The Impact of Institutional Differences on Derivatives Usage: a Comparative Study of US and Dutch Firms

This paper examines the influence of institutional differences on corporate risk management practices in the USA and the Netherlands. We compare results to surveys in each country using a strategy that corrects for differences over industry and size classes across the Dutch and US samples. We document several differences in the firms’ uses and attitudes towards derivatives and attempt to attribute them to the differences in the institutional environments between the USA and the Netherlands. We find that institutional differences appear to have an important impact on risk management practices and derivatives use across US and Dutch firms.     

An Empirical Analysis of Entrant and Incumbent Bidding in Road Construction Auctions

This paper explores differences in the bidding patterns of entrants and incumbents in road construction auctions. We find that entrants bid more aggressively and win auctions with significantly lower bids than incumbents. The differences in their bidding patterns are consistent with a model of auctions in which the distribution of an entrant's costs exhibits greater dispersion than that of an incumbent's and relations of stochastic dominance in the distributions do not persist for the entire range of estimated costs. We also find that more efficient firms bid, on average, more aggressively and firms with greater backlogs bid less aggressively.     

由联想改制看高层长期激励

联想是较早在我国实施股票期权制度的企业,也是运用最成功的范例之一。联想董事长柳传志曾多次说过“如果没有实施股权激励,联想的接班就不会这么顺利”。这句话的确意义深刻,因为受益的不仅是企业及企业高层,当然也包括柳传志本人。从褚时建到李经纬再到柳传志,任何人都无法否认柳传志是最幸运的退居二线的企业家。因为他有联想1000万股股票,足以使他在退下来后,潇洒自如地或挥杆高尔夫绿茵场上;或闲情逸致漫步异国他乡。而前两位却不幸成为了“59现象”的代表。“股票期权”与联想模式在我国实施股票期权的确障碍多多,因为很多制度、法律…     

A Paleoeconomic Theory of Co-Evolution and Extinction of Domesticable Animals

One Pleistocene mystery is why early North Americans eradicated their large, potentially domesticable animals (e.g., horses), whereas early Europeans did not. A commonly‐held hypothesis is that European species were evasive due to co‐evolution with hominids, whereas North American animals were naïve and unable to adapt quickly enough when experienced human hunters arrived from Eurasia. We explore this hypothesis with a paleoeconomic model of co‐evolution that integrates human hunting investments and wildlife population responses. We find that investments in hunting ability, based on the relative scarcity of prey species, could have mattered more than wildlife ‘naivety’ in explaining the extinction.     

落实“四到户”需争取政策支持—访河北省栾城县供电局局长胡宝玉

前不久,河北省栾城县委、县政府"两办"共同制定了<栾城县农村生活用水参考管理办法>,并发出通知,建议各村民委员会采取措施,加强水费的收缴和管理工作,改变目前村民吃水、用水、缴纳水费不规范的现状.了解内情的人都知道,这项<管理办法>的出台,是县供电局在背后争取和推动的结果.     

Why students take elective business ethics courses: Applying the theory of planned behavior

Despite the prevalence of elective business ethics courses, little research has sought to explain and predict why some students enroll in these courses and while others do not. Using the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen and Madden, 1986) as a theoretical foundation, 178 graduate students in Ireland were surveyed about their intention to sign up for an elective ethics class. Their behavior was measured two months later. The results reveal the power of the theory of planned behavior to explain and predict who takes elective ethics classes.Donna M. Randall is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Management and Systems at Washington State University. Her research interests include business ethics, organizational commitment, and reproductive risk in the work place. Her work has appeared inJournal of Business Ethics, Decision Sciences, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Business Research, and others.     

DURATION MOMENTS AND YIELD CURVE MOVEMENTS

In this paper we will analyze the relationship between the value and duration moments of a cash flow and movements in the yield curve. We will show that for changes in the yield curve which can be related to tⁿ , the 1st order changes in the net present value of a cash flow are linearly dependent on the n + lth duration moments, and that the 2nd order changes are dependent on the sum of duration moments of order 2 n + 1 and 2 n + 2. We will use this relationship to tilt tracking portfolios so as to protect them against specific changes in the yield curve.