Exchange Rates, Nominal Inertia and Inflation

This paper examines the use of the nominal exchange rate in achieving disinflation under managed exchange rate regimes. Most previous empirical studies have not explicitly identified expectations in the wage and price setting behaviour of their econometric models, despite the importance of expectations both during a disinflation and in correcting misalignments. This has meant that costs due to nominal inertia and non-neutralities have not been addressed separately from questions of credibility. We present results for the UK economy using both a theoretical and empirical model in which firms and workers form rational expectations, but where there is also nominal inertia. We identify costs in using the exchange rate to change the inflation rate, and also the costs involved in correcting any disequilibria in the real exchange rate.     

Sociability and the Market

This paper addresses two classroom activities for exploring sociability and the role it plays in market and non-market allocations. Adam Smith’s moral sentiments theory provides a conceptual framework for understanding such behavior. In the Desert Island activity students have conversations about competing allocation methods (e.g., rationing, lottery, competition, brute force) that provide a backdrop for learning about market mechanisms and behavioral economics. Beginning students consistently pick egalitarian distributions that signal the implicit willingness to share for reasons that might be instinctual, reputational or other. Fairness in allocations mimics that found in the playing of the Ultimatum Game. The results suggest that economic instructors can successfully bring into the classroom concepts of sociability and the roles it serves in human institutions when introducing a new and different institution—the market.     

中国房地产市场疲态初显

中国南方两座最大城市出现了房地产市场走软的征兆，表明中国政府给房地产投资热降温的举措可能正在出现成效。     

From Skills Revolution to Productivity Miracle--Not as easy as it Sounds?

This article surveys the potential impact of skill on productivity.It opens with a review of the utility of productivity as a measureof systemic economic performance, and then goes on to explorethe oft-assumed close and strong relationship between skillsand productivity. The importance of other factors and typesof investment is stressed. These complementary elements maybe at least as important as skill in boosting performance, andtheir absence may negate the impact of public investment ineducation and training. The ability of economic developmentpolicy, particularly as it relates to the Regional DevelopmentAgencies, to address skills and economic development is assessed,and questions are raised about what type and level of skillmight have the largest impact on economic performance. In conclusion,we discuss the demands that new policy approaches are makingupon the machinery and personnel of government. Footnotes ¹ E-mail addresses: keepej{at}cardiff.ac.uk; ken.mayhew{at}pmb.ox.ac.uk;paynej3{at}cardiff.ac.uk     

Introduction to the Field of Nanotechnology Ethics and Policy

Nanotechnologies and nanoscience have generated an unprecedented global research and development race involving dozens of countries. The understanding of associated environmental, ethical, and societal implications lags far behind the science and technology. Consequently, it is critical to consider both what is known and what is unknown to offer a kernel that future work can be added to. The challenges presented by nanotechnologies are discussed. Some initial solutions such as self-regulation and borrowing techniques and tools from other fields are accompanied by a call for further research.     

An Investigation of Analysts' Praise of Management During Earnings Conference Calls

Through the textual analysis of a large sample of earnings conference calls, the authors find that analysts praise management on over half of earnings conference calls by saying complimentary phrases such as “congratulations on the great quarter.” The results show that analysts' complimentary phrases reflect the nature of the information released at the earnings announcement. The authors find that the amount of praise by analysts on an earnings conference call is strongly associated with the earnings surprise and to a greater extent the earnings announcement stock return. They also find that there is value to investors in tracking analysts' flattery of management during earnings conference calls, as it predicts abnormal stock returns over the following quarter. The findings, which are incremental to prior research on the tone of earnings conference calls, highlight a previously ignored aspect of analyst feedback.     

Advice in the marketplace: a laboratory study

There is substantial evidence that the decisions of experienced and inexperienced agents differ in ways that impact both individual earnings and aggregate market outcomes. Typically, such evidence is gathered by studying experience as it accumulates within subjects over time. We examine a new question; whether behaviors associated with experience can be transferred directly to new market participants. Specifically, we study the intergenerational transmission of information, including direct advice, in experimental asset markets. Empirical results suggest that advice is a substitute for experience. Prices in sessions with advised traders shift towards fundamentals—a pattern consonant with prior work exploring the impact of own-experience on pricing dynamics. Further, convergence is observed in mixed-markets where only a subset of traders are advised.     

Technology, wages, and skill shortages: evidence from UK micro data

Why have skill shortages continue to persist despite increasesin training and the skill levels of the workforce? We arguethat technical progress has raised the demand for skilled labourto match the observed increase in supply. We provide econometricevidence in support of this hypothesis, showing that skill shortagesare higher for establishments that use advanced technology inthe production process. We also provide econometric evidencethat hiring difficulties are inversely related to the relativewage, as theory would suggest. Our results have clear implicationsfor policy. If technological progress continues to be skillbiased, policies that address skills deficiencies will onlybe successful if they produce a continual, rather than a temporary,increase in levels of skills among the workforce.     

PERSPECTIVE: Ranking Business Schools on the Management of Technology

Current centers of active research on the management of technology and innovation (MOT) are identified through the use of a publication‐based study. This article develops a methodology for ranking centers of MOT research and in doing so identifies 120 centers of MOT research in different parts of the world. Centers of research are identified in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Detailed assessment is offered for the 21 U.S.‐based schools with three or more active MOT researchers present. The nature and quality of research activity is assessed with a series of 21 metrics. These metrics consider the number of active faculty, the number of publications researchers have in the base journals during the study period, total publication history, MOT publication history, number of equivalent articles, number of pages published, frequency of citations, and a series of metrics that are a combination of two or more of these factors. The assessment identifies four groups of schools that have MOT research capabilities. Schools with substantial research capability are divided into three tiers based on their rankings in different metrics. Each of the schools ranked in the first tier placed first on at least two of the 21 metrics considered in this study. A reasonable argument can be made that any one of the schools ranking in the first tier is the strongest school in terms of MOT research capabilities. These U.S.‐based schools in alphabetical order are Georgia Tech, MIT, Rensselaer, Rutgers, and Stanford. An important point to note is that there are clear differences in research focus between the different first‐tier schools; therefore, it is quite likely that different types of students, faculties, and practitioners will find each of the first‐tier schools most attractive based on personal fit with these differences in specialization. The schools in the second and third tier have substantial MOT research capability. The fourth tier identifies 18 additional U.S.‐based schools that have some capability due to a core of two researchers. This core could be the springboard to a national ranking or a transitory state due to departure of a faculty member. Future research should consider the stability of the results over time and should explore the links among research capabilities, program structure, student output, and placement.