On the real effects of inflation and inflation uncertainty in Mexico

We estimate an augmented multivariate GARCH-M model of inflation and output growth for Mexico at business cycle frequencies. The main findings are: (1) inflation uncertainty has a negative and significant effect on growth; (2) once the effect of inflation uncertainty is accounted for, lagged inflation does not have a direct negative effect on output growth; (3) However as predicted by Friedman and Ball, higher average inflation raises inflation uncertainty, and the overall net effect of average inflation on output growth in Mexico is negative. That is, average inflation is harmful to Mexican growth due to its impact on inflation uncertainty. (4) The Mexican Presidential election cycle significantly raises inflation uncertainty both during the year of the election and the year following the election which has correspondingly negative effects on output growth.     

Strategic Reaction of Vertically Integrated Firms to Downstream Entry: Deterrence or Accommodation

The purpose of this paper is to analyze strategic behavior of vertically integrated firms when there is downstream entry, taking into account the balance between competition in the market and competition for the market. This analysis can serve to explain diverse distributional structures, including the coexistence of vertically integrated firms and independent retailers. And it shows that the relative efficiency of downstream entrants and the level of competition among incumbents are two major factors in determining equilibrium configuration.     

The impact of capacity expansion on the market value of the firm

This paper empirically investigates the impact of capacity expansion decisions on the market value of the firm. Event study methodology is used to estimate the abnormal change in stock prices around capacity expansion decision announcements. On the day of the announcement, the magnitude of the price change is abnormally high, evidenced by a significantly positive mean standardized square of the abnormal change (Beaver's U-statistic). We also analyze factors that we could affect the direction and magnitude of the abnormal change in the stock prices. We find that the change in price on the day of the announcement is positively and significantly related to the real growth rate of the industry, and negatively and significantly related to the variability of demand. A negative relationship between the price change and industry capacity utilization is also found which can have important implications for companies which follow the wait-and-see approach to capacity expansion decisions. We also find management ownership to be a significant predictor in explaining stock price changes around these announcements.     

企业的物流战略及其模式选择探析

在现代社会，任何企业要生产就必须有物资资源的支撑，也就有物流。物流是热门话题，也是国内外发展的重点和许多企业竞争的焦点。在专业化日益盛行的今天，任何企业都不可能完全靠自身的实力来发展。为了使得企业的正常运作，需要制定自身的物流战略，战略的不同导致其模式的差别，物流的战略往往决定了物流模式的选择。     

上市公司控制权转移与市场反应

国外有研究表明,控制权转移能给目标公司股东带来20%左右的超额收益率.本文通过考察我国1997-2003发生控制权转移的282个样本,发现控制权转移能给目标公司带来9%以上的累积超额收益率.而且,转移后变更行业、变更董事长或总经理、民营转给国有的样本转移时可获得的累积超额收益率甚至更高.最后,我们用多元回归模型进一步分析了累积超额收益率的影响因素,进一步证明行业变更、董事长或总经理变更、转移类型对控制权转移的市场反应有显著影响.     

Forecasting UK house prices: A time varying coefficient approach

Previous studies of UK house prices, developed from the demand and supply ofhousing or from the asset market approach have been poor in terms of robustness and ex-post forecasting ability. The UK housing market has suffered a number of structural changes, particularly since the early 1980s with substantial house price increases, financial market deregulation and the removal of mortgage market constraints through competition. Consequently, models which assume that the underlying data-generating process is stable and apply constant parameter techniques tend to suffer in terms of parameter instability. This article uses the Time Varying Coefficient (TVC) methodology where the underlying data-generating process in the UK housing market is treated as unstable. The estimation results of the TVC regression of UK house prices is compared with those obtained from three alternative constant parameter regressions. Comparisons of forecasting performance suggest the TVC regression out-performs forecasts from an Error Correction Mechanism (ECM), Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and an Autoregressive Time Series regression.     

我国人力资本发展运营过程中的制度探析

人力资本发展制度存在行政性垄断、投入不足等弊端,存在市场配置机制发展滞后、不完善及分配仍以人力资本的行政定价为主等问题.造成缺陷的主要制度性根源在于人力资本产权缺失或残缺.实现制度创新,需要以人力资本产权制度为基础明晰人力资本产权,利用市场机制配置人力资本,建立以个人合法剩余索取权为基础的收入分配制度.     

Tax–preferred savings accounts and marginal tax rates: evidence on RRSP participation

The effect of taxes on participation in Registered Retirement Savings Plans between 1982 and 1996 is studied. Interprovincial changes in the tax structure over this period provide identifying variation. Using this variation, I find that taxes influence households' participation decisions, but more weakly than previously estimated. A 10 percentage point increase in the marginal tax rate is estimated to increase the probability of participation by 8 per cent. This explains only 5.1 per cent of the trend in participation. I also find suggestive evidence that the carryforward mechanism may be used as an instrument for tax base smoothing. JEL Classification: H24
Comptes d'épargne fiscalement privilégiés et taux marginaux d'imposition : résultats sur la participation aux régimes enregistrés d'épargne retraite (REER). Ce mémoire étudie les effets du régime d'imposition sur la participation aux régimes enregistrés d'épargne retraite (REER) entre 1982 et 1996. Les changements dans la structure d'imposition d'une province à l'autre au cours de la période fournissent un éventail de possibilités. Utilisant cet éventail, l'auteur découvre que le régime fiscal influence les décisions de participer des ménages, mais plus faiblement qu'on l'avait estimé précédemment. Un accroissement de 10 pour cent dans le taux marginal d'imposition accroît la probabilité de participation de 8 pour cent. Voilà qui explique seulement 5,1 pour cent de la tendance dans la participation. L'auteur découvre aussi que le mécanisme de report dans le temps de la portion inutilisée de la contribution aux REER peut être utilisé comme instrument de lissage de la base de revenus imposables.     

职业流动中的性别差异:审视中国城市劳动力市场

本文旨在回答以下问题:(1)在中国城市劳动力市场中,职业流动性别差异以何种模式体现?(2)职业流动性别差异主要受哪些因素决定?文章使用第二次中国妇女社会地位调查数据,预测人力资本、家庭因素、社会资本、市场结构转型对男女职业流动的影响。实证结果表明:在经济转型期间,人力资本因素并不能完全解释我国职业流动的性别差异,而家庭特征、社会资本以及劳动力市场结构变动都对职业流动性别差异产生显著影响。