HEDONIC PRICING MODELS FOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION MARKS

Abstract.  This paper attempts to link Chinese numerology to the determination of vehicle registration mark (VRM) prices in Hong Kong through the hedonic pricing analysis. The values of different patterns of the numbers and Roman alphabet letters are examined. We find that there is a very strong preference for the number '8', that visually appealing patterns add great values to a VRM and that the non-transferable VRMs are more expensive than transferable ones. We also show that their prices move in tandem with the Hang Seng Index. The findings suggest that the government can raise revenue by auctioning off intangible assets containing alphanumerical identification marks.     

NONPROFIT EMPLOYEES' MACHIAVELLIAN PROPENSITIES

Nonprofit organizations are held to high ethical standards due to their charitable missions serving the common good. Incidents of fiscal mismanagement within the nonprofit sector make it relevant to assay the ethical principles of employees. This study examines the level of Machiavellian propensities of US nonprofit employees. Results indicate Machiavellian propensities do exist in certain nonprofit employees and these employees agree with questionable behavior. Policy makers and oversight agencies may find these results useful in developing corporate governance and accountability measures for nonprofit organizations. Furthermore, board of director members may use these results to monitor employee actions and address management training.     

高等职业院校酒店管理专业实训基地建设的探索与实践

文章认为酒店管理专业课程的发展必须紧跟市场,建立一个具有专业特色的真实工作环境的实训基地非常有必要,这有助于所培养的专业人才能紧密结合行业和企业发展,按照企业的管理规范开展实训.达到"在工作中学习,在学习中工作"的目的.     

针对大学英语分级教学反对意见的思考

大学英语教学必须适应社会需求,以培养学生的英语综合应用能力为目标,大学英语分级教学具有坚实的理论依据和现实意义。针对本校大学英语分级教学在实践过程中所产生的问题,通过调查和分析,得出了个性化、以人为本的大学英语分级教学思路。     

Domestic Support and Border Measures for Processed Horticultural Products

In horticultural markets, trade barriers often apply to the processed products whereas domestic support applies to farm-produced raw commodities. Here we assess the effects of such trade barriers and domestic support by simulating the effects of policy reform on global processing tomato markets, which are faced with modest processed product tariffs and high domestic support in the European Union (EU). Both protection and EU subsidy drive down world welfare, but we find that reducing import tariffs for tomato products would yield greater effects on markets and larger welfare impacts outside Europe than would reductions in EU domestic support.     

伪满时期东北农业雇工研究

伪满时期,由于日本帝国主义的入侵,影响和改变了东北农村的社会经济结构和农民的生存环境.雇工(或雇农)作为东北农民社会的一个阶层,在这期间经历了极为显著的变化,诸如雇农数量激增;雇农内部结构发生变化;雇佣劳动在农业劳动中所占比率上升;雇农群地域分布的不平衡性;雇工形态及雇工工资的变化;雇工家庭生活水平的下降等.     

REVISITING INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT AND SEGMENTATION IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN LABOUR MARKET

This study revisits the definition of informal employment, and it investigates the puzzle of high open unemployment co‐existing with relatively limited informal employment in South Africa. We estimate earnings equations using data from the September 2004 Labour Force Survey and present evidence of persistent earnings differentials not only between formal and informal employment, but also between types of informal employment. These persistent earnings differentials are suggestive of complex segmentation in the South African labour market and challenge the presentation of informal employment as an undifferentiated residual with no barriers to entry or mobility.     

论董事会的独立性对上市公司治理结构的完善——独立董事的产生及现状分析

现代公司制度的核心是要建立起完善的公司治理结构,董事会在公司治理结构中起着核心作用。但随着股份公司的股权进一步公众化,越来越多的研究报告揭示了董事会职能减弱的客观事实;同时,董事会日渐形成的内部控制与现代企业的发展形成矛盾。由此,西方在公司治理结构上引入了独立董事制,独立董事的功能已在现代企业法人治理结构中确立。     

景区拓荒群体的旅游特征——以福建邵武天成岩为例

邵武市天成岩是一处原始旅游地,已有一些旅游者自发而来。这些拓荒群体以中青年为主,他们多数经人介绍获得信息,以猎奇心态对景区观光漂流体验活动感兴趣,他们希望景区保持原样,不要太多人为干扰。这些拓荒群体的旅游特征对原始旅游地开发具有一定的指导意义。     

Modelling the inflation process in transition economies: Empirical comparison of Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic

This paper starts from the observation that inflation in transition economies appears to be persistently high and volatile and attempts to provide some empirical characterisation of the inflation process in three such transition economies: Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic. We first consider the role of monetary growth as a major causal factor for inflation in these economies, and argue that the evidence provides rather weak support for the causal relationship. We then propose a transition economy cost-plus model and estimate this using the equilibrium-correction modelling (ECM) strategy augmented by introduction of a number of transitory factors and changes in the internal structure of the real economy which we believe may have had a significant impact on inflation in these economies. We show that this approach enables us to account for long-run inflation in these economies from the early 1980s to the present despite the turbulence of the latter part of the sample period. Our results support wage and exchange rate based inflation policies.