The impact of cultural exceptions: audiovisual services trade and trade policy

Audiovisual services such as music and movies in digital formats have gained substantial importance over the last decade, while remaining one of the sectors with the lowest number of commitments by WTO members. Based on a novel data set, this article analyses the role of trade restrictions on audiovisual services in a gravity model. We find that countries with WTO commitments trade more audiovisual services, while both exports and imports are lower for countries which impose policies to curb inflows of foreign cultural services.     

Together we invest? Individual and institutional investors' trading behaviour in Poland

This paper contributes to the debate about individual and institutional investors' trading behaviour with new evidence from the Polish stock market. While most existing studies focus on institutional investors' trading in developed markets, we test for the presence of herding during market up- and downswings on an emerging market. Our unique approach is to combine an established method relying on daily prices with institutional features of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. It enables us to separate individuals from institutions by examining two trading mechanisms with different investor structures. The empirical results suggest that individuals engage in herding during market downswings, while there is less evidence of imitating trading behaviour in bullish markets. Regardless of the state of the market, institutions' trading behaviour does not appear to exhibit herd behaviour. Further evidence suggests that herding by individuals becomes less pronounced over time.     

The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Corporate Reputation: A Non-professional Stakeholder Perspective

This paper examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure on corporate reputation as perceived by non-professional stakeholders. Proponents of CSR disclosure argue that CSR disclosure can be considered as a tool for reputation management. We empirically investigate this claim using a reputation index which tracks the general public’s perceptions of corporate reputation over time. In our analysis, we focus on disclosure in stand-alone CSR reports and control for CSR performance. We find that, in contrast to the common belief, stand-alone CSR reports do not influence corporate reputation among non-professional stakeholders. However, we are able to document that stand-alone CSR reports influence corporate reputation among professional stakeholders. We also provide some evidence that transparent CSR disclosure on corporate websites can influence corporate reputation among non-professional stakeholders.     

Location matters: Estimating cluster premiums for prominent modern artists

This paper shows that ‘location matters’ in terms of premiums on creative clusters and peak ages. The analysis is based on the 214 most prominent modern visual artists born 1850-1945 and the art clusters of Paris and New York. Auction records of the past 20 years are used to estimate the value of artworks over an artist's career. The overall cluster premium for paintings produced in Paris and New York is found to be 11% and 43%, respectively; paintings made in Paris during the First World War have a premium of 14% while those produced between 1946 and 1975 have a premium of 27%. New York offers premiums for paintings produced there for all periods after the First World War, peaking at 74% between 1946 and 1975. When decomposing this premium, we find that quality rather than quantity of artists in the location is driving the results. It is argued that artists working in a cluster location reach a peak in the age-price profile of their work significantly earlier than artists working elsewhere.     

Der EU Richtlinienvorschlag für erneuerbare Energien — Eine Analyse der Transferrestriktionen von Herkunftsnachweisen

Until now the promotion of renewable energies in Europe has been effected on the basis of different promotion systems of the Member States. Currently the EU-wide harmonisation of the promotion systems, from which yields of efficiency and a higher effectiveness are expected, cannot be enforced due to a discordance concerning the “right” promotion instrument.With the proposal for a directive on the promotion of renewable energies, published at the 23. January in 2008, the European Commission attempts to make a first move towards harmonisation. Besides existing promotion systems it will be possible to transfer Guarantees of Origin for renewable energies between Member States. Since, however, some Member States expect negative effects as a consequence of opening their markets the proposal comprises opportunities to restrict the transfer. The present scope of interpretation within the proposal allows for different options concerning the design of the transfer restrictions. These will be identified, analysed, and subsequently evaluated in this article. Despite of both extreme options, the possibility to entirely opt out of the transfer system and the obligation to completely participate in the transfer system, two further hybrid options are discussed. The latter are characterised by the possibility of Member States to restrict the transfer of Guarantees of Origin to a certain extent through a “system of prior authorisation”.     

重庆JW万豪酒店 诠释城市中心尊尚生活

重庆万豪酒店是首家进驻重庆的豪华五星级酒店。于1999年11月11日开业,聘请万豪国际酒店管理集团管理。酒店于2004年6月6日升级为万豪集团旗舰品牌——“重庆JW万豪酒店“。酒店占尽优越的地理位置,雄踞城市繁荣经济、商业和文化中心,毗邻解放碑,融入商业旺街仅举步之遥,游玩风景名胜交通便捷。     

Detrending methods and stylized facts of business cycles in Norway – an international comparison

This paper analyses the stylized facts of business cycles in Norway, by comparing different detrending methods. As the choice of the appropriate data transformation depends on the nature of the underlying dynamic properties of the time series, a set of unit root tests are first applied to the data. The detrended data are analysed, both in the time domain and the frequency domain. The evidence suggests that whereas some variables (e.g. consumption and investment) behave consistently procyclically with GDP, for other variables (e.g. real wage and prices), the business cycle properties vary considerably with the detrending methods used. The results are evaluated from a real business cycle perspective, but overall, there is little evidence to support a (supply driven) real business cycle. Symmetries in business cycles are finally analysed by comparing the business cycles in Norway and selected countries. First version received: April 1997 / Final version received: November 1999