Liquidity and macroeconomic management in emerging markets

Emerging markets have received considerable attention for foreign investment and international diversification due to the possibility of higher earnings and a low level of integration with global equity markets. These high returns often need to be balanced by the high liquidity costs of trading in illiquid emerging markets. Several studies have shown that central bank and government policies are significant determinants of market liquidity. We investigate the influence of monetary and fiscal policy variables on the market and firm level liquidity of eight emerging stock markets of Asia. Using four different (il)liquidity measures and nine macroeconomic variables, we find that changes in the money supply, government expenditure and private borrowing significantly affect stock market liquidity. Illiquidity is also strongly affected by the bank rate, short-term interest rate and government borrowing. We demonstrate that ‘crowding out’ and ‘cost of funds’ effects exist in these markets. Other major findings are that some markets are more sensitive to local macroeconomic news than world factors, the impact on size based portfolios largely depends on the instruments used by the central banks and government, the liquidity of the manufacturing sector is affected by changes in any policy variables, financial institutions are only influenced by monetary policy variables, and the service sector is least affected.     

我国中央银行货币冲销有效性实证研究

20世纪90年代以来我国国际收支持续双顺差,中国人民银行为了维持人民币名义汇率的稳定和促使宏观经济平稳发展,不断在外汇市场和国内公开市场上进行外汇干预和冲销操作,从而导致了外汇储备持续快速增长、流动性过剩等问题不断出现。通过对我国货币冲销有效性进行实证检验,发现我国外汇冲销效果有限,离完全冲销还有很大差距,分析其中原因,既包括制度、政策因素,也与银行系统内过剩的流动性,存款准备金本身的缺陷有直接关系。为完善我国外汇冲销操作,应增强人民币汇率弹性,促进国债市场发展,完善存款准备金制度。     

Quest for the eco‐apparel market: a study of mothers' willingness to purchase organic cotton clothing for their children

The purpose of this study was to examine what consumer characteristics are related to willingness to purchase and selection of children's organic cotton clothing (OCC). A survey was conducted on mothers of pre‐schoolers to collect data on mothers' environmental characteristics, involvement with OCC and children's clothing, children's clothing purchasing behaviour and willingness to purchase OCC. A buying scenario experiment was used to examine whether price and other product characteristics influenced the participants' selection of OCC. It was found that a mother's environmental concerns, environmental purchasing behaviour and recycling behaviour significantly affected their involvement in OCC, which further significantly determined mother's willingness to purchase OCC. However, mothers were not willing to pay a premium for purchasing children's OCC. A majority (59.5%) of the mothers who selected OCC in the buying scenario indicated fabric softness was the main reason for their selection. Preparing environmental education materials for consumers and producing OCC with high quality and good performance would help improve the acceptance of OCC in the market.     

The repositioning of Ex-Im bank

In recent years, U.S. government policy has shifted in favor of government export support similar to that provided by other G-7 nations. In a major initiative in 1993, the Clinton administration devised a national strategy to reposition Ex-Im Bank to respond to the long-standing needs of U.S. exporters. Today, there are several hundred million dollars at Ex-Im Bank's disposal to meet or match the subsidies offered by U.S. trade rivals, and there is a determination to use such resources to help U.S. exporters compete. Yet attempts by Congress during 1995 to trim Ex-Im Bank's capacity in the name of budget cutting have reawakened the debate over export subsidies. The author asks whether it is possible that Washington will forget the adverse consequences of the two-decade failure to keep Ex-Im Bank's loan program competitive with support agencies in Japan and Europe? The article uses the 1992 OECD arrangement, with its restrictions on foreign loan programs tied to the purchase of donor exports, to examine the United States' recurring confrontations with foreign export-subsidy programs and the prospects for U.S. government export support in coming years.     

The Lanchester Engine Company Limited

The Japanese financial system is regarded as a key factor behind Japan's remarkable post-war growth. The main bank arrangements, linking companies with a principal source of funds, and complementary institutional networks were complex and intricate, and underpinned industrial investment and expansion. In the 1950s, the city banks, as the main banks of manufacturers, were asked to supply large amounts of funds to their clients, acting as substitutes of the stock market. As their liquidity decreased, post-war reconstruction policies reduced their risk-bearing capabilities. In order to stabilise the system and to sustain the funds needed for strategic industries, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan began actively to regulate the financial markets, while the Ministry of International Trade and Industry co-ordinated policy with the industrial sector. It was this system of complementary institutions, including the main banks, long-term financial institutions, and government agencies, which enabled Japan's high-speed growth.     

Marketing Organisation and Policy in the Cotton Trade: M'connel & Kennedy of Manchester 1795–1835

The Japanese financial system is regarded as a key factor behind Japan's remarkable post-war growth. The main bank arrangements, linking companies with a principal source of funds, and complementary institutional networks were complex and intricate, and underpinned industrial investment and expansion. In the 1950s, the city banks, as the main banks of manufactures, were asked to supply large amounts of funds to their clients, acting as substitutes of the stock market. As their liquidity decreased, post-war reconstruction policies reduced their risk-bearing capabilities. In order to stabilise the system and to sustain the funds needed for strategic industries, the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan began actively to regulate the financial markets, while the Ministry of International Trade and Industry co-ordinated policy with the industrial sector. It was this system of complementary institutions, including the main banks, long-term financial institutions, and government agencies, which enabled Japan's high-speed growth.     

Endogenous market development for government securities in lower-income economies

Many lower-income economies have difficulty developing government securities markets (GSMs). A “Two-Dimensional Policy Framework for GSM Development” offers a solution to improve upon the twenty-year-old World Bank/IMF's conventional policy framework. It differentiates GSMs by their development phases and presents endogenously phase-coherent policy sets. This research found that the endogenous variables explained 40% of trading volume growth in the early phase of India's GSM development and that utilities played a dominant role in increasing trade volumes in the early-phase market. The framework is worth test-applying to GSM development in lower-income economies.     

Does the Euro affect the dynamic relation between stock market liquidity and the business cycle?

Does Eurozone equity market liquidity affect economic growth? If so, how does the Euro currency affect the dynamic relationship between growth and stock market liquidity (macro-liquidity relation) of the Eurozone? We address these questions using data from ten Eurozone countries and the UK. The findings document the predictability role of liquidity proxies on economic growth, suggesting that stock market liquidity influences economic growth. The results reveal that liquidity increases substantially after a structural break realized around the Euro's introduction in Europe, and in all countries except Portugal we find that liquidity improvement coincides with higher growth. During periods of high exchange-rate volatility between currencies (which tend to be periods of high uncertainty and economic convergence), growth becomes highly affected by stock market liquidity movements.     

Government Lending and Monetary Policy

The financial dimension of the current contraction has brought a historic expansion in government lending to financial market participants, mostly through an expanding array of Federal Reserve (Fed) initiatives. This contrasts with the Fed's typical response to recent recessions that has been limited to adjustments of the target Fed funds rate. Restrictions on credit supply and declines of creditworthiness have both contributed to the contraction in lending, although the latter cause has probably been underestimated relative to the former. Fed and other government lending programs have targeted particular sectors, altering the allocation of credit across markets. Also, targeted credit programs contribute to the moral hazard problem inherent in the provision of government-funded credit or guarantees. An alternative approach to monetary policy where the Fed funds target is essentially zero is purchasing Treasuries, which is likely to have little effect on the relative credit spreads on different financial instruments. However, given that targeted lending has taken place, it is critical that regulatory mechanisms be installed so that government regulation matches the scope of government support. Also, targeted lending by the Fed is in effect fiscal policy. Is this a legitimate role for a central bank, or should such lending be subject to legislative approval, with the Fed's role limited to monetary stability?     

Economic policy uncertainty,CDS spreads,and CDS liquidity provision

Using a news-based index of economic policy uncertainty (EPU), we find that EPU is positively associated with credit default swap (CDS) spreads and negatively associated with the number of liquidity providers in the CDS market. A 10% increase in EPU leads to an 8.4% increase in CDS spreads and a 4.0% decrease in the number of liquidity providers. Furthermore, the effects of EPU are persistent and robust after controlling for macroeconomic variables. Our results are also robust to different econometric methodologies. Overall, our findings suggest that, when EPU is high, investors find credit protection more costly and difficult to purchase.     

Implementation of interorganizational cost management and its infrastructure: the case of a Korean ‘Chaebol’ firm

In this paper, purchasing innovation in the case of a distribution company is analysed from an interorganizational cost management (IOCM) perspective. In this company, purchasing costs play an important strategic role. This study suggests that a new practice of IOCM is necessary that is suitable for Korea's economic circumstances, including the family-controlled conglomerates (Chaebols) that dominate the entire economic system. The strong need to reduce purchasing costs within Chaebols and the Korean government policy that promotes joint growth of large and small firms are crucial factors in the successful implementation of IOCM practices. We also discuss the infrastructure that enables effective IOCM in the long term, thereby adding new findings to academic research in the area, and practical implications of this benchmark case for other companies planning purchasing innovations.     

How does FX liquidity affect the relationship between foreign ownership and stock liquidity?

This study investigates the roles foreign investors play in a representative emerging market, focusing on the relationship between foreign ownership and stock market liquidity as well as this relationship's response to foreign exchange (FX) liquidity. Our analyses yield three main results. First, the bid–ask spread and price impact of stock trades decrease along with foreign ownership, supporting the view that foreign investors tend to improve stock liquidity. Second, foreign ownership decreases along with a decline in FX liquidity, suggesting that foreign investors care about FX liquidity when determining their stock holdings. Third, stock liquidity increases continuously along with foreign ownership as FX liquidity decreases. Overall, this study's evidence indicates that foreign investors, as liquidity providers, can play a positive role in an emerging economy even when FX liquidity declines.     

Experience-based corporate corruption and stock market volatility: Evidence from emerging markets

This paper reassesses how “experience-based” corporate corruption affects stock market volatility in 14 emerging markets. We match the World Bank enterprise-level data on bribes with a unique cross-country macroeconomics dataset obtained from the World Bank development indicators. It is found that wider coverage of “realized” corporate corruption in the emerging markets investigated reduces the stock market volatility, attributed to decrease in uncertainty about government policy with regard to the business environment, as implied by the general equilibrium model of Pastor and Veronesi (2012). Overall, our results suggest that stock price volatility decreases as the uncertainty about government policy becomes more predictable, which is consistent with the testable hypotheses of Pastor and Veronesi (2012).     

Market Model-Based Channel Selection in B2B E-Commerce: Exploring a Buyer's Adoption Decisions

Companies that seek to exploit the cost advantages of business-to-business (B2B) e-Commerce face a variety of strategic options. By analyzing the demand and cost functions for sellers, intermediaries, and buyers, this research develops an economic framework that clarifies the relative advantages of four common B2B e-Commerce channels: private exchange, web-based procurement, public aggregation, and public exchange. This research focuses on addressing two important questions: (1) How does a buyer select a suitable B2B e-Commerce channel (or an e-Marketplace structure) given a variety of market conditions, different levels of product substitution, and a range of purchasing patterns? (2) How does a buyer successfully manage a B2B e-Commerce channel for gaining the highest transaction-level buyer surplus? The analytic and numeric results of our study show that a company's product offerings, the market conditions it faces, and the purchase patterns it implements are all important determinants in the selection of B2B e-Commerce setting. For custom products, private networks (such as the private exchange or web-based procurement models) are more attractive than the public aggregation or exchange models. However, taking market conditions and purchasing behavior into consideration, the web-based procurement model is more suitable for spot purchasing, while the public exchange model is more suitable for systematic purchasing and fragmented markets. On the other hand, the aggregation model is preferable in concentrated markets while the exchange model is more suitable in fragmented markets. These results provide important implications for industrial development of B2B e-Commerce.     

A conceptual model to imply a negative innovation assessment framework on consumer behaviors through the electronic business platforms

Online retail platforms significantly impact consumers' purchasing decisions. Satisfaction, purchase intent, and repeat online shopping drive the platform's purchasing decisions. In contrast, individuals do not purchase products due to dissatisfaction and lack of purchasing intent. It will cause hesitation and spread negative feedback to influence online consumer behaviors. This research proposes a conceptual model incorporating the Status Quo Bias (SQB) and the Negative Online Purchase Decision-Making Process (NOPDMP) to suggest a new framework for evaluating the maintained consumer behavior of online shopping platforms. The questionnaires following the proposed conceptual model were collected from the sample data from participants of 384 experienced respondents using online shopping platforms. Data were analyzed for the causal relationship using Structural Equation Model. The implications of the assessment framework that incorporates the influence of negative factors can weigh the decision to purchase products and improve and reduce shopping cart abandonment on e-commerce platforms. This framework can also describe instances of negative perspectives regarding incentive alignments with actual behaviors.     

货币政策对股票和债券市场流动性影响的差异性研究

以上交所上市的全部股票和银行间债券市场的国债为研究对象,运用Granger因果检验、脉冲响应函数以及方差分解等计量分析方法,分析货币政策对于中国股票市场和银行间债券市场流动性的影响及其差异性。研究发现:货币政策没有对两个市场的流动性产生持久性影响,冲击程度较低,对两个市场流动性影响的差异性较小。     

央行频繁提高存款准备金率的思考

法定存款准备金制度作为中央银行实施货币政策的＂三大法宝＂之一,其在货币信贷数量控制、货币市场流动性和利率调节,以及促进金融机构稳健经营、限制货币替代和资本流出入等方面发挥着重要作用。截至目前,央行已连续六次上调存款准备金率,商业银行的存款准备金率已达到历史高位。由于当前金融领域存在的一个突出问题就是持续贸易顺差、FDI（对外直接投资）和国际投机资本的大量进入导致外汇占款持续增加,造成被动性的货币投放增加,导致流动性不断扩张,通货膨胀压力加大。存款准备金率连续上调就是为了回收因外汇流入过多导致的过剩流动性,实施紧缩政策以应对日益强化的通货膨胀预期。     

Tobacco Business and Regulation in the Developing Markets

Abstract

This paper compares BAT's business environment in Kenya and Uganda in light of the World Health Organization's (WHO) tobacco control initiative. It also illustrates the use of tobacco tax by Sub-Saharan African countries to address tobacco related conundrums. The comparison revealed elements of government ambivalence towards tobacco business and a possible recourse to tobacco tax to mollify global pressure against big tobacco. The paper uses the partial correlations between tobacco tax and basic economic development indicators across Sub-Saharan Africa and previous World Bank data as indicative of tobacco tax efficacy in controlling consumption in the region. It suggests that Sub-Saharan Africa may find regionally designed tax-based policy guidelines a palatable strategic alternative to global firms (such as BAT) that face a hostile global business environment. A united policy front that fits within the region's institutions can reduce complexity and create efficiencies through lower administrative costs across the region. Such action will make the region relatively more attractive (than it is currently) to foreign investors.     

The end of the world as we know it? The influence of online channels on the luxury customer experience

Luxury brands claim to offer consumers pleasure and prestige and deliver high profits to retailers. While the global demand for luxury goods is increasing, consumers expect that the purchasing process these goods will accommodate their preferences on how, where, and when they want to purchase them. The changing nature of luxury markets and customers' purchasing behavior makes it necessary to understand why customers would choose an online channel to purchase luxury offerings. What are the features that make so appealing, attracting consumers towards them? Our study explores customers' motivations, the benefits and the experiences they are expecting and perceiving from the Online Luxury Experience (OLX). We examine the OLX and establish three corresponding luxury customer segments using online channels to purchase their luxury goods and services: the purists, opportunists, and e-lux. We highlight the differences between the segment's customer journeys and the implications for theory and luxury customer experience management.     

激励规制、市场势力与接入定价——以电信业为例

政府规制的目标是矫正市场失灵,不当的规制方案会限制市场竞争活力,阻碍技术创新.本文将规制机构、厂商和消费者纳入到激励相容框架下,通过考察信息约束条件下的接入定价问题,解释了产品的需求价格弹性、政府转移支付、税收政策、技术创新和网络外部性与接入定价的关系,引申出主导性厂商市场势力的来源及激励性接入定价政策,得出电信监管部门实施对网间结算费的直接规制,没有减弱市场势力,反而抑制了主导性厂商提高接入质量和研发创新.