的“代理冲突观”提供了实证证据。     

CHANGING ORGANIZATIONAL FORM: DEMUTUALIZATION AND THE PRIVATIZATION OF COMMUNAL WEALTH – AUSTRALIAN CREDIT UNION EXPERIENCES

Recent decades have seen substantial demutualization of financial institutions around the world, involving the conversion of accumulated communally owned wealth into private wealth. Whether driven by a quest for a more efficient organizational structure or by wealth expropriation incentives, different methods of demutualization have different implications for wealth allocation among current members and transfers of wealth to outsiders. While credit union sectors internationally have, to date, experienced few demutualizations, there are increasing incentives for such organizational change. Three alternative demutualization strategies (share issue to members plus an external capital raising, liquidation and cash distribution to members (a quasi‐demutualization), and merger with a listed company) recently used by Australian credit unions are analysed to highlight wealth implications, survival risks for the mutual form and potential problems arising in the demutualization process.     

DIFFERENCES IN THE MEASUREMENT OF WEALTH, WEALTH INEQUALITY AND WEALTH COMPOSITION OBTAINED FROM ALTERNATIVE U.S. WEALTH SURVEYS

Since household wealth surveys have been widely used to study saving and other issues, it is important to examine the reliability of the various survey estimates of wealth. In this paper the authors assess the quality characteristics of the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Men and the Retirement History Survey, as compared to the 1983 Survey of Consumer Finances. We find that the NLS and especially the RHS underreport wealth and wealth concentration. The underestimates of wealth held in the form of common stock, business equity, and investment real estate equity are substantial. The principal problem lies in underrepresentation of both tails of the wealth and income distributions, with the consequences of underrepresenting the upper tail being especially serious for wealth measurement. We examine several potential reasons for the underrepresentation.