Takeover bids, unconditional offer price and investor protection

In this paper, we develop a contingent claim analysis on shareholders' right to sell unconditionally their shares at the acquisition bid price during a takeover bid procedure. Compared with a situation without any guarantee, this regulation brings about wealth transfer towards outside shareholders. Why, in an apparently irrational way, do outside shareholders, who may benefit from a price guarantee, not systematically sell their shares? That question emphasizes the outside shareholders' behavior. Using a real option valuation model to evaluate the price guarantee opportunity, we show that an equal treatment rule between controlling and outside shareholders may lead outside shareholders to sell their shares.     

Do Investments in Specialized Knowledge Lead to Composite Good Industries?

We try to understand why firms producing goods by means of complementary components do not merge, especially in industries in which investments in component-based knowledge matters. As Audretsch, we state that these activities are developed by “individuals” who do their best to appropriate the return from their knowledge and whose effort is non-contractible. The organization of the industry into firms is identified to a partition of the set of individuals. In this context, we prove that an organization in which each individual hold his own firms is both stable with respect to unilateral deviation and optimal in the line of the property right approach. If the returns are high enough, this structure is even the only one which shares both properties.     

Restoring the growth potential of formerly centrally planned economies

All formerly centrally planned economies record very substantial declines in their social products. The largest drops in production are recorded in Poland and in east Germany (the former GDR), that is, in those countries where the most radical steps towards a market economy were taken in 1990. Thus it looks as though a recession was unavoidable during transition. But what are the conditions that must be fulfilled in order to restore growth potential to these countries? The following article aims first to devise a theoretical picture of a successful transition. The criteria thus obtained are then employed for an analysis of the recessive processes in Poland, the first east European country to start a radical programme of transition. Finally, the recession in Poland is compared with that in the former GDR.     

Consumer Neuroscience und Neuromarketing - der Blick ins Kundenhirn

Nach wie vor mangelt es in weiten Teilen der K?uferverhaltensforschung an ganzheitlichen Theorien. Mit der Integration neurowissenschaftlicher Verfahren und Erkenntnisse in die Marketingforschung verbindet sich die Hoffnung, diese Lücke zu schlie?en. Diese Erwartung scheint berechtigt, wird aber oft auch überstrapaziert. Eine realistische Einordnung der neuen Forschungsrichtung erl?utert die jeweiligen Methoden und deren Einsatzm?glichkeiten in der Praxis, zeigt aber auch die Grenzen des Neuromarketing auf.     

The Influence and Policy Signalling Role of FOMC Forecasts

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) policymakers have published macroeconomic forecasts since 1979 and we examine the effects of FOMC inflation forecasts using a structural VAR model. First, we assess whether they influence private inflation expectations. Second, we investigate the underlying mechanism at work and whether they convey policy signals. We provide original evidence that FOMC inflation forecasts influence private ones. We also find that the influencing effect of FOMC forecasts does not come through current Fed rate changes, that FOMC forecasts affect private expectations in a different way than current policy decisions, and that FOMC forecasts are informative about future Fed rate movements.     

中国非正规经济(上)

第八届开放时代论坛于2010年10月16日至17日在北京大学召开。本届论坛由北京大学中国社会与发展研究中心、开放时代杂志社和北京大学社会学系联合举办,主题为"中国非正规经济"。规模庞大的"非正规经济"本为发展中国家的普遍现象,然而在中国这一作为世界上最大的发展中国家的发展经验广为世人瞩目之际,中国的"非正规经济"却并未得到相应的重视与研究。摆脱主流经济理论和"现代化"模式的误导,摒弃意识形态的争执,正视中国非正规经济的现实,从"社会保护"和"人本发展"的角度,探讨人道、经济、可持续的中国发展之路,乃为本届论坛主题设立的缘起与主旨。本届论坛涉及的议题包括:中国发展与非正规经济实践、非正规经济与非正规就业、非正规经济与社会流动、非正规经济与社会发展等。以下专题根据现场录音整理,并经发言者阅校和编辑删节,小标题为编者所拟。由于篇幅所限,本刊将分两期发表本届论坛的研讨内容。     

A hospital-initiated multisectoral road safety campaign with speed-adapted coconut drop test in Northern Laos

We investigate the efficacy of a multisectoral road safety campaign initiated at Luang Namtha Provincial Hospital (LNPH), North-Laos. Road safety days (RSD) with helmet promotion were organised prior to the Lao and International New Year 2007. Motorbike helmet protectiveness was demonstrated by dropping peeled versus unpeeled coconuts from 6-m high sticks simulating city speed-limit (40?km/h). The primary outcome was the number of road traffic injuries (RTI) needing admission (severe RTI) before and after the first RSD. Secondary outcomes were helmet usage, total RTI, hospital staff's behavioural changes and law enforcement. Neighbouring Bokeo Provincial Hospital (BPH) had no intervention. Severe RTI dropped by 34.7% within 12 months (from 449 to 293, p?≤?0.0001, BPH +123% [from 88 to 196]). Total RTI increased by 10.8% (from 772 to 855, p?=?0.0396, BPH +260.8% [from 186 to 671]). Police started the law enforcement right after the RSD. Helmet use increased from 11.2 to 42.5% (p?相似文献