Long-run real exchange rates in the Four Little Dragons

This paper analyses changes in the exchange rate arrangements and policy and their impact on the long-run real exchange rates of the Asian Four Little Dragons. It is found that purchasing power parity is a basic guide in formulating the exchange rate policy of the Four Little Dragons and that exchange rate regimes are very responsive to the effect of major external disturbances on prices. Thus, the exchange rate policy and arrangements are important factors in shaping the behaviour of the real exchange rates of the FLDs, which tend to return to the long-run average value. To test the null hypothesis that purchasing power parity does not hold between the Four Little Dragons and the United States, two cointegration tests, the augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test and the Johansen test, are applied. As the symmetry and proportionality conditions are not supported by the data, the tests are conducted in a trivariate system. While the ADF test does not support PPP, evidence of cointegration is found by the Johansen test.     

Government performance evaluation using a balanced scorecard with a fuzzy linguistic scale

An efficient performance measurement system is essential for controlling, monitoring and improving service quality in governmental organisations. In this study, a new ‘government performance evaluating (GPE) procedure’ using a balanced scorecard structure integrated with a fuzzy linguistic scale is proposed for measuring and improving public service. The GPE procedure contributes the following: (1) integration of financial, citizen service and internal work processes as well as learning and growth perspectives in the evaluation procedure; (2) use of a fuzzy linguistic scale to convert the subjective cognition of managers into an information entity and (3) confirmation of improvement.     

This is why I have decided to stop helping you: A theoretical model of help-giving discontinuity in organizations

Drawing upon conservation of resources (COR) and attribution theories, we develop a help-giving discontinuity model. From the COR perspective, we theorize that when help-giving is perceived to be obligation, prevention-focused self-regulation is triggered, which induces help-giving discontinuity to prevent further loss of resources. Additionally, when a low likelihood of receiving reciprocated help is perceived, prevention-focused self-regulation is activated, which induces help-giving discontinuity due to insufficient replenishment of resources. From the attribution perspective, we propose that a co-worker's lack of effort and recurrence of the same task-related issue promote dispositional attributions, which result in help-giving discontinuity. Our model, therefore, provides an important theoretical base for future research investigating why some employees continuously help others while others do not.     

How can corporations adopt Confucianism in business practices? Two representative cases

Ethics is one of the oldest scholarly topics, whether in Eastern Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, or Western Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Theory, among others. Traditional ethics focuses on providing guidelines for behavior at a personal level. However, business ethics focuses more on corporations, with related studies addressing why corporations should practice social responsibility and embed ethics in business practices. Applying ethics to firms requires a variety of considerations in many areas. This is especially the case in Confucianism, which emphasizes self‐cultivation, self‐reflection, and self‐discipline. This study investigates two modern representative cases of Confucian firms and observes how they integrate Confucianism into their business practices. It finds that despite the prevalence of a complex environment, Confucianism can still be adopted by them if they use certain methods. Besides, we also identify the common outcomes across these companies. These findings provide a reference for companies that want to incorporate Confucianism in their operations.     

Parallel trade with an endogenous market structure

This paper sets up a two‐country model in which there is one domestic manufacturer authorising its product to a distributor in the foreign country. The distributor can sell the product not only to its own market (i.e., the foreign market) but also back to the domestic market. The latter is called parallel trade (PT). The paper investigates the effects of PT on the profits of the manufacturer and social welfare if the domestic market structure is endogenously determined. It is found that PT should be encouraged rather than banned as it increases not only the profits of the manufacturer but also the welfare of both the domestic and the foreign countries.     

Disappointment and the Optimal Insurance Contract

This paper studies the optimal insurance contract under disappointment theory. We show that, when the individuals anticipate disappointment, there are two types of optimal insurance contract. The first type contains a deductible and a coinsurance above the deductible. We find that zero marginal cost is just a sufficient but not a necessary condition for a zero deductible. The second type has no deductible and the optimal insurance starts with full coverage for small losses and includes a coinsurance above an upper value of the full coverage.     

Corporate Social Responsibility and International Competition: A Welfare Analysis

This paper examines the welfare implications of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in international markets under imperfect competition. Based on a stylized model of an import‐competing duopolistic market, we show the feasibility of moving toward tariff reductions when both domestic and foreign firms launch CSR initiatives in that their payoffs include not only individual profits, but also the benefits of consumers. For the case where the foreign exporter unilaterally adopts the consumer‐oriented CSR as a strategy, there is a rent‐shifting effect because the foreign firm's payoff increases whereas the domestic firm's profit decreases. In response, the importing country's government raises its tariff on the foreign product. If, instead, the domestic firm adopts the CSR strategy unilaterally, the rent‐shifting effect disappears and both the competing firms’ payoffs increase. We further identify the conditions under which the CSR initiatives of the firms constitute the dominant strategy, leading to a Pareto efficient outcome at which the firms’ payoffs, consumer surplus, and social welfare are at their maximum levels.     

High involvement work system,work–family conflict,and expatriate performance – examining Taiwanese expatriates in China

This study explores the effects of multinational companies (MNC) implementation of a high involvement work system (HIWS) for their expatriates on both expatriate work–family conflict (WFC) and their performance. We surveyed 174 Taiwanese expatriates stationed in China. Data were collected on: (1) perceived human resource management (HRM) practices concerning ‘high involvement work system’; (2) perceived work–family conflict; (3) job satisfaction; and (4) supervisor ratings of expatriate job performance. Structural modeling techniques helped us examine in one model the interdependent relationships among high involvement work system, work–family conflict, and expatriate performance in their host country. Our results show that a high involvement work system is positively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. However, a high involvement work system is also positively related to expatriate work-family conflict, which in turn is negatively related to expatriate satisfaction and performance. Our findings remind managers that a high involvement work system may produce multiple effects on various dimensions of employee work life, and not all of these effects may be positive.     

Incremental net monetary benefit of ocrelizumab relative to subcutaneous interferon β-1a

Aim: Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) impact the natural history of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (RRMS) by reducing annual relapse rates and slowing disability progression. The effect of DMTs on indirect costs has not been consistently explored in cost-effectiveness studies thus far. The value to patients of an emerging DMT, ocrelizumab, was quantified in comparison to subcutaneous interferon beta-1a (IFNβSC) for the prevalent RRMS population with mild-to-moderate disability in the US, based on two Phase 3 trials, OPERA I and OPERA II, of ocrelizumab vs IFNβSC in RRMS.

Materials and methods: A Markov model was developed to compare disability progression as measured by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and relapse outcomes over a 30-year horizon for ocrelizumab vs IFNβSC. Direct, indirect, and informal costs (2016?US dollars) and utilities for EDSS health states were obtained from the literature. Hazard ratios for disability progression and relapse rates were estimated from clinical trials. Value was assessed by calculating the net monetary benefit (NMB), defined as the monetary value of discounted quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) minus total costs, where the value of a QALY was $150,000. One-way sensitivity analyses were conducted.

Results: Ocrelizumab was associated with an incremental gain of 0.84 QALYs and cost savings of $287,713 relative to IFNβSC, resulting in an incremental NMB (INMB) of $413,611 per person over 30 years. The INMB increased by $151,763 for those initiating ocrelizumab at EDSS level 1 vs level 4. Influential parameters were QALY value, treatment costs, and disability progression; however, all sensitivity analyses indicated that the INMB for ocrelizumab relative to IFNβSC was ≥$300,000 per person.

Conclusions: Ocrelizumab provides greater value to RRMS patients compared with IFNβSC. Initiating ocrelizumab at lower EDSS levels leads to a greater cumulative value due to slower disability progression, which extends years with higher quality-of-life.     

Deficit Estimation and Welfare Effects after the 1994 Fiscal Reform in China： Evidence from the County Level

Using simple statistical analysis of count-level budgetary data from across all of China＇s counties, the present paper examines whether the post-1994 fiscal decentralization has affected redistribution at the count-level. The new fiscal system has been less able to narrow inter-county dispersion in ftscal imbalances than the old one, even after taking intergovernmental transfer payments into account. Although with the post-1994 system there has been a modest increase in per capita welfare spending in all counties on average, much of the new-found fiscal resources have been spent on salary and administrative expenses rather than spending on public goods. Therefore, it is imperative that the reform of China＇s tax system is intensified.