SOME ASPECTS OF FOOD CONSUMPTION AND ITS LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE IN PAKISTAN, 1961-86

This paper attempts to answer three important questions regarding the consumption of food in Pakistan: (2) What are the recent trends of consumption in the rural and urban areas? (2) What is the likely direction and magnitude of food demand during the period 1961-86? (3) Is the growth of production of food commodities going to be sufficient to meet the requirements by 1970 and thereafter?     

Spatial Patterns of Inequality and Poverty in Indonesia

The paper uses data from the 1976 Household Expenditure Survey (Susenas) to examine spatial patterns of poverty and inequality in Indonesia. A number of inequality measures are computed for each province (Gini Ratio. Atkinson Index, Theil Index, L-Index) and provincial rankings according to each index are compared. Provinces are also ranked according to a number of poverty indexes, using a poverty line adjusted for differences in price levels, between provinces. The correlation between selected measures of poverty and inequality is also investigated and some implications for regional development policy discussed.     

Oligopoly in markets with a continuum of traders: An asymptotic interpretation

This paper tries to make relevant for a finite economy the results of Shitovitz on the “pricing-out” of cores of economies with a non-atomles measure space of agents. It is hoped that the comparison of the two sets of results will shed light on the interpretation and modeling of a “large” trader.     

A monetary model of balance of payments: The case of Venezuela

The monetary approach to the balance of payments has gained considerable appeal in the literature and is viewed as being concerned with the long run since it does not analyze the adjustment process of the balance of payments. The model developed in this paper is concerned essentially with the short-run implications of this approach and the model is applied to the case of Venezuela. The results were very encouraging for the monetary approach as the model was able to explain a great part of the fluctuations in the balance of payments of Venezuela during the period of study.     

Taxation,procurement and collective incentives in Chinese agriculture

Contrary to the view held by many, the organization of agriculture in China has been based on a carefully devised system of incentives which rewards efficiency even at the cost of permitting some degree of inequality. This paper looks at the way taxation and procurement policies in China have been designed to provide such incentive to the collective units in Chinese agriculture. The overall result is a rate of ‘marginal tax’ which is much lower than the rate of ‘average tax’ that is levied both directly and implicitly through procurement. Since liberation there has been a steady reduction in the rate of extraction of resources out of agriculture.     

Usefulness of fair values for predicting banks’ future earnings: evidence from other comprehensive income and its components

This paper examines whether fair value adjustments included in other comprehensive income (OCI) predict future bank performance. It also examines whether the reliability of these estimates affects their predictive value. Using a sample of bank holding companies, we find that fair value adjustments included in OCI can predict earnings both 1 and 2 years ahead. However, not all fair value-related unrealized gains and losses included in OCI have similar implications. While net unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are positively associated with future earnings, net unrealized gains and losses on derivative contracts classified as cash flow hedges are negatively associated with future earnings. We also find that reliable measurement of fair values enhances predictive value. Finally, we show that fair value adjustments recorded in OCI during the 2007–2009 financial crisis predicted future profitability, contradicting criticism that fair value accounting forced banks to record excessive downward adjustments.     

Human resource management in Chinese multinationals in the United Kingdom: The interplay of institutions,culture, and strategic choice

This is a study of the challenges faced by Chinese expatriate managers and their strategic responses in securing a workable degree of alignment in UK subsidiaries, against a backdrop of competing home‐country and host‐country pressures. Although much of the literature on home‐country and host‐country effects tends to either adopt a culture or an institutional approach, this study highlights the intermeshed nature of the two. In locating cultural dynamics within an institutional firmament, this study juxtaposes the effects of each and draws conclusions as to their intersection. It is founded on in‐depth interviews with home‐country and host‐country managers. The findings suggest, on the one hand, Chinese expatriate managers tended to see local regulations as an obstacle to efficiency, rather than as a means to access context‐specific complementarities. On the other hand, these managers recognized the need to fit in with established locally specific ways of doing things and in securing sufficient staff buy in to sustain operations, and played a key intermediary role between headquarters and subsidiary.     

Mutual fund flows and investors’ expectations in BRICS economies: Implications for international diversification

This paper empirically examines the relationship between different classes of mutual funds, measures of investors’ expectations and business cycle movements in the BRICS markets over the 1996Q1-2017Q3 period. Applying the Panel Vector Autoregressive (PVAR) model in a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) setting, the results suggest a strong causal relationship between mutual fund flows and measures of investors’ future expectations. In particular, fund flows are forward-looking and assist in forecasting real economic conditions. Moreover, investors choose to invest in riskier funds when economic conditions are good, while they prefer safer options in poor economic situations. These findings have important implications for international diversification.