AN ANALYTICAL SOLUTION FOR THE TWO‐SIDED PARISIAN STOPPING TIME,ITS ASYMPTOTICS,AND THE PRICING OF PARISIAN OPTIONS

In this paper, we obtain a recursive formula for the density of the two‐sided Parisian stopping time. This formula does not require any numerical inversion of Laplace transforms, and is similar to the formula obtained for the one‐sided Parisian stopping time derived in Dassios and Lim. However, when we study the tails of the two distributions, we find that the two‐sided stopping time has an exponential tail, while the one‐sided stopping time has a heavier tail. We derive an asymptotic result for the tail of the two‐sided stopping time distribution and propose an alternative method of approximating the price of the two‐sided Parisian option.     

‘Emptying the cage,changing the birds’: state rescaling,path-dependency and the politics of economic restructuring in post-crisis Guangdong

This paper evaluates how economic restructuring in Guangdong is entwined with the politicisation of state rescaling during and after the global financial crisis of 2008. It shows how a key industrial policy known as ‘double relocation’ generated tensions between the Guangdong government, then led by Party Secretary Wang Yang, and the senior echelon of the Communist Party of China in Beijing. The contestations and negotiations that ensued illustrate the dynamic entwinement between state rescaling and institutional path-dependency: the Wang administration launched this industrial policy in spite of potentially destabilising effects on the prevailing national structure of capital accumulation. This foregrounds, in turn, the constitutive and constraining effects of established, national-level policies on local, territorially specific restructuring strategies.     

A High Road to Sustainability? Wildflower Harvesting,Ethical Trade and Social Upgrading in South Africa's Western Cape

This paper evaluates the outcomes from an ambitious wildflower harvesting programme in South Africa's Western Cape, which has sought to achieve positive outcomes in terms of socio‐economic development and biodiversity conservation. Indigenous wildflowers, harvested according to conservation principles, are processed into ‘Cape Flora’ bouquets and sold into international and domestic markets. The principal supply chain provides an example of ethical trade due to the explicit environmental and social standards that are required at local sites of production. The incorporation of such standards represents an attempt to engender economic and social upgrading within the value chain. In this sense, the programme is consistent with dominant policy discourses, which suggest that exploiting potentially profitable niches within international trade flows represents a ‘high road’ to economic growth and transformation. The paper focuses upon the job creation and social impacts of the programme in the context of efforts to overcome South Africa's deeply entrenched socio‐economic disparities and high poverty levels. Despite impressive growth in production and exports during the global financial crisis, there have been mixed outcomes in terms of benefits to stakeholders at the upstream end of the supply chain. The paper concludes by considering the extent to which local initiatives operating under the framework of ethical trade possess the potential to facilitate effective social and economic upgrading.     

From ‘start-up’ to ‘re-boot’: Product lifecycle strategies and competitive advantage in the computer industry

The PC sector, following the packaging and car manufacturing industries, will increasingly be forced to acknowledge and account for its product base throughout the commodity's life, and beyond. The environmental problems being posed by electronic waste have been recognized and both the EU and the individual Member States are discussing solutions which may or may not include legislative action. In anticipation, product take-back programmes are beginning to emerge within the industry and the economics and logistics of re-use and recycling are at the forefront of this debate. The issues in store for this sector are examined and specific initiatives by organizations considered. It is asked whether a ‘closing of the product loop’ will generate a competitive advantage for these companies and what impact an industry-led ‘consortia’ initiative may have.     

The effect of consumers' emotional reactions on behavioral intention: The moderating role of personal relevance and self-monitoring

This study examines the moderating effects of personal relevance and self-monitoring on the relationship between emotional reactions and behavioral intention. The results show that personal relevance and self-monitoring moderate the emotion-behavioral intention relationship. The magnitude of the relationship increases significantly when these individual difference variables are incorporated as interaction terms. Theoretical and public policy implications are discussed.     

Women, Ethics, and MBAs

We argue that the declining female enrollment in graduate business schools is a manifestation of gender bias in business education. The extant conceptual foundation of business education is one which views business activity in terms of a game with fixed and wholly material objectives. This concept betrays an underlying value system that reflects a male orientation. Business education is not merely amoral, therefore, but is gender biased. We suggest that business educators adopt a broadened behavioral rubric. Virtue-ethics theory provides such a rubric.     

Economic effects of card transactions in Singapore

There is some concern that the increasing use of credit and charge cards may have adverse effects on the Singapore economy. This paper argues that while cards provide economic benefits in many ways, their monetary impact on inflation should be negligible and their impact on consumption and overspending should not be cause for much concern.     

Papua New Guinea's tax performance, 1965-77

The PNG Goverment increased its tax ratio from 6.6 to 15% over the period, 1965–1977. Estimates of the buoyancy and the elasticity of the major taxes are also high compared to those obtained for other less developed countries. There are significant differences between the tax bouyancy and the tax elasticity to show that considerable efforts were made to collect more tax revenue through discretionary fiscal policies. However, a possible weakness exists in these discretionary policies, in that the collection of more revenue was brought about mainly by raising the tax rates of the existing major taxes and little attention was paid to the search for new tax bases.